Posted: Jul 31, 2017

K&L Ready Mix Clash/Run for the Rabbit XVII

The beautiful weather continued for another perfect night of racing at Limaland Motorsports Park. A couple stray showers were not enough to delay the racing action for the NRA Sprints, K&N UMP Modifieds, and Bud Thunderstocks. The night began with the Thunderstock Dash for Cash. Three out of the four UNOH stocks participated in the five-lap event. Justin Hamilton started the #11 on the pole, Scott Fritz started the #00 in 2nd, and Jacob McConnell started the #1 in 4th. Hamilton held the lead through Turn 2, as the #11 got tight out of Turn 1, allowing the #00 and the #17J to slide to the bottom of the racetrack. Hamilton was able to regain control of the #11 and shot ahead of the rest of the field. In their tight battle, the #00 and the #17 got loose coming out of Turn 4, allowing McConnell in the #1 to pass on the inside. Meanwhile, the #11 found a comfortable racing line to run in the middle of the racetrack and opened up a substantial gap over the other three cars. On Lap 4, the #00 fell back to 4th after the #17J passed him on the inside. The checkered flag waved and the #11 crossed the finish line first, winning the $100 prize. The #1 finished 2nd and the #00 finished 4th.

Following the NRA Sprint heat races, the UMP Modifieds rolled onto the track. Both UNOH Modifieds started in Heat 2. Blake Spalding started the #1 in 3rd and Will Norris started the #71 in 4th. Spalding immediately moved up a position at the start of the race, passing the #81 on the inside through Turn 1. The #71 took the high line and battled the #T5X for position throughout the Heat race. On the final lap, the #71 scraped the front stretch wall in the tight battle with the #T5X, setting Norris back to 4th place. Racing out of Turn 2, Spalding challenged the #33 on the inside for 1st, but could not make the pass before the race ended. The #1 finished 2nd and the #71 finished 4th. All cars in the heat races transferred to the A-Main.

The first Bud Thunderstock Heat consisted of three UNOH racers. The #11 started 2nd, the #00 started 3rd, and the #1 started 4th. Intense racing began right away at the drop of the green flag. The #1, #00, and #26 went three-wide into Turn 1 for position as the #11 scraped the Turn 1 wall. After recovering, Hamilton tried to race underneath the #1 on the backstretch, but could not make it. On Lap 3, the #11 was able to pass the #1 for 4th in Turn 2. McConnell was not willing to give up easily, so he fought back as he exited Turn 2. However, he got loose and fell back to 5th. On the last lap, the #11 fell back to 4th as Hamilton was passed by the #82. The #11 finished 4th, the #1 finished 5th, and the #00 finished 6th.

In Heat 3, Brenden Rassel started the #2 in the 5th position. Rassel started the race on the inside of the track. In Turn 1, the #17J passed the #2 on the outside for 5th place. Rassel tried to fight back on the inside, but could not make the pass at first. Rassel was finally able to pass in Turn 2 as the #17J shot to the top of the racetrack and lost momentum. This brought the #2 up to 5th place. The #17J tried to come back on the inside of the #2, but the #2 was in the middle of a three-wide battle with the #88 and the #89. Soon after, the #17J slid past all three cars, putting Rassel in 6th. On the last lap, Rassel was able to edge out the #88 for 5th place in the Heat. All stock cars transferred to the A-Main.

In the Modified feature, the #1 started 5th and the #71 started 11th. As the green flag waved, both UNOH racers took the low line on the track. A scuffle towards the middle of the field pushed the #71 back to 19th and the #1 back to 10th. The #1 battled the #9 and the #16 in the middle of the track, eventually passing both cars for 8th. Gaining momentum, Spalding moved ahead to compete with the #9E and the #117. Meanwhile, the #71 moved ahead to 18th in the middle of the racetrack. The #1 raced to the 7th position past the #9E and fell in line with the rest of the field. The #71 battled the #17 on the inside, but could not make the pass. As the race continued, the leading car lapped the #71 on the inside. Spalding finished 7th and Norris finished 20th.

In the Thunderstock feature, the #11 started 10th, the #1 started 13th, the #2 started 15th, and the #00 started 16th. The green flag waved and the #11 moved to the outside of the racetrack, giving up the 10th position. The rest of the UNOH racers held their positions until Lap 3, when the #1, #88, and #89 spun in Turn 1, bringing out the first caution. The #11 restarted 11th, the #2 restarted 12th, the #00 restarted 15th, and the #1 restarted 18th. As the race restarted, the #00P passed the #00 on the inside of the racetrack. On Lap 4, the #7C, the #17J, and the #11 spun in Turn 2. For the second caution, the #2 restarted 9th, the #00 restarted 13th, the #1 restarted 15th, and the #11 restarted 17th. The #1 took the high line and passed the #7C and the #88. Meanwhile, the #89 challenged the #00 on the inside for position, but could not make the pass. As the #1 experimented with racing on the inside, the #88 spun in Turn 4 on Lap 12, bringing out the third caution. The #2 restarted 8th, the #00 restarted 12th, the #1 restarted 15th, and the #11 restarted 16th. With four laps to go, the field restarted and raced to the checkered flag, as a Turn 2 crash ensued on the final lap. The #2 was involved in the crash, resulting in a 14th place finish. The #1 finished 9th, the #00 finished 10th, and the #11 finished 11th.

The UNOH Racers are looking forward to next week's 20th Annual Limaland Season Point Championships - presented by Alexander & Bebout, Inc. Come on out and enjoy a fun night of racing, including Mini Sprints, the K&N UMP Modifieds, and the Bud Thunderstocks. UNOH students get free grandstand admission with their student IDs!