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Davey Heskin Hustles To UMSS Dan Grams Memorial Win
St. Croix Falls, WI
By: Greg Parent UMSS Media Director (7-26-13)
Another strong field of 25 Upper Midwest Sprintcar Series (UMSS) winged sprints were on hand at the St. Croix Valley Raceway on Friday July 26 for the first running of the UMSS Dan Grams Memorial. With weather conditions more like early spring or fall, the racing program was held in memory of Gaylord, Minnesota driver Dan Grams who tragically lost his life in an automobile accident in December of 2012. Grams had raced on several occasions with the UMSS dating back to the fall of 2011, and he was planning on running several times with the series in 2013.
When the final double checkers waved, Davey Heskin of St. Michael, Minnesota hustled his Donnahue Motorsports sprint car around the 1/4 mile dirt oval to record his first UMSS sprint car feature victory and become the first winner of the UMSS Dan Grams Memorial. It was Heskin's birthday, and he certainly gave himself a fine present with a feature race victory. The win was not without some anxious moments for Heskin though, as the pace was slowed under caution on several occasions for minor altercations or spins. With about five laps remaining in the 26 lap feature, Brooke Tatnell attempted to pass Heskin with a slide job going into turn one. Heskin waited patiently for Tatnell to clear, then immediately turned down under him to retake the lead exiting turn two. Heskin led all 26 laps en route to his inaugural series win and the $1,313 payday.
With several members of the Grams family in attendance, Lowell Grams brought his son Dan's #13 sprint car to the track and it was parked in Victory Lane prior to feature race action. A smiling Heskin presented the commemorative Dan Grams Memorial poster-style print from Track Rat Photos to Lowell following the post-race celebration with Dan's sprint car serving as the backdrop to Victory Lane. Heskin made sure to autograph the print afterwards, in what was a class move on his part to help honor the memory of Dan Grams.
Following the usual double round of qualifying races that the UMSS utilizes, Brooke Tatnell was high point driver. Tatnell redrew the #6 pill putting Heskin and Rick Kobs on the front row. With the race distance being twice the number of Dan Gram's #13 sprint car, 20 drivers were set to do battle for 26 racing laps. Heskin immediately got the lead from his pole starting spot, as he locked his sprint car into the cushion up top. A series of five yellows waved in the first half of the race. At the halfway mark, Heskin held the top spot over Kobs, two-time 2013 winner Scotty Thiel, Tatnell, and Jason Tostenson. By the time the final caution blinked on with 17 laps scored, Tatnell had moved to second for what would be the final nine lap green flag run to the finish. Tatnell, the leading winner in UMSS history, was just returning to action after sitting out about a month with a broken foot and was looking for his third UMSS win of the season.
Tatnell stayed close to Heskin and made the one failed attempt to gain the top spot. Shortly after that, the track took some rubber up top and Heskin was able to hold off Tatnell for the win. In the final nine laps, Tostenson drove a strong race to finish third ahead of Thiel and Tony Norem. After spinning on the opening lap, Norem restarted 19th and made a tremendous charge forward to the top five. Rounding out the top ten finishers were Kobs, current UMSS point leader Chris Graf, Tony Kaus, Ryan Wilson and two-time UMSS Champion Jerry Richert, Jr.
Ultimate Sprint Heat race wins went to Heskin, Kobs and Jared Goerges. Tatnell and Norem topped the two Challenge Races. Lee Grosz had a throttle stick open entering turn three in his heat race and ended upside down in turn four. Although the damage to the 4J car did not appear too serious, Grosz was done for the evening. Various mechanical gremlins kept Jordan Wilmes, Sye Anderson, Joseph Kouba and Brandon Allen from making the 20-car starting grid for the main event.
It was an emotional night for several UMSS competitors, as Jason Tostenson, Chris Graf, Brandon Allen, Jordan Wilmes, and Cam Schafer had raced with Dan Grams on numerous occasions primarily at Arlington and Redwood Falls. Tostenson and Grams were close personal friends, and Jason practically drove the wheels off his #36 sprint car in an effort to get to the front. In the end, Tostenson ranked highest amongst those drivers who had raced quite a bit with Grams. Tostenson also drove several parade laps in the Grams #13 sprinter during intermission. Several members of the Grams family were in Victory Lane during the break to have their photos taken following a brief tribute to Dan Grams on behalf of the UMSS.
With added purse money thanks to tremendous sponsorship help from Pacific Equipment and GRP Motorsports, drivers raced for increased money in positions 1-11 in the feature race while GRP paid 13th place finisher Cody Hahn an additional $130 bonus. In all, a total of $1,643 was added to the base purse. Heskin took home the beautiful Dan Grams Memorial trophy, as the event will certainly become an annual tradition on the UMSS schedule each season.
For only the seventh time in thirteen tries this season, the UMSS once again provided an entertaining and memorable evening of racing. With the 2013 season plagued by less than favorable weather, the series moved to the Cedar Lake Speedway on July 27 in an attempt to complete the double header weekend for both racing divisions. Fans can follow the UMSS on their website at
www.umsprints.com or become a friend of the UMSS Facebook page.
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UMSS Race Results - St. Croix Valley Raceway July 26, 2013 (Race #7)
1st Annual UMSS Dan Grams Memorial:
Alpha Apparel & Promotions Ultimate Sprint Race #1 (9 laps): 91 Davey Heskin, 10x Jennifer Eriksen, 36 Jason Tostenson, 63 Jerry Richert Jr, 23 Cody Hahn, 37 Sye Anderson, 55 Joseph Kouba, 95 Kevin Bradwell, 91A Reed Allex.
Meeks Video Ultimate Sprint Race #2 (8 laps): 34 Rick Kobs, 64 Scotty Thiel, 48 Neal Matuska, 7 Dave Becker, B1st Tony Norem, 5W Ryan Wilson, 34TW Gunner Cummings, 20 Jordan Wilmes DNF.
Driverwebsites.com Ultimate Sprint Race #3 (8 laps): 9 Jared Goerges, 20G Chris Graf, 25 Brooke Tatnell, 31 James Broty, 77 Brandon Allen, 3TK Tony Kaus, 5 Anna Kouba, 4J Lee Grosz DNF.
GRP Motorsports Challenge Race #1 (12 laps): Tatnell, Tostenson, Thiel, Wilson, Heskin, Hahn, A Kouba, J Kouba, Allex, Goerges DNF, Allen DNF, Becker DNF, Wilmes DNF.
Pacific Equipment Challenge Race #2 (12 laps): Norem, Graf, Kaus, Kobs, Matuska, Eriksen, Cummings, Bradwell, Broty, Anderson, Richert DNF.
Pacific Equipment & GRP Motorsports Dan Grams Memorial Feature (26 laps): Heskin, Tatnell, Tostenson, Thiel, Norem, Kobs, Graf, Kaus, Wilson, Richert, Becker, Cummings, Hahn, Bradwell DNF, Broty DNF, A Kouba DNF, Allex DNF, Goerges DNF, Matuska DNF, Eriksen DNF.
Lap Leader: Heskin 1-26.
Cautions: (6)
Victory Lane photo courtesy of Vince Peterson at Track Rat Photos.
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