REYNOLDSVILLE — The BRP Modified Tour made their very first appearance at Hummingbird Speedway on Saturday night. They joined our regular five divisions with a 35-lap, $2,000/win race.
It was also the Season Championship for the tour since it was their last race of the season. Also, it was the Season Championship for our Street Stock division as they raced for double points to crown the champion. Rex King Jr. led every lap of the BRP Modified Tour event on his way to picking up the win and clinching the 2020 tour championship. Brandon Connor took the checkered in the Cypress Clock & Gift Shop Street Stocks and clinched the track championship for car owner Ron Winslow.
Other feature winners on the night included: Gabe Shaffer (Swanson Heavy Duty Truck Repair Semi Late Models), Jeremy Ohl (BWP Bats Super Late Models), Bill Mumau (Sunny 106.5 FM Pure Stocks), and John Campisano (Lockwood Processing Four-Cylinders).
The Swanson Heavy Duty Truck Repair Semi Late Models were first to the track with Gabe Shaffer and Doug Surra leading the field to the green flag of their 20-lap main. Shaffer pulled out to the lead on the initial start over Surra and Nathan Smith. The first caution flag came out on the opening lap.
On the restart, it was Shaffer out to the point as Bernie Whiteford Jr. got past both Smith and Surra for second. On lap 2, Surra used the highside to his advantage to power by Whiteford Jr. to retake second. Whiteford Jr. got back past Surra on lap 3 to securely move into the second position.
A caution for a pileup later that lap set up the final restart of the race. While under caution, a mechanical issue on Surra’s car forced him to retire from the race which moved Nick Loffredo into third. On the restart, it was Shaffer out to the lead once again with Whiteford Jr. and Loffredo following. Shaffer maintained his lead over the field the rest of the way enroute to capturing his first checkered flag of the season followed by: 2) Bernie Whiteford Jr. 3) Nathan Smith 4) Nick Loffredo 5) Vern Ward. Shaffer, Surra, and Whiteford Jr. won the heat races.
Garrett Krummert and Rex King Jr. led a full-field of BRP Modifieds trackside for their 35-lap, $2,000/win feature. King Jr. jumped out to the lead on the start with Krummert in second and Chad Brachmann in third. The race stayed green for a couple of laps before a caution for a stopped car set up the first restart. Several laps were completed before another caution came out, setting ups restart. On the restart, King Jr. took the lead as the race entered its first extended green flag run.
On lap 16, Brachmann worked his way by Krummert to move into second. After a pair of cautions, the race saw another extended green flag run. On the restart, King Jr. pulled out to the advantage over Brachmann and Krummert as the race crossed its halfway mark.
The race stayed green all the way until lap 28 with the top 3 still King Jr., Brachmann, and Krummert. The caution flag came out once again with 7 laps remaining, setting up one final restart. On the restart, Rex King Sr. looked to the inside of Krummert and passed him to take third on lap 29.
Brachmann gave King Jr. all he had in the final 6 laps but to no avail as King Jr. held on to pick up the win and the 2020 BRP Modified Tour championship followed by: 2) Chad Brachmann 3) Rex King Sr. 4) Garrett Krummert 5) Jim Rasey. Murdick, Krummert, King Jr., and Rasey won the heat races. McGinley won the Last Chance Qualifier.
The Cypress Clock & Gift Shop Street Stocks were next for their 20-lap feature. Brandon Connor and Jamie Colwell led the field to the green flag. Connor jumped out to the lead over Colwell and Jim Bloom. One lap was completed before a caution for a spin set up the first restart. On the restart, Bloom looked to the inside of Colwell and completed the pass to take second. On lap 3, Bruce Hartzfeld used the low line to his advantage to get past Colwell and move into third.
On a restart after a lap-5 caution, Connor pulled out to the point as the race for third heated up between Colwell and Hartzfeld. On lap 7, Colwell was able to work his way by Hartzfeld to take third just before a caution for a spin in turns 1 and 2 set up a restart. On the restart, Bloom used the lowside to his advantage to pull even and eventually take the lead from Connor on lap 8.
On lap 9, Hartzfeld was able to retake third from Colwell. On the restart near the halfway point of the race, Connor gave Bloom all he could handle on the top and bottom of the track. Bloom and Connor battled hard for the lead over the next handful of laps with Bloom holding onto the lead as another caution flag came out for a spin on the frontstretch. The caution set up one final restart with five laps remaining.
On the restart, Bloom pulled out to a slight lead over Connor and Hartzfeld. That was short-lived as Connor got his car working on the highside and closed in on Bloom for the top spot with just a couple of laps left. Connor used the momentum on the highside to power past Bloom coming off of turns 3 and 4 coming to get the white flag to take the lead. Bloom gave Connor one last challenge on the final lap but it was not enough as Connor held on to take the checkered flag and clinch the points championship followed by: 2) Jim Bloom 3) Bruce Hartzfeld 4) Cregen Brady 5) Jamie Colwell. Connor and Colwell won the heat races.
Denny Fenton and Jeremy Ohl led the BWP Bats Super Late Models trackside for their 25-lap feature. Fenton pulled out to a slight lead on the start over Ohl and Levi Sikora. Fenton was quickly passed by Ohl on the highside to take the lead on the opening lap. On lap 2, Paul Kot worked his way around Sikora to move into third.
The race stayed green for the opening 4 or 5 laps before a caution for a spin in turn 4 set up the first restart. On the restart, both Kot and Mike Wonderling got by Fenton to move into second and third respectively. On lap 8, Kot used the momentum on the highside to power past Ohl for the lead. The race remained green all the way until lap 20 when a caution flag came out for a problem under the hood of Kot’s car. That forced Kot to retire from the race which moved Ohl, Wonderling, and Fenton into the top 3 positions.
On the final restart of the race, Ohl pulled out to the top spot as Fenton passed Wonderling for second. Fenton gave Ohl a valiant battle for the lead in the final five laps but it was not enough as Ohl held on to capture his second checkered flag in as many weeks followed by: 2) Denny Fenton 3) Mike Wonderling 4) Garrett Mott 5) Kenny Schaffer. Denny Fenton and Eck won the heat races.
The Sunny 106.5 FM Pure Stocks were next with Josh Fields and Dustin Challingsworth (driving Casey Wolfe’s car) leading the field to green for their 15-lap main. Fields got the lead on the start as Challingsworth dropped several positions allowing Bill Mumau and Dalton Gustafson to move into second and third.
On an early-race restart, Fields jumped out to the lead as Mumau and Gustafson swapped back and forth the second position. Fields maintained the lead over Mumau and Gustafson through a couple more caution flags as the race crossed the midway point. On lap 10, both Mumau and John Pearce worked their way around Fields to take the top two positions with five laps to go.
Later that lap, a caution for a spin in turn 4 brought about another restart. On the restart, Mumau pulled out to the lead over Pearce as Gustafson worked his way around Fields for third. The caution flag came out one final time on lap 12 for a spin in turn 2. Mumau pulled out to the point on the restart and never looked back in the remaining three laps on his way to picking up the win followed by: 2) John Pearce 3) Dalton Gustafson 4) Josh Fields 5) Dustin Challingsworth. Fields and Challingsworth won the heat races.
John Campisano and Wayne Truitt led the Lockwood Processing Four-Cylinders trackside for their 15-lap feature. Campisano took the lead on the start with Truitt second and Brooks Kaufman third. On lap 4, Keegen Bell worked his way around Kaufman for third.
On lap 7, Blake Joiner got past Bell for third. On lap 9, Joiner worked his way by Truitt to advance himself into second. Truitt took the spot back on lap 10. Then, on lap 11, both Joiner and Bell got by Truitt to move into second and third respectively. On lap 12, Truitt passed Bell to retake the third position. Campisano would hold on in the remaining three laps as he cruised to his first win of the season in a caution-free feature followed by: 2) Blake Joiner 3) Wayne Truitt 4) Keegen Bell 5) Brooks Kaufman. Campisano, Truitt, and Kaufman won the heat races.
Speedway Notes: 112 cars packed the pits for BRP Modified Tour Night. That breaks down to: 21 Semi Late Models, 29 BRP Modifieds, 14 Street Stocks, 14 Super Lates, 12 Pure Stocks, and 22 Four-Cylinders. Next Saturday will be our final race night of 2020 which will feature a 6-Division Program with Super Lates, Street/Pro Stocks, Semi Lates, Pure Stocks, and Four Cylinders on the card. We will also be hosting the Young Guns Jr Sprints for the final time this season. The night will be headlined by the inaugural running of the Spider Barnett Memorial for the Super Late Model division. The race will be 40-laps, $3,500+/win, and $250/start. Time trials will be run for the Super Lates to set up the heat races and a Dash for Cash will be run for extra money. Please take note that our start time for this event is moved up one hour so gates open at 3:00 with racing beginning at 6:00.
