Brownstown Speedway finally opened its 2020 racing season on May 30. After waiting since March with the COVID-19 restrictions set forth by the state of Indiana, the Jackson County track drew 155 race cars across five divisions of racing. With the current restrictions in place, there were no fans allowed in the grandstand seating area.
Shelby Miles of Bloomington, the defending pro late model track champion at Brownstown, took the lead from Paragon’s Steve Peeden on Lap 12 after Peeden got crossed up in Turn 2. Miles had hounded Peeden for the first 11 laps of the 25-lap feature race. Miles then cruised on for the victory. Tyler Neal of Paragon finished in second, followed by Peeden, Raymond Humphrey of Bloomington and Keegan Cox of Franklin. Completing the top 10 were Brad Barrow, Brad Cummings, Zack Burton, Logan Moody and Isaac Rainey.
The heat race winners among the 31 entrants were Peeden, Miles, Marty O’Neal and Neal. Rainey won the B-main.
Derek Clegg of Nabb won his heat race and then went on to take the his first-ever feature win in the super stock division at Brownstown. Clegg outran two-time track champion Jamey Wilson of Seymour for the victory. J.T. Huffman of Salem took third, with Tyler Neal and Bryce Shidler of Crawfordsville. Rounding out the top 10 were Josh Litton, Austin Phelps, Brent Lee, Tommy East and Sam Lee.
Heat race winners for the 22 Super Stock entrants were Clegg, Zach Sasser and Wilson.
In the open wheel modified division, the first race of 2020 came down to a battle between Tyler Nicely and Adam Stricker. The two made contact, with Stricker taking the lead from Nicely as he went on to record his first ever feature win at Brownstown. Stricker of Batavia, Ohio, remains undefeated this year with four wins in the four races he has run.
Derek Groomer of Bloomington finished second to Stricker, with Levi Kessinger of Mt. Vernon, Jacoby Hines of Trafalgar and Brandon McDowell completing the top five. The rest of the top 10 in the modified feature were Cole Falloway, Bill Lewis, Nathan Voorhies, Michael Fish and Dustin Bruce.
The modifieds drew 25 entries has Nicely, Stricker and Groomer won heat races. Falloway won the B-main.
In the hornet division, there was another first-time feature winner. Bryce Burton won the feature race, narrowly defeating a hard-charging Shannon Walp of Hayden at the finish line. Walp who had to win one of the two B-mains for the 43-car hornet division field stormed thought the field to finish second to Burton. Blake Gibson of Crittenden, Kentucky, finished in third, followed by Hunter Perry of Columbus and Lucas Jackson of North Vernon. The rest of the top 10 finishers were Alex Wilson, Hunter Holton, Davey Waggoner, Gary Hume and Doug Watson.
Hornet division heart race winners were Hume, Warren Hopkins, Alex Wilson and Cordell Moore. Walp and Jeremy Wilson took the B-mains.
David Palmer of Clarksville became the fourth new winner of the night when he captured the pure stock feature race. Mark Hines of North Vernon finished second, with Tory Routier of Edinburgh placing third.
Routier was leading the race when a lapped car tangled with him, which forced a caution flag. Routier then charged from the tail to take third at the pay window. Dalton Fleenor of Salem was fourth in the feature, with Donnie Wilson of North Vernon taking fifth. Completing the top 10 were Tommy Fleenor, Mickey Hines, Will McRoberts, Glynn Neal and Tanner Huffman.
Heat race winners in the pure stock class were Christopher Combs, Routier and Dusten Carr. Michael Nail won the B-main.
Brownstown will again be racing tonight with a full program of super late models, modifieds, super stocks, pure stocks and hornets. As per the state and CDC guidelines, the main grandstand will be closed to spectators.
For more information on the racing program and guidelines, go to brownstownspeedway.com.
Bloomington USAC midget event canceled
Lincoln Park Speedway will now host two events on back-to-back nights during the 16th edition of Indiana Midget Week, June 18-19, at the 5/16-mile dirt oval in Putnamville.
The move of Bloomington Speedway’s originally scheduled June 19 date to Lincoln Park has been made in response to local guidelines in Monroe County, home of Bloomington Speedway, restricting social gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lincoln Park’s originally scheduled June 18 date will now be followed by another slot on the schedule at Lincoln Park on June 19, making it consecutive nights of USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget racing with two complete programs for the track and marks the first-ever occasion of a track hosting two Indiana Midget Week events in a single year.
All tickets purchased for the canceled Bloomington Midget Week event will be honored on June 19 at Lincoln Park Speedway. However, if you would like to receive a refund for your Bloomington IMW tickets, contact USAC’s Nikki Klepper at [email protected]. Indiana Midget Week spectator tickets for all events are on sale now at http://usactickets.com/.
The remainder of the 2020 Indiana Midget Week schedule remains unchanged. First up is the 3/8-mile Paragon Speedway, located just a little less than an hour southwest of Indianapolis, which will make its debut on the Indiana Midget Week schedule by hosting its first USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget race since 1985 and its first USAC-sanctioned race of any kind since 1998.
Following the opener at Paragon, on June 17, the series travels northbound to the quarter-mile Gas City I-69 Speedway, whose origins with the IMW series date to the inaugural year in 2005.
Next, on June 18 and June 19, Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville joins the IMW docket for the 11th straight year.
The 3/8-mile Lawrenceburg Speedway, which hosted the very first IMW event in 2005, serves as the penultimate race of the mini-series on June 20. The 2020 IMW finale at Kokomo Speedway, which first hosted USAC Midget racingin USAC’s inaugural season of 1956, comes to the quarter-mile venue on June 21.
This week in
racing history
From 50 years ago in 1970 at Brownstown Speedway, Jack Owens won the late model feature over Ira Bastin, Teako Ray, Jim Curry and John Warner.
Also from 1970 at Paragon Speedway, Allen Barr won the sprint car feature race over Mike Bowlen, Calvin Gilstrap, Kenny Ferr and and Orval Yeadon.
From 1970 at Haubstadt, Larry Miller won the sprint car main event over Bob Kinser, Dick Gaines, Gene Henson and Gene Coomes.
From 40 years ago in 1980 at Haubstadt, Chuck Amati captured the sprint car feature over Ron Dorsett, Larry Goad, Gaines and Mike Johnson. In the late model division, Tom Helfrich won the feature over Bastin, Kenny Simpson, Fred Gerteisen and Dusty Chapman.
Also from 40 years ago at Putnamville, Paul Crockett won the late model feature over Roger Absher, Larry Taylor, Buck Ridenour and Russ Petro.
From 30 years ago in 1990 at Paragon, Randy Kinser won the sprint car feature over Gary Trammell, Gary Hayhurst Jr., Tray House and Jeff Deckard.
Also from 1990 at Twin Cities, Jerry Rice won the late model feature over Matt Gilardi, Darrell Lanigan, Daryl Herbert and Marty O’Neal. There were two features ran in the street stock class, with Joe Johnson winning the first feature over Buford Burton, Phil Fultz, Donnie Wilson and Tim Montgomery. The second feature went to Don Hoover over Buford Burton, Tim Clark, Colin Vaughn and Darrell Smallwood.
James Essex writes a motorsports notebook for The Republic. Send comments to [email protected].
