Tony Norem Conquers The Big "O" For UMSS Victory at Fall Showdown
Ogilvie, MN
By: Greg Parent (10-2-10)
Tony Norem earned his third career Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series (UMSS) victory in the 2010 season finale at the Ogilvie Raceway on Saturday night October 2. It was Norem's second UMSS win of the season, as he made it two in a row following his Arlington Raceway win the previous Sunday. A fine field of 20 UMSS sprint cars signed into the Ogilvie Raceway on a clear but cool early autumn evening. The UMSS series was making its second appearance of the season at Ogilvie in their first full show however. The June 26 race was rained out following the heat races. Following his victory, Norem commented "this was a lot of fun. They built a good wall around here, as I think I tried to knock it down a couple of times up there on the cushion. It's a great way to finish out our season."
In addition to an impressive victory by Norem, Cody Hahn was crowned the 2010 UMSS Champion. In his young racing career, Hahn was the 2009 Rookie of the Year, raced to his first career feature win in 2010, and topped off an incredible year by earning his first series championship. Jared Goerges became the 2010 UMSS GRP Motorsports/BP Trading Company Rookie of the Year, besting Ronnie Erickson during the final night of racing. The GRP Motorsports Sweet Sixteen Bonus battle came right down to the wire with Brad Barickman and Jerry Richert Jr. contending for top honors. Barickman narrowly defeated Richert when the final checkers waved.
With eighteen of the twenty cars on hand able to start the feature race, pole sitter Jared Goerges jumped into the early lead in the 20 lap main event. Barickman quickly moved from fourth to second by the end of the second lap. As Barickman began to close in on Goerges, the first caution flew for a Ronnie Erickson spin in turn two seven laps into the race. Under the caution, 2010 UMSS Champion Cody Hahn pitted and ultimately dropped out of the race. It was Hahn's only DNF of the season. On the restart, Barickman blew past Goerges to take the top spot while Tony Norem worked his way to third. Norem ducked under Goerges on lap 10 and set his sights on Barickman. A second yellow blinked on with 11 laps scored when Erickson stalled in turn four with a magneto failure on his sprinter. This put Norem right behind Barickman.
When the green replaced the yellow, Norem got by Barickman for the lead on lap 12. Jerry Richert Jr. and Donovan Peterson swapped the third spot on a couple of occasions, as the race was slowed two more times on laps 15 and 17 for Kevin Nickel spins. On each restart, Norem was able to hold off Barickman. As the race drew near to conclusion, the GRP Sweet Sixteen Bonus battle was really tight between Barickman and Richert. Richert was able to get back around Peterson for third. As the white flag flew, Brandon Allen tagged the turn one wall and headed to the infield with front end damage. The yellow light blinked on setting up a two lap dash to the checkers. Troy Manteufel spun on the restart, so one more attempt would be necessary. This gave Richert the opportunity he needed in order to try and overtake Barickman. Barickman was able to hold off Richert over the final two lap sprint to the checkers, and in the process, Barickman narrowly defeated Richert by just three points in the GRP Sweet Sixteen Bonus standings.
Tony Norem earned his second consecutive UMSS victory of the 2010 season, as he raced to the win in the Big "O" Fall Showdown and earned the distinction of winning the first-ever sprint car race held at Ogilvie Raceway. Brad Barickman finished second ahead of Jerry Richert Jr. Donovan Peterson and 2010 Rookie of the Year Jared Goerges completed the top five. Rounding out the top ten finishers were Joseph Kouba, Mike Stien, Troy Manteufel, Jamey Ogston in his sprint car racing debut in Leigh Thomas' car, and Dwain Wilmes. In Ultimate Sprint Heat Race action earlier in the evening, Cody Hahn topped the Midwest Racing Talk.com first heat, Brad Barickman won the Driver Websites.com second heat, and Jerry Richert Jr. bested Tony Norem in the Sprint Source.com third heat. Richert took top honors in the Bryant Heating and Cooling Systems Challenge Race #1 while Norem defeated Barickman in the Mastell Brothers Trailer Service second Challenge Race. An accident in the second heat race put Jack Zweber out of action for the night with a bent frame on his sprinter while Tim Johnson was also done following heat race action with electrical issues on the 34W sprinter.
The Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series would like to thank all of the drivers, car owners, crew members, track promoters, series officials, sponsors, members of the media and the race fans for their great support of the series during the 2010 season. The UMSS concluded its second successful season with a bright outlook going forward into 2011 and beyond. A couple of meetings will take place this fall on October 23 for new drivers and a general membership meeting on October 30. Details of those meetings along with all of the race results and news can be found on the UMSS website at www.umsprints.com or on the UMSS Facebook page. Stan Meissner's Minnesota Dirt Track Racing website and message board contains plenty of UMSS info in addition to the entertaining and informative www.midwestracingtalk.com internet show featuring the "Inside the UMSS" segment. Details on the UMSS banquet will be released soon. Have a great off-season, and we look forward to seeing everyone in 2011.
UMSS Race Results - Ogilvie Raceway October 2, 2010 Big "O" Fall Showdown (Race #19):
Midwest Racing Talk.com Ultimate Sprint Heat #1 (6 laps): Cody Hahn, Donovan Peterson, Brandon Allen, Tim Johnson, Mike Stien, Jamey Ogston.
Driverwebsites.com Ultimate Sprint Heat #2 (6 laps): Brad Barickman, Jared Goerges, Ronnie Erickson, Kevin Nickel, Jack Zweber DNF, Sye Anderson DNF, Jalen Morris DNS.
Sprintsource.com Ultimate Sprint Heat #3 (7 laps): Jerry Richert Jr, Tony Norem, Troy Manteufel, Joseph Kouba, Dwain Wilmes, Bruce Allen, Justin Allen.
Bryant Heating & Cooling Systems Challenge Race #1 (10 laps): Richert, Brandon Allen, Manteufel, Goerges, Anderson, Hahn, J Allen, Wilmes, Ogston, Nickel DNF.
Mastell Brothers Trailer Service Challenge Race #2 (8 laps): Norem, Barickman, Kouba, Peterson, Erickson, Stien, Bruce Allen, Morris, Johnson DNS, Zweber DNS.
GRP Motorsports A Main (20 laps): Norem, Barickman, Richert, Peterson, Goerges, Kouba, Stien, Manteufel, Ogston, Wilmes, Brandon Allen DNF, Nickel DNF, Erickson DNF, Hahn DNF, Bruce Allen DNF, Justin Allen DNF, Anderson DNF, Morris DNF, Johnson DNS, Zweber DNS.
Lap Leaders: Goerges 1-7, Barickman 8-11, Norem 12-20.
(6) cautions.
2010 UMSS Champion: Cody Hahn #23
2010 UMSS GRP Motorsports/BP Trading Company Rookie of the Year: Jared Goerges #9
2010 GRP Motorsports Sweet Sixteen Bonus Winners: Brad Barickman #34, Jerry Richert Jr. #63, Cody Hahn #23
