Johnny Parsons III Defeats Teammate in Cedar Lake TSCS Sprint Race
New Richmond, WI
By: Greg Parent, UMSS Media Director (7-8-11)
Johnny Parsons III from Owatonna became the first repeat winner in the fourth race of the season for the upstart UMSS Traditional Sprint Car Series (TSCS) at the Cedar Lake Speedway on Friday night July 8. Parsons defeated his Reactor Racing teammate Tom Kamrath in what turned out to be a spirited battle for the top spot between the two veteran racers. In the exhibition-style program held in conjunction with the popular World of Outlaws show at CLS, a field of six TSCS non-winged sprints turned out to help introduce the class to the large crowd on hand. Many fans and some potential competitors visited the TSCS pit area before and after the races, as many questions and general inquiries were fielded by the non-winged sprint car teams in attendance.
Fresh off a heat race win earlier in the evening, Parsons pulled the #4 pill for the feature race invert. This put inaugural series winner Kevin Bradwell from Luck, WI on the pole flanked by veteran racer Jack Clark of Knapp, WI. Clark, a California racer who moved back to Wisconsin last year, has many years on non-winged racing experience. Speaking of experience, the second row was comprised of Tom Kamrath of Maplewood and his teammate Parsons. The third had a couple of rookie sprint car racers with Jeff Pellersels of Woodbury and Adam Taubert of Mora rounding out the starting grid.
Bradwell grabbed the lead on the opening lap, but Kamrath moved by the "Rocket Man" on lap two to take over the top spot. Parsons did likewise the following lap. Kamrath and Parson battled for the lead a few laps later and even made slight contact once. Parsons drove by Kamrath exiting turn four to complete lap eight. The next lap saw the only caution wave when Jack Clark lost a rear wheel and came to a stop in turn three. Parsons and Kamrath resumed their race for the lead when the green replaced the yellow with Bradwell still within striking distance in third. Parsons went on to record his second TSCS victory of the season. Kamrath, Bradwell, Pellersels and Taubert finished the race with Clark a DNF.
Commenting afterwards in the pits, Parsons stated "It was nice to get a fresh track to race on for the feature. I could finally throw the car into the corners and drive it more like a non-winged car is designed to be driven. Good thing I didn't wreck my teammate out there when we were dicing for the lead, as that would have been hard to explain afterwards. We'll see if we can continue our battle next weekend at Elko."
The next race for the TSCS series will be a double-header on Friday and Saturday July 15-16 during the Summer Nationals at the Elko Speedway. The non-winged cars will run an exhibition heat and feature race as part of the program along with a full show for UMSS winged sprints and the IRA Outlaw sprints each night. With three classes of sprint cars on hand, open wheel fans will want to be sure and be a part of the festivities at the very fan-friendly Elko track located just south of the Twin City metro area off Interstate 35. Traditional sprint car fans can follow the growth of the UMSS TSCS series throughout the course of its initial season on the UMSS website at www.umsprints.com by clicking on the blue logo to enter the TSCS home page. TSCS news and results will also be on the UMSS Facebook page and highlighted in the free UMSS Report newsletter available at each event.
UMSS TSCS Race Results - Cedar Lake Speedway July 8, 2011 (Race #4):SprintSource.com Ultimate Exhibition Heat Race (10 laps): Johnny Parsons III, Owatonna MN, Tommy Kamrath, Maplewood MN, Jack Clark, Knapp WI, Kevin Bradwell Luck, WI, Jeff Pellersels, Woodbury MN, Adam Taubert, Mora MN.
Mora Motorworks Exhibition A Main (12 laps): Parsons #22, Kamrath #32, Bradwell #95, Pellersels #1, Taubert #8, Clark #41s (DNF).
Lap Leaders: Bradwell 1, Kamrath 2-7, Parsons 8-12.
Cautions: (1)
Victory Lane Photo courtesy of Stan Meissner at Minnesota Dirt Track Racing website.
