This message was edited on
May 09, 2009 at
02:35:29 AM by grp
Richert Races To UMSS Victory at Kopellah Speedway
St. Croix Falls, WI
By: Greg Parent
The third race of the season for the UMSS sprint cars proved to be the charm for Forest Lake, Minnesota's Jerry Richert, Jr. on Friday night May 8 at the Kopellah Speedway. The upstart UMSS series for 360 sprint cars was making their second appearance of the 2009 season at Kopellah, and the veteran experience of Richert showed on the wind-swept 1/4 mile oval. Richert passed Joseph Kouba on lap 7 enroute to the win in the 15 lap feature which was reduced five laps due to strong winds and dry track conditions. Stated Richert afterwards, "I was glad to see the checkered flag. It was kind of tricky out there."
With the threat of rain staying south of the track, the full Friday night program was completed with the UMSS sprint car feature highlighting the evening as the final event. Rookie Cody Hahn and Joseph Kouba brought the fourteen car field to the green, as windy conditions created a dry, dusty track for feature race action. Kouba narrowly edged out fourth starter Brad Barickman for the lead at the completion of the opening lap. Barickman blasted by on lap two and looked strong up front. A complete 360 spin by Barickman in turn two on lap 6 dropped him to fourth behind Kouba, Richert and Jason Tostenson. A lap later the first caution waved when Rik Sandberg and Kevin Nickel made contact entering turn one. Both cars required wrecker assistance to the pits. When the green replaced the yellow, Richert drove around race leader Kouba exiting turn two and took the top spot. As the field began to spread out just a bit, it looked like the race might run green to the finish. A spin by rookie Mike Luks with 13 laps scored set up a two lap dash to the checkers, as track officials decided to shorten the race to 15 laps given the dry, dusty track. Richert was able to hold off Kouba for the win, as the yellow appeared just as Richert was taking the checkered flag for a spin by Sye Anderson in turn one. Completing the top five finishers were Kouba, Tostenson, Barickman, and John Nelson. Rounding out the top ten was Gene Kelly, Cody Hahn, Leigh Thomas, Dave Becker, and Kenny Melanson. Thomas and Becker were able to make repairs following a crash in the first Ultimate Sprint Race in time to run the feature.
Preliminary action for the UMSS sprint cars saw Richert and Barickman top the Ultimate Sprint Races while Nelson and Tostenson scored wins in the Ultimate Challenge Races. The UMSS uses a double round of races with drivers earning points to determine the starting lineup for the feature event. High point driver Jerry Richert, Jr. drew a six invert for the feature race, but Richert wasted little time in moving forward. It was Richert's first win of the season, as he became the third different driver to post a UMSS feature victory in as many races. Tony Norem and Lou Kennedy Jr. were opening weekend winners.
The UMSS returns to the Kopellah Speedway for their fourth race of the 2009 season, the third at Kopellah, on Friday evening May 22. Sprint car fans can follow all of the UMSS action on their website at www.umsprints.com or through numerous racing publications. When you're at the track, be sure and pick up a free copy of The UMSS Report which details previous race action along with the upcoming schedule and driver roster.
May 8, 2009 Kopellah Speedway UMSS Results;
Feature (15 laps): Richert, Kouba, Tostenson, Barickman, Nelson, Kelly, Hahn, Thomas, Becker, Melanson, Luks, Anderson, Nickel, Sandberg.
Lap Leaders: Kouba 1, Barickman 2-5, Kouba 6, Richert 7-15
Ultimate Sprint Race #1: Richert, Kouba, Hahn, Kelly, Anderson, Becker, Thomas.
Ultimate Sprint Race #2: Barickman, Nelson, Melanson, Tostenson, Sandberg, Luks, Nickel.
Ultimate Challenge Race #1: Nelson, Richert, Sandberg, Melanson, Kelly. DNS: Becker, Thomas
Ultimate Challenge Race #2: Tostenson, Barickman, Kouba, Hahn, Anderson, Nickel, Luks
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We certainly could have done without that strong, cold wind that kicked up about halfway through the night last Friday. When I arrived just before 6:30, it looked like the track did not have an abundance of moisture in it anyways, but there was basically no wind and the track held up halfway decent throughout the prelim races. Then the wind kicked up big time, and the dust clouds just rolled off of turns 3-4 the rest of the night. Turns 1-2 were still pretty good, but whoa, a person had a difficult time seeing in turns 3-4 area. It was definitely a bit tricky out there for all of the feature races. Nice to see all cars remain upright, although Thomas and Becker had to make repairs following their "heat" race crash on the frontstretch. Both cars were ready to race again by feature time, and both drivers completed the race. Rik Sandberg and Kevin Nickel had contact entering turn one in the main event, but neither car tipped or even hit the wall. Front end damage on the Nickel car, and I believe I heard a broken bird cage on Ronnie Wuiff's #1 car with Sandberg back behind the wheel.
I also want to say congrats to rookie driver Cody Hahn in the #23 sprinter. Cody turned in a 7th place finish in the A Main and continues to gain experience. Last Friday he, along with the other drivers, had to show some patience on the dry, dusty track. Hopefully the next time the sprints return to Kopellah on May 22 the weather will be much improved with better track conditions.
The UMSS has three shows in a row at Kopellah Speedway on May 22, June 5, and June 12 before making their first appearance of the season at North Central Speedway near Brainerd on June 13. The UMSS then returns to the Cedar Lake Speedway on Thursday evening June 18 for the opening night of the Masters. That race will pay $1,000 to win, as GRP Motorsports has agreed to once again add $300 to the first place payout in order to possibly attract a couple of extra cars on a Thursday evening. The IRA 410 sprints will then be at the Masters on June 19 & 20 for complete shows each night, giving sprint car fans a chance to see three straight nights of winged racing at CLS June 18-20. The UMSS sprinters round out the month of June with a return trip to Kopellah on June 26.
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For fans attending a UMSS sprint car show, you will want to be sure and stop by the concession stand area of the track and pick up a free copy of the newsletter called The UMSS Report. It's a one page, printed front and back side with color, report summarizing previous race action, the 2009 UMSS schedule, a driver roster, and the race format. I noticed quite a few fans at Kopellah picked up a copy last Friday night. A neat idea by the UMSS to get their name in front of the fans and also give fans some additional information about the new series and its drivers. The first report featured a color Kopellah Speedway Victory Lane photo of Tony Norem taken by Stan Meissner.
Kopellah Speedway also provides race fans with a nice quality four page color race report/newsletter when you enter the track. Again, a very nice way to keep your fans informed and give new fans a chance to read up on previous action, check the points, check the upcoming schedule, and view photos and other info. Free of charge! Kudos to promoter Chris Stepan for putting together the report. I know some other tracks that do things like this, and it certainly helps to keep race fans informed and up-to-date when they arrive for an evening of racing action.
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