Wi Dirt Racin

Although the cast may change, a 1973 song by legendary rock group Led Zeppelin titled “The Song Remains The Same” is starting to resonate at the St. Croix Valley Raceway in the early stages of the 2014 racing season. For the second time in three races, the car that crossed the finish line first ended up not being the official winner of the race. On Friday night May 30, Johnny Parsons III drove a tremendous race in the bottom lane, passed race leader Rob Caho, Jr. on lap 11, and led the remainder of the 25 lap nonstop feature. While Parsons and crew celebrated in the Anderson’s Pure Maple Syrup and Rock Auto Victory Lane, the rest of the top five cars headed to the scales and tech area. Parsons did likewise after heading off the track. Some time later, for those still in attendance in the pit area, the fate of the #12 Reactor Racing sprinter was determined in post-race tech. An illegal carburetor (booster height too high) was the culprit. This handed the win to Rob Caho, Jr. of Wyoming, Minnesota. It was Caho’s seventeenth career UMSS Traditional Sprint Car Series victory.

Commenting after he learned of Parsons’ misfortune in post-race tech, the two-time and defending series champion indicated “I hate to win one this way. I know a win is a win, but Johnny drove a great race and deserved to win. I’ll take it, but I would much rather beat him on the track than in the tech area.” On opening night, current TSCS point leader Cam Schafer ran second to Brian VanMeveren in the feature race but also found himself declared the winner following a post-race DQ for an illegal carburetor. This is the second time in 2014 that illegal carb issues have surfaced on winning race cars at the 1/4 mile western Wisconsin dirt oval.

Following the two heat races, rookie driver Chase Viebrock found himself the high-point driver for the second race in a row. His luck improved drastically during the draw for the feature race invert, as Chase pulled the zero pill (unlike at Rice Lake when he pulled the worst pill, an eight). This meant that Viebrock and Caho would start front row for the feature. A mad scramble in turn one on the opening lap saw positions jumble around a bit, but Viebrock emerged with the lead. Caho, who had slipped back a couple of spots, quickly recovered and put the pressure on the young driver from New Richmond. On lap three, Caho made a bold bid for the lead stick and raced to the front exiting turn four.

Meanwhile, ninth starter Parsons was moving forward in his “patented” bottom lane and picking off cars. Parsons soon found him self in second and on lap 11 he ducked under Caho coming off turn four for the lead. Caho stayed close until lapped traffic late in the race allowed Parsons to gain a slight margin. Parsons crossed the line first, but his night would not go well afterwards in post-race tech. With the win awarded to Caho following the Parsons disqualification, the rest of the field also moved up one spot in the finishing order. Rounding out the top five was point leader Schafer, Viebrock with his best finish in the five races he has now run in his rookie season, Rice Lake winner Joseph Kouba, and 2013 Rookie of the Year Mike Mueller. A total of (14) TSCS sprints were on hand. Viebrock and Caho won the heats. Five rookie drivers were in attendance with Alex Peper returning to action and Scott Brandt making his debut in a non-winged sprint car. Brandt purchased the Lucas Milz sprint car from last year.

The TSCS sprints are slated to run each Friday night in June at the St. Croix Valley Raceway before heading up north on the first weekend in July. You can keep track of race results, point standings and other series news on the UMSS website at www.umsprints.com or on our Facebook page. Information is also available on the St. Croix Valley Raceway website and Facebook page, as SCVR serves as the series home track on Friday nights.

UMSS TSCS Race Results – St. Croix Valley Raceway May 30, 2014 (Race #5)

Mastell Brother Trailer Service Heat #1 (10 laps): 50 Chase Viebrock, New Richmond WI; 69s Jon Lewerer, Coon Rapids MN; 87 Mike Mueller, Stacy MN; 21 Jimmy Kouba, Byron MN; 31 D Taubert, Mora MN; 2 Tom Porter, Blaine MN; 81 Alex Peper, Milltown WI.

Hoosier Racing Tire Heat #2 (10 laps): 78 Rob Caho Jr, Wyoming MN; 55 Joseph Kouba, North Branch, MN; 54 Cam Schafer, Clearbrook MN; 12 Johnny Parsons III, Owatonna, MN; 5 Mike Haseltine, Forest Lake, MN; 14 Tommy Kamrath, Hudson WI; 7B Scott Brandt, Andover, MN.

GRP Motorsports A Main (25 laps): Caho, Schafer, Viebrock, Joseph Kouba, Mueller, Kamrath, Lewerer, Haseltine, Taubert, Porter DNF, Peper DNF, Jimmy Kouba DNF, Brandt DNF, Parsons DQed.

Lap Leaders: Viebrock 1-2, Caho 3-10, Parsons 11-25 (DQed in post-race tech though).
No cautions!
Photo courtesy of Vince Peterson at Track Rat Photos.

Comments

comments