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grp

September 06, 2010 at 06:47:00 PM

Joined:	12/06/2004
Posts:	713

This message was edited on September 06, 2010 at 06:55:55 PM by grp
Chris Graf Grabs the Mighty Axe on Night #2 at North Central Speedway

Brainerd, MN

By: Greg Parent (9-5-10)

Chris Graf came up one spot short on the opening night of the Mighty Axe Nationals, but on Sunday evening September 5 he laid claim to one of the unique axe trophies when he bested young Eric Schulz to grab his fourth Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series victory of the season. Graf and Schulz traded the lead in the early laps before Graf took command of the Precision Tool/Crosslake Sheetmetal 20 lap feature event. Graf had to withstand a final two lap dash to the checkers following the only caution on a much-improved racing surface over the previous night. Graf was quite pleased to earn a $1,000 payday and the axe trophy. Following the race, Graf explained that his trip to watch the outlaws race at North Central Speedway in early July actually helped him. "I watched the lines the outlaw drivers used that night. I was a bit surprised there was as much bite up top as there was tonight, so I decided to put the knowledge I gained that night to use here tonight. It worked." Indeed it did, as Graf recorded his fourth UMSS win of the season.

Graf and Schulz discussed their race battle afterwards. It was easy to see the enthusiasm and respect they had for each other, as they talked about their close battle in the early laps and the race in lapped traffic. Schulz and Graf paced the twenty car starting field to the green. Schulz just barely edged by Graf to lead the opening lap, but Graf returned the favor on lap two and three. Once again, Schulz regained the top spot on lap four. Graf fought back on the outside and returned to the lead on lap five. Graf slowly pulled away from Schulz over the course of the next several laps, as the leaders began working lapped traffic at the halfway mark.

With fourteen laps in, Graf closed in on two cars running near the back of the pack. As Graf worked to lap those two cars, Schulz closed in quickly. One lap later, Schulz was right behind Graf looking for a way around. Graf worked around the two cars and cleared them on lap 16. This allowed Graf to put a short distance on Schulz for some breathing room. His lead would evaporate when the only caution flew for a Brandon Allen spin in turn two. Allen actually did a complete 360 degree spin and kept going, but the caution light blinked on to set up a two lap dash to the checkers. Graf was close to being collected in the incident himself, as Allen was just in front of the leader. Graf had to shoot down low towards the infield to avoid the spinning car.

The final two lap sprint to the checkers saw Chris Graf record a well-earned victory. Sioux Falls, South Dakota driver Eric Schulz, making his first appearance of the season with the UMSS for the Mighty Axe weekend, turned in an impressive performance in the runner-up position behind the race winner. Saturday night feature winner Cody Hahn raced from sixth to finish third, as he ducked under Jerry Richert Jr in the late stages of the race. Richert finished fourth in front of local Brainerd driver Tim Johnson. Brainerd drivers also finished sixth and seventh, as Sye Anderson bested rookie Jared Goerges. Rounding out the top ten finishers were Alan Gilbertson, Shannon Eriksen, and Brad Barickman. Eriksen ran strong after being upside down the previous night. Only two cars failed to finish the race while one car, rookie contender Ronnie Erickson, was unable to start the feature race.

In Ultimate Sprint heat race action, Australian driver David Craft captured the win in the Midwest Racing Talk first heat. Tim Johnson defeated fellow Brainerd racer Sye Anderson in the Driverwebsites.com second heat. Brad Barickman bested Cody Hahn in the Sprintsource.com third heat. Chris Graf grabbed the win in the Bryant Heating and Cooling Systems first Challenge race while Cody Hahn passed Brett Allen at the halfway mark of the Mastell Brothers Trailer Service second Challenge race to record the win. Hahn was the high point driver after the double round of qualifying used by the UMSS, and the current UMSS point leader pulled the six pill for the feature race inversion.

The 2010 UMSS racing season continues on Saturday night September 11 at the Cedar Lake Speedway for the prestigious Jerry Richert Memorial. Running with the IRA 410 outlaw sprint cars for the second year in a row, the UMSS 360 sprints will round out the two racing divisions in an all sprint car show. The NVRA vintage cars will also be on hand to entertain the fans. The Jerry Richert Memorial is one of the marque events in sprint car racing around the Twin Cities area, so sprint car fans will certainly want be in attendance at CLS on September 11. Following the Jerry Richert Memorial, the UMSS will take the following weekend off and return to action at the Arlington Raceway on September 25 for their fourth and final appearance of the season. The 2010 campaign concludes at the Ogilvie Raceway on October 2, as we find out who will be the 2010 UMSS Champion as well as the GRP Motorsports/BP Trading Company Rookie of the Year. The GRP Motorsports Sweet Sixteen Bonus will also likley come down to the final night at Ogilvie. For more information, check out the UMSS website at www.umsprints.com or follow along on the UMSS Facebook page. Stan Meissner's Midwest Racing Talk and Minnesota Dirt Track Racing website has news and results along with the free copy of The UMSS Report distributed each night at tracks where the UMSS is racing.

UMSS Race Results - North Central Speedway September 5, 2010 (Race #16) Mighty Axe Nationals:

Midwest Racing Talk Ultimate Sprint Heat #1 (7 laps): David Craft, Shannon Eriksen, Brandon Allen, Eric Schulz, Chris Graf, Jennifer Eriksen, Jack Zweber.

Driverwebsites.com Ultimate Sprint Heat #2 (7 laps): Tim Johnson, Sye Anderson, Dan Grams, Jerry Richert Jr, Mike Luks, Ronnie Erickson, Kevin Nickel.

Sprintsource.com Ultimate Sprint Heat #3 (7 laps): Brad Barickman, Cody Hahn, Jared Goerges, Brett Allen, Alan Gilbertson, Justin Giddings, Bruce Allen.

Bryant Heating & Cooling Systems Challenge Race #1 (10 laps): Graf, Gilbertson, Richert, Goerges, Brandon Allen, Anderson, Zweber, Barickman, Craft, Erickson DNF, Bruce Allen DNS.

Mastell Brothers Trailer Service Challenge Race #2 (10 laps): Hahn, Brett Allen, Schulz, Grams, Johnson, S Eriksen, Luks, Giddings, Nickel, J Eriksen DNF.

Precision Tool/Crosslake Sheetmetal Mighty Axe A Main (20 laps): Graf, Schulz, Hahn, Richert, Johnson, Anderson, Goerges, Gilbertson, S Eriksen, Barickman, Craft, Grams, Brandon Allen, Zweber, J. Eriksen, Luks, Giddings, Nickel, Brett Allen DNF, Bruce Allen DNF, Erickson DNS.

Lap Leaders: Schulz 1, Graf 2-3, Schulz 4, Graf 5-20.

(1) caution.

grp

September 07, 2010 at 12:25:23 AM

Joined:	12/06/2004
Posts:	713

This message was edited on September 07, 2010 at 12:34:55 AM by grp

Some interesting comments and items gleaned from the Mighty Axe Nationals at North Central Speedway...

I bet nobody would ever have predicted ahead of time that the three sprint car drivers from Brainerd would finish in the exact same order each night. On Saturday night, Tim Johnson finished fourth ahead of Sye Anderson and Jared Goerges. On Sunday night, Tim Johnson finished fifth in front of Sye Anderson and Jared Goerges. I found that to be rather interesting.

On Sunday night, Tim Johnson, Sye Anderson and Jared Goerges were interviewed by Ron Bernhagen in front of the flagstand area in the grandstands. The driver intros in front of the fans and their subsequent walk through the stands at Rice Lake Speedway the previous Saturday night really impressed many on-lookers. So much so that North Central Speedway had already heard about it. Due to time delays for track maintenance, not all of the drivers were able to do it this time, but Ron B decided it would be a neat idea to bring the three Brainerd sprint car drivers up front and have them talk with the fans. I would look for more of this type of interaction at tracks where it works well to do so. Some tracks it is just logistically not a good idea, but there are several tracks where it is a good fit. The fans seem to really like it, as they can put a face with a name. The young kids really eat it up too.

Even with some cars unable to race in Brainerd due to mechanical issues, the UMSS still drew a field of 19 cars on Saturday and 21 cars on Sunday. Many thanks to the Allen family for their support on Sunday, as Bruce Allen, Brett Allen and Dan Grams towed up after competing at Arlington the night before. Brandon Allen was on hand both nights, as he has been a solid supporter of the UMSS throughout the 2010 racing season.

Brandon Allen's luck certainly took a 180 turn from the previous Saturday night. From feature winner at Rice Lake Speedway on August 28 to a flip victim in the first Challenge race at North Central the following Saturday, Allen commented on the highs and lows of sprint car racing. Allen and his crew worked very hard to get their car race-ready for the Saturday night feature, and he was able to make the call and complete the entire race. Like many other low-budget race teams in our area, this team is a true testament to what perserverance and dedication really mean!

It was great to see Cody Hahn get his first-career sprint car feature win on Saturday night. Hahn emerged from his car in victory lane and immediately climbed up the back and stood high and proud waving the checkered flag (Stan Meissner snapped a photo of that) before celebrating with his crew in victory lane and describing his elation to the crowd during the post-race interview.

It is always a pleasure to have the Eriksen family race with the UMSS. Jennifer and her brother Shannon were back for both nights at Brainerd. After destroying her sprint car in a nasty tumble at Elko back in July, Jennifer returned recently with a brand new car. She told me she was still getting used to how the new car reacted and drove under certain conditions. Jennifer was also feeling under the weather a bit, but that did not deter her from racing. Her brother Shannon took a tumble on Saturday night in the first Challenge race, but he was back strong on Sunday night and turned in a solid top ten finish. The Eriksen's plan on racing at CLS for the upcoming Jerry Richert Memorial this Saturday night.

Despite the rough track conditions on Saturday, the UMSS sprint car feature race ran the full 20 lap distance with only one caution flag. Only one car dropped out. The same could not be said for the various stock car classes on the program, as most of their races were lengthy and often times ended up being cut in distance. The same essentially held true on Sunday night, when the track was in much better condition but still had a few rough areas. Again, the sprint cars ran their full 20 lap feature with just one caution and only two cars were unable to finish while the stock cars classes had plenty of problems.

Many thanks to North Central Speedway owner Cliff Sasker for having the sprint cars on the racing program for not only the Mighty Axe Nationals but also the Kouba Memorial. North Central Speedway has traditionally been a track that has supported local area sprint car racing by hosting 3 or 4 events each season giving local Brainerd drivers Sye Anderson, Jared Goerges and Tim Johnson the opportunity to race sprint cars on their hometown track.

Speaking of Tim Johnson, he always amazes me with his ability to just jump into the TW Racing #34 sprinter and do very well at his home track. Johnson has driven in the sprint car division probably around a dozen or so times over the past several seasons at North Central Speedway. Johnson is a front runner at NCS in the street stock and super stock divisions and literally has thousands of laps around the 1/3 mile oval. Tim typically turns in a top ten finish in the sprinters and often times is able to finish in the top five. A 4th and 5th place effort this past weekend is impressive considering his limited seat time in a sprint car. It would be fun to see him race once or twice in the sprint car at another track or two just to see if he could be as competitive as he is at his home track. I have no doubt he would adapt quickly and run well.

Really cool to see Justin Giddings make the long haul north from Kansas City, Kansas to race with the UMSS at the Mighty Axe this past weekend. Justin is the son of T. J. Giddings. Sprint car fans from the 1980s and early 1990s era certainly will recall "The Jedi" as then Knoxville Raceway announcer Tim Trier dubbed him. T J Giddings was a very competitive and popular driver, as he ran well at Knoxville, Husets and several other area tracks especially in the Marty Johnson #81 maroonish-red colored sprint car. Justin Giddings put a Maxim car together for his dad to use a few years ago in the Masters Classic at Knoxville, and this very car is the one he was racing at Brainerd on Saturday and Sunday. If I got the story straight, the car is owned by a relative of Marty Johnson who lives in the Twin City metro area. The car sports an identical paint scheme just like when his dad drove from Marty Johnson back in the latter 1980s era. Justin started racing karts and micros several years ago, moved into running a sprinter for a few seasons down near the Kansas City area, and then as he described it to me, he was done after he wrecked the car. Justin wants to get back into sprint car racing again after sitting out a few seasons, so he thought this would be a cool opportunity to do so. He is hoping to be back up for the Richert Memorial next Saturday at CLS. I'm going to have to dig through my old photos, as I am pretty sure I have one of the #81 Marty Johnson sprinter when T J Giddings was the driver.

I could probably ramble on for long time still, but it is getting late and soon will be time to return to work after the long holiday weekend. Hope to see many sprint car fans at the Jerry Richert Memorial this coming Saturday at the Cedar Lake Speedway. It's an awesome event, and the post-race parties and camping are a blast at CLS.

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