Brad Waits won the USRA Modified feature on Friday, June 28, at the Mississippi Thunder Speedway.

FOUNTAIN CITYs. -- Race fans flocked to the Mississippi Thunder Speedway Friday night to enjoy the fun and pageantry which is Winona Radio/Budweiser Night as an event which originally started back in the late ‘80s, it’s one of the longest running (if not the longest running) racing event promotions in the area, and fans know the fun factor will be high. This year, despite a late afternoon shower, the fun for the fans in the packed grandstands was indeed high; matched, perhaps, only by the on-track excitement which unfolded before them on the super-fast 1/3-mile.

Much of the talk at the end of the evening concerned the start of the Black Horse Bar & Grill USRA B-Mod feature. As the pack came roaring out of turn four on the opening lap, the field drifted high on front straight. Driver opinions varied as to where the action actually began, but Chris Gilbertson, starting on the outside of the third row, was forced into the front straight concrete wall just before the starter’s flag stand at the start finish line.

As sparks filled the air the rest of the field behind continued at full speed into the growing confusion. In a scene similar to a growing wreck on a superspeedway, the crowd of cars involved in the growing wreck continued to grow as the group spun and skidded the remainder of the front straight and towards the bottom of the banking in turn 1.

Second heat race winner Alex Williamson, currently battling Gilbertson atop the points standings, was almost directly behind Gilbertson and was immediately swept into the wreck. When the smoke cleared, Gilbertson’s orange and black modified was on its roof with Williamson’s #15w sandwiched in the middle of the multi-car pack which had come to rest at the end of the front straight.

While Gilbertson’s night was immediately over, and Williamson would only complete a total of five laps after spending a lot of time in the work area with his pit crew trying to fix the damage, the best news was that all drivers involved were unhurt.

Gilbertson minced no words with his post incident comments.

“(This is the) side effect of people who can’t hold a line around a race track”, said Gilbertson afterwards. “(He) drove me up the track into the wall in front of basically the whole field.”

The remainder of the 18-lap feature featured several great battles up front as Jake Timm held off challenges first from his good friend Parker Hale, and then by defending track champion and second heat race winner Erik Kanz as well as current USRA B-Mod national points leader Cory Crapser.

“This win is so great,” commented Timm after rolling his #10 into victory lane. “Cory was challenging me and I knew that I was going to have to work hard to stay out front.

“Parker and I have been great friends ever since we both started racing against each other in Mini-Mods right here on the Lightning Speedway. It was great racing him for the lead.”

Crapser finished second with Kanz rounding out the top 3.

Jake Timm won the USRA B-Mod feature on Friday, June 28, at the Mississippi Thunder Speedway.

After winning the night’s second heat race, Brad Waits used a pole position starting spot to step away from the pack to pick up the 25-lap feature win. While Waits was leading the pack, first heat race winner Lucas Schott came from inside the third row and completely erased the large lead Waits had built up. Schott, the defending track champion, closed to within half a second of Waits, but ran out of laps before he could throw a solid challenge for position at the leader.

Waits took the win, with Schott second and 2010 track champion Josh Angst finishing third.

Mississippi Thunder Speedway races back to action next Friday night, July 5, with the 5th Annual Rivercity Rumble including a potential $3,500 paycheck for the winner of the Rivercity Manufacturing USRA Modified feature and up to $3,100 to win the Black Horse Bar & Grill USRA B-Mod feature. Fans will get in on the fun as well with on-sight deejay music and prizes including bikes for the kids and five flat-screen TVs. Watch the Mississippi Thunder Speedway web site for details.

Mississippi Thunder Speedway is located 3.0 miles north of Fountain City on Wisconsin Highway 35. For more information, call 608-687-3282 or visit www.mississippithunder.com on the World Wide Web.

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OFFICIAL RESULTS
USRA Weekly Racing Series
Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Fountain Citys.
Friday, June 28, 2013

USRA MODIFIEDS

Heat #1:
1. (2) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield
2. (1) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn.
3. (3) 66 Dan Bohr, Decorah, Iowa
4. (6) 59 Hank Rollinger Jr., Buffalo City
5. (4) 49 Bob Timm, Winona, Minn.
6. (7) 77 Tom Brink, Winona, Minn.
7. (8) 86 Phil Wernert, Galesville
8. (5) 24S Justin Sass, Elgin

Heat #2:
1. (3) 24 Brad Waits, Rochester
2. (1) 44 Leroy Scharkey, Rochester
3. (4) 10 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
4. (5) 94JR John Doelle, Arcadia
5. (2) 6T7 Brian Albrecht, Winona, Minn.
6. (6) 11 Lance Hofer, Cochrane
7. (7) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls

Feature:
1. (1) 24 Brad Waits, Rochester, Minn.
2. (5) 69 Lucas Schott, Chatfield, Minn.
3. (7) 99 Josh Angst, Winona, Minn.
4. (3) 94JR John Doelle, Arcadia
5. (9) 66 Dan Bohr, Decorah, Iowa
6. (2) 59 Hank Rollinger Jr., Buffalo City
7. (10) 49 Bob Timm, Winona, Minn.
8. (11) 77 Tom Brink, Winona, Minn.
9. (14) 99L Steve Lavasseur, River Falls
10. (12) 11 Lance Hofer, Cochrane
11. (6) 6T7 Brian Albrecht, Winona, Minn.
12. (13) 86 Phil Wernert, Galesville
13. (8) 10 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
14. (4) 44 Leroy Scharkey, Rochester, Minn.
DNS - 24S Justin Sass, Elgin, Minn.

USRA B-MODS

Heat #1:
1. (2) 44K Ben Anderson, Wnona, Minn.
2. (6) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls
3. (3) 81 Cody Gardner, Elkton
4. (1) 34F Nick Frion, Ellsworth
5. (4) 56H Brandon Hare, Elma, Iowa
6. (5) 54 John Feirn, Chippewa Falls

Heat #2:
1. (2) 23K Erik Kanz, Winona, Minn.
2. (1) 8X Darran Jonsgaard, Fountain City
3. (3) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield
4. (5) 1 Jon Van Minsel, Spring Grove, Minn.
5. (4) 35X Phillip Dunbar, Rushford
6. (6) 51 Brian Hermanson, Egin

Heat #3:
1. (2) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford
2. (4) 10 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
3. (1) 90 Tyler Creeley, Winona, Minn.
4. (5) 12K Casey Knutson, Spring Grove, Minn.
5. (3) 95X Shaun Walski, Winona, Minn.
6. (6) 80 Bill Engler, Hixton

Heat #4:
1. (1) 9 Brady Keefe, Stewartville
2. (2) 4G Chris Gilbertson, Trempealeau
3. (4) 28 Parker Hale, Grand Meadow, Minn.
4. (3) 5W Mike Krueger, Sparta
5. (5) 13 Ryan Konkel, Winona, Minn.
6. (6) 48M Mike Jonsgaard, Rochester, Minn.

Feature:
1. (1) 10 Jake Timm, Winona, Minn.
2. (7) 07 Cory Crapser, Chippewa Falls
3. (3) 23K Erik Kanz, Winona, Minn.
4. (5) 9 Brady Keefe, Stewartville, Minn.
5. (10) 21 Jacob Bleess, Chatfield, Minn.
6. (19) 95X Shaun Walski, Winona, Minn.
7. (17) 56H Brandon Hare, Elma, Iowa
8. (8) 81 Cody Gardner, Elkton, Minn.
9. (14) 1 Jon Van Minsel, Spring Grove, Minn.
10. (13) 34F Nick Frion, Ellsworth
11. (2) 28 Parker Hale, Grand Meadow, Minn.
12. (20) 13 Ryan Konkel, Winona, Minn.
13. (16) 5W Mike Krueger, Sparta
14. (15) 12K Casey Knutson, Spring Grove, Minn.
15. (21) 54 John Feirn, Chippewa Falls
16. (23) 48M Mike Jonsgaard, Rochester, Minn.
17. (22) 80 Bill Engler, Hixton
18. (18) 35X Phillip Dunbar, Rushford, Minn.
19. (11) 44K Ben Anderson, Wnona, Minn.
20. (12) 8X Darran Jonsgaard, Fountain City
21. (4) 90 Tyler Creeley, Winona, Minn.
22. (9) 15W Alex Williamson, Rushford, Minn.
23. (6) 4G Chris Gilbertson, Trempealeau
DNS - 51 Brian Hermanson, Egin, Minn.