JASON BLONDE FLIES TO WINGED SPRINT VICTORY AT HAWKEYE DOWNS
(Cedar
Rapids, IA 06/21/02)—The Hoosier Outlaw
Sprint Series rolled into Hawkeye Downs Speedway Friday evening for their
annual appearance on the Cedar Rapids half-mile. The appearance was sponsored by Cedar Rapids Toyota and also
featured action in three divisions of the
ASA/Papa Johns Cup presented by Iowa Wireless. The Budweiser Sportsmen, Barron Motor Supply Super Stocks, and
Foreman Hydraulics Legends.
A $1000 bonus was on the line
if any driver could break the existing
track record and Denny England of Warsaw, IN did just that. England turned a
blazing lap of 15.565 seconds which
translates to a speed of 115.644 mph.
In a special presentation for
breaking the one-lap track record England said, “I love this place, It’s a fast
track and a big track and there’s lot’s of speed here.”
Twenty Winged Outlaw Sprint Cars went through qualifying with Adam
Grimm, Cromwell, IN; Scott Seaton, Cedar Springs, MI; and Jason Blond,
Litchfield, MI all collected preliminary heat wins.
Once the green flag waved it
took all of one lap for Jason Blonde to move from his fourth starting spot and
into the lead. Once the field settled in, last years’ winner, Hank Lower gave
chase but couldn’t close the distance except when the leaders were in lapped
traffic.
Blonde won the 30-lapper with a
comfortable margin and was followed to the stripe by Lower, John Batts, Scott Seaton, and the defending series champion Ron Koehler.
Denny England cut a tire early in the race and dropped out. The win was
Blonde’s second in three appearances at Hawkeye Downs.
In Coca-Cola Victory Lane Blonde
noted, “ I like it here, especially the track and the fans. You can feel excitement
from the fans, whether it’s someone setting a track record or winning the race’
It’s kind of like a stadium.”
In feature action from the
Barron Motor Supply Super Stocks, another of the familiar Special K Motorsports
team cars grabbed the checkers. This time it was defending division champion
Brad Dvorak collecting the hardware. Dvorak started eighth and used a high line
to maneuver around the pack, finding the lead with six laps to go in spite of
an ill-handling race car.
Jeff Franks finished second
after starting on the pole. Jayson Scott finished third after leading the early
portion of the race.
The Budweiser Sportsmen 25-lap
feature included a scary looking crash that knocked the leaders out of the race
on lap 15 after tangling with lapped traffic. The crash was apparently
triggered when Brian Hermanson of Mineral Point, WI was trapped by a couple
other lapped cars racing for position and the leaders, Craig Bender and Johns
Henecke tried to split the lapped cars. Hermanson ended up flipping on his top
and slid into the turn one wall which collected some of the rest of the field.
Hermanson was not injured but his car was badly damaged.
The leaders were unable to
continue which put Bob Ahrendsen, Curt
Van De Wal, and Steve Kibort at the front of the pack on the restart.
Van Der Wal took command with eight to go and finished ahead of Ahrendsen,
Johnny Mudd, Andy Duggan, and Steve Kibort. The win was Van Der Wal’s third of
the season and will launch him into a narrow lead in this years point’s race.
Chris Sevey collected his third
win of the season in the Foreman Hydraulics Legends after starting on the pole
of a slim eight-car field. Kevin Foreman finished second, Tom Frady third, and
Kyle Heinrichs fourth. Heinrichs borrowed the car of Crystal Horn for the night
after experiencing motor problems.
All five divisions of the
ASA/Papa Johns Cup return to action Friday night, June 28, for Schoon’s
Chevrolet Mid-season Championships.
*New
track record*
Heat
#1- Adam Grimm, Cromwell, IN
Heat
#2- Scott Seaton, Cedar Springs, MI
Heat
#3- Jason Blond, Litchfield, MI
FEATURE
DNS- Chris Jagger, Leesburg, IN
Heat #1- Jayson Scott, Cedar Rapids, IA
Heat #2- Jeff Franks, Rowley, IA
FEATURE
DNS- Brad Helle, Cedar Rapids, IA
Heat #1- John Henecke, Hiawatha, IA
Heat #2- Ron Fisher, Shellsburg, IA
FEATURE
Dash
#2- Tom Frady, Cedar Rapids, IA
FEATURE