Kyle Cummins of Princeton came from the back to win the “No Way Out 40” on March 23 at Brownstown Speedway.
Cummins recovered from a spin early in the 40-lap main event, and he took the lead late in the $7,500-to-win event for 410 non-wing sprint cars. With the win, Cummins becomes the 10th different winner in the 11 previous events, which is one of the highest-paying races for sprints in Indiana.
Cummins drives for Rock Steady Racing and is sponsored by Lucas Oil Center and Debra Corn Foster Care. The crew chief is Tim Spindler of Columbus, and the car is owned by Hank Byram of North Vernon, with Hank’s brother Dirk serving on the crew, as well.
Carson Short of Marion, Illinois, finished in second, followed by Robert Ballou or Rocklin, California; Tyler Courtney of Indianapolis and Jason McDougal of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Completing the top 10 were Matt Westfall, Dave Darland, Dakota Jackson, Shane Cottle and Andrew Prather.
Defending pro late model track champion Tyler Cain of Seymour won the 2019 debut for the division by taking the main event. Tyler Neal of Paragon was second, with Brad Barrow of Bloomington claiming third. Marty O’Neal of Spencer was fourth, and Justin Bowling of Salem was fifth.
Completing the rest of the top 10 finishers were Zack Burton, Trent Low, Isaac Rainey, Raymond Humphrey and Trent Bailey.
Devin Gilpin of Columbus made it 2 for 2 this season by winning the open wheel modified feature for the second straight week. It was Gilpin’s 69th career win in the division at Brownstown when he drove the Don Fleetwood-owned Elite Chassis to the victory. Ryan Thomas of Brownstown came home in second, followed by Brayden Watson of Bedford, Matt Boknecht of Seymour and Jordan Wever of Bloomington.
Rounding out the top 10 in the modified main were Tim Rivers, Derek Groomer, Levi Godsey, Chad Combs and Lucas Wehmiller.
Josh Boller of Bainbridge scored his first-ever win at Brownstown by winning the super stock feature event. Josh Divine of Loogootee earned the runner-up spot, followed by Trey Chastain of Bedford, Tim Eddelman of Taylorsville and Tucker Chastain of Bedford.
The rest of the top 10 in the super stock feature were Tim Schumpe, Matt Terry, Justin Cundiff, Daniel Norman and Connor East.
Tonight, Brownstown will host the first points race of the season for pro late models, modifieds, super stocks, pure stocks and hornets. For more info, visit brownstownspeedway.com.
Twin Cities opening night results
Joey Kramer of Hanover picked up the crate late model feature win on March 23 when Twin Cities Raceway Park in Vernon opened for the 2019 season. Tory Collins of North Vernon finished second to Kramer, with Jeremy Hines of Seymour, Paul Ortman of Seymour and Mike Bechelli of Elizabethtown rounding out the top five competitors.
The rest of the top 10 in the crate late model feature were Bodi Henry, Casey Patterson, Michael Daugherty, Bob Sterrett and Keegan Cox.
Jacoby Hines of Trafalgar won the modified feature in his Diamond Race Car entry. Matt Hamilton of Aurora crossed the finish line in second, with Trent Green of Milton, Kentucky; Lee Hobbs of Mitchell and Brandon Ramsey of Florence, Kentucky, finishing out the top five.
Jerry Adams of Elizabethtown finished in sixth, followed by Mike Bechelli, Nathan Krengle, Derrick Huber and John Trowbridge.
Jeremy Helton of Commiskey won the Twin Cities super stock main event over Ross Smith of Columbus, Josh Turner of Edinburgh, Danny Hupp of Scipio and Austin Perry of Columbus. Austin Burton of Edinburgh was sixth, with Jamie Laufer and Tony Arthur rounding out the field.
Troy Clark of North Vernon continued to run up front in the pure stock division at Twin Cities when he captured the feature event. Mickey Hines of Scipio was a close second, with Kobe Derringer of Commiskey, Mark Hines of North Vernon and Bryson Clark of North Vernon completing the top five drivers.
Cordell Moore of Versailles won the first hornet feature of the year. Andy Anderson of North Vernon took the runner-up honors ahead of Jamie Laufer of Madison, Warren Laufer of Madison and Trent Adams of Columbus. The drivers who finished out the top 10 were Gary Whitt, Bryce Burton, Tony Napier II, Josh Hallett and Shannon Walp.
Tonight at Twin Cities will be a regular show consisting of crate late models, modifieds, super stocks, pure stocks and hornets. For more info, visit twincitiestrack.com.
Pierce grabs Florence Spring 50
Defending Jackson 100 winner Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Illinois, won the 43rd Annual Spring 50 on March 23 at Florence Speedway in Union, Kentucky. Pierce took the lead on Lap 20 and went on to win the $5,000 super late model race that opened the 2019 season at the Northern Kentucky track.
Kent Robinson of Bloomington was second, with Justin Rattliff of Campbellsville, Kentucky, taking third. Victor Lee of Danville, Kentucky, was fourth, and Kody Evans of Camden, Ohio completed the top five.
The rest of the top 10 finishers were Tanner English, Trevor Landrum, Shelby Miles, Austin Burns and Dustin Nobbe.
Swanson takes USAC event
Kody Swanson swept to his 25th career win in the USAC Silver Crown opener on March 23 at Memphis International Raceway in Millington, Tennessee. Bobby Santos ran second to Swanson, with Justin Grant, Kyle Hamilton and Joey Schmidt trailing the winner to the checkers.
Kevin Thomas Jr. led the next five finishers to the line over Eric Gordon, Derek Bischak, Chris Dyson and David Byrne.
Lawrenceburg opener postponed
Lawrenceburg Speedway was scheduled to kick off its 2019 season tonight with the USAC National Sprint Cars, open wheel modifieds and hornets in action. However, due to the weather forecast, the event has been postponed to May 4. For more info, visit lawrenceburgspeedway.com.
This week in racing history
From 20 years ago in 1999, Don O’Neal won his first career Indiana Icebreaker. The Northern All-Stars Late Model Series sanctioned the event. Dion Deason was second, with Jim Curry, Marty O’Neal and Scott James rounded out the top five. Tim Clark won the street stock main event over Joe Johnson, Rusty Smiley, Steve Hunt and Jerry Adams. Robbie Wilson took the bomber feature race over Tim Prince, Jeff Helton, Matt Bex and Sam Chastain.
