Richert Makes It Three in a Row in UMSS Action at Kopellah Speedway
St. Croix Falls, WI
By: Greg Parent (6-05-09)
Forest Lake, Minnesota's Jerry Richert Jr made it three straight UMSS feature wins at the Kopellah Speedway when he passed early leader Jason Tostenson enroute to victory in the upstart series fourth appearance of the season on Friday night June 5. Richert and Tostenson entered the night's racing events tied for the series point lead, but it was Richert who now sits atop the standings all alone after his third win of the season in the five UMSS races held so far. Stated a happy Richert, "It feels great to get three straight. I hope I can keep the streak alive next week." Tostenson, who kept pace with Richert throughout the race, indicated "that guy is tough, he's good." Tostenson will be looking for his first series win when the UMSS sprint cars return to the Kopellah Speedway next Friday June 12.
Fellow Twin Ports natives, Kenny Melanson and Leigh Thomas, brought the field to the green. The race was quickly under its first caution when Chris Graf spun in turn four. Sye Anderson glanced off Graf but kept going with some top wing damage. The contact left Graf with a flat left rear tire, so they headed to the work area to change tires. Graf tagged the tail for the restart. Brad Barickman was anxious to get started on the second attempt and was called for jumping the start. Barickman was moved to the back.
The race finally got underway on the third try with Melanson holding off a charging Tostenson. Just one lap in, the red flag appeared when Barickman had a right rear tire go flat. As he darted down to the inside of the track, Kevin Nickel made contact with his slowing car and tipped over. Nickel's sprinter was rolled back over and pushed to the pits. Barickman went to the work area to change the flat tire. He returned at the tail of the field. On the ensuing restart, Cody Hahn spun in turn four to bring out yet another yellow. Tostenson put the pressure on Melanson again on the restart and raced to the lead with an inside pass entering turn three. The next lap saw the caution wave for the fifth time when Gene Kelly bounced around in turn three but never went over. Kelly's sprinter sustained some front end damage and was towed to the pits.
With just two laps in, the race was shortened to a distance of 15 laps due to time limit. Richert had already moved up to third from his sixth starting spot. Richert got by Melanson for second on lap 3 when the green replaced the yellow. With Richert running the cushion and Tostenson down low, Richert closed in. Tostenson held strong for another lap, but Richert had the momentum up top and moved to the point on lap 4. Tostenson soon changed his line and kept pace with the leader.
The final caution of the race slowed the pace with 12 laps in when rookie Cody Hahn looped his car for the second time in turn four on the dry track. Hahn was done for the night. This set the stage for a quick three lap dash to checkers. Tostenson blasted in low and slid across the track in turn one, but Richert had the top line and was able to race ahead. Richert went on to earn his third straight win in UMSS action at Kopellah this season while Tostenson settled for the runnerup spot in both the race and also in the current point standings. Melanson held off Leigh Thomas for third with Joseph Kouba a solid fifth. Brad Barickman, Sye Anderson and Chris Graf completed the cars that were still running at the end of the race. Cody Hahn, Gene Kelly, Kevin Nickel and Mike Luks failed to finish. John Nelson was unable to make full repairs to the front end of his sprinter and did not start the feature following an accident in the second Ultimate Challenge Race.
UMSS preliminary qualifying races saw Tostenson and Graf top the Ultimate Sprint Races while Richert and Barickman earned the wins in the Ultimate Challenge Races. The UMSS utilizes a double round of qualifying to set their feature race starting lineup. High point driver Richert pulled the six pill resulting in the first three rows being inverted. The track changed throughout the evening as it was dry for the sprint races, wet for the challenge races, and then turned dry again for the feature event.
A double-header is in store for the UMSS sprint cars next weekend with their fifth race of the season scheduled at the Kopellah Speedway on Friday June 12 followed by their first of four appearances at the North Central Speedway in Brainerd. The UMSS returns for their second race at the Cedar Lake Speedway on Thursday June 18 for night #1 of The Masters. The month of June rounds out at the Kopellah Speedway for a return trip on Friday June 26. With plenty of opportunities at three different tracks in the upcoming weeks, racers and fans will certainly have their chance to enjoy 360 sprint car racing at a UMSS event.
June 5, 2009 Kopellah Speedway UMSS Results;
Feature (15 laps): Jerry Richert Jr, Jason Tostenson, Kenny Melanson, Leigh Thomas, Joseph Kouba, Brad Barickman, Sye Anderson, Chris Graf, Cody Hahn, Gene Kelly, Kevin Nickel, Mike Luks. DNS: John Nelson
Lap Leaders: Melanson 1, Tostenson 2-3, Richert 4-15
Ultimate Sprint Race #1: Tostenson, Thomas, Richert, Barickman, Anderson, Nickel, Hahn.
Ultimate Sprint Race #2: Graf, Nelson, Kouba, Melanson, Kelly, Luks.
Ultimate Challenge Race #1: Richert Tostenson, Anderson, Graf, Kouba, Kelly. DNS: Hahn
Ultimate Challenge Race #2: Barickman, Melanson, Thomas, Luks, Nickel, Nelson.
