Barickman Halts Richert's Kopellah UMSS Winning Streak
St. Croix Falls, WI
By: Greg Parent (7-3-09)
Brad Barickman has been chasing Jerry Richert Jr for much of the season during UMSS action at the Kopellah Speedway, but on Friday night July 3 Barickman was able put a halt to Richert's four race winning streak at the western Wisconsin oval. In front of the largest crowd of the season on a pleasant summer night, the UMSS sprint cars put a show for the fans on a well-prepared track. Sye Anderson led the first twelve laps of the feature race with Barickman a close second. Barickman made the winning move on lap thirteen and rode to his first UMSS victory of the season over Richert who was quickly closing in on the leader. Stated a happy Barickman afterwards, "It was great to finally beat Richert. He's been extremely tough here this season, so it was extra satisfying to beat him here at Kopellah and end his winning streak." Barickman became the fifth different winner this season in UMSS sprint car action during the eighth event of their inaugural season.
Sye Anderson and Joseph Kouba brought the UMSS sprint car field to the green flag for their 15 lap feature event. The race was under caution almost immediately, as rookie Cody Hahn and Leigh Thomas made contact in turn one resulting in a complete restart. Both cars were able to continue. On the second attempt to start the race, Sye Anderson bolted into the lead with Barickman in second ahead of Joseph Kouba and Richert. With two laps in, the pace was slowed once again when Lyn Franklin slowed on the backstretch. Anderson continued to show the way up front for another lap when the third and final caution blinked on for a spin by Kevin Nickel in turn one. This set the stage for twelve nonstop laps of intense racing for the top spot. Anderson held a narrow lead over Barickman, as Richert got by Kouba for third on lap four. Barickman followed Anderson for several laps, looking for the right opportunity to overtake the leader. Just past the halfway mark, the leaders began to encounter some lapped traffic with the laps quickly clicking off under green. Lap 13 proved to be fortunate for Barickman, as he ducked underneath Anderson for the lead. With the white flag flying, Richert also got past Anderson the next lap. As Barickman ran up on a couple of cars near the tail end of the lead lap, Richert began to close in a bit but did not have enough laps remaining to mount a serious bid for the lead. Brad Barickman had successfully broke Jerry Richert's four race Kopellah Speedway winning streak. Anderson held off Kouba for third with Greg Gunderson completing the top five. Rounding out the top ten finishers were Cody Hahn, Jimmy Kouba, Leigh Thomas, Lyn Franklin and Kevin Nickel.
In preliminary qualifying race action, Thomas and Anderson won the Ultimate Sprint Heats while Barickman and Richert bested the Challenge Races. The UMSS sprint cars now head to North Central Speedway near Brainerd, Minnesota for the popular Earl & Ethel Kouba Memorial race on Saturday night July 4th, as the second part of the double-header holiday weekend continues. Extra prize money is in store for the 360 sprint car teams for the Kouba Memorial event. The UMSS returns for their seventh appearance of the season at the Kopellah Speedway on Friday night July 17.
July 3, 2009 Kopellah Speedway UMSS Results:
Feature (15 laps): Brad Barickman, Jerry Richert Jr, Sye Anderson, Joseph Kouba, Greg Gunderson, Cody Hahn, Jimmy Kouba, Leigh Thomas, Lyn Franklin, Kevin Nickel, DNF: Mike Luks.
Lap Leaders: Anderson 1-12, Barickman 13-15
Ultimate Sprint Race #1 (6 laps): Thomas, Richert, Barickman, Luks, Gunderson, Nickel.
Ultimate Sprint Race #2 (5 laps): Anderson, Joseph Kouba, Franklin, Hahn, Jimmy Kouba.
Challenge Race #1 (6 laps): Barickman, Franklin, Anderson, Thomas, Gunderson, Jimmy Kouba.
Challenge Race #2 (5 laps): Richert, Joseph Kouba, Hahn, Nickel, Luks.
