Airport Raceway lends itself to two first-time POWRi West winners
Tulsa, OK (May 30, 2017) Memorial Day weekend saw the Lucas Oil POWRi West Midget League, presented by HE & M Saw, and the Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association meet up at Airport Raceway in Garden City, Kansas for the second annual Midget Round-Up. Tony Bruce, Jr. and his TBJ Promotions team gave the two series’ and their nearly 40 competitors each night a stellar race track, which provided two grooves of racing all weekend long. Battling Mother Nature on Saturday night, the groups were able to complete all heat races and all but one B-main before rains forced postponement until Sunday evening. Beautiful weather on Sunday led to a long day of racing, but teams were grateful for the opportunity to complete both night’s racing programs. In midget racing action, Matt Moore and Kory Schudy both picked up their first career POWRi West A-main wins for Saturday and Sunday’s programs respectively.
Thirty-nine POWRi West and RMMRA cars signed in for Saturday night’s racing action. It was an even match of POWRi versus RMMRA cars in heat race action, with Luke Icke winning heat race one, Kory Schudy winning heat two, Matt Moore picking up heat race three, Keith Rauch winning heat four, and racing veteran Casey Shuman winning heat race five. Michelle Decker’s eighth to third run in heat race two landed her the Integrity Customs High Passing Points Award. Before the rains came, Wesley Smith, Blake Edwards, and Brent Rees picked up the three transfer positions from B-main number one. The first race on Sunday evening was the second midget B-main, where Steven Shebester, Zane Hendricks, and Troy Simpson moved onto the 25-lap A-main event. Decker rolled a four on the POWRi invert dice, giving Grady Chandler the pole starting position. From the time the green flag waved, tough racing ensued between the top five competitors, with Matt Moore moving from his fifth-place starting position up to the lead and never looking back. It was Moore’s first career midget A-main win and he was joined in Victory Lane with his dad and sister to celebrate.
Forty midgets filled the Airport Raceway pit area for Sunday’s program, which got off to a rocky start after a water main broke at the racetrack. The TBJ Promotions team did a great job dealing with the issues and racing started as quickly as possible. Heat race winners were Wesley Smith, Steven Shebester, Keith Rauch, Blake Edwards, and Brent Rees. Edwards picked up the Integrity Customs High Passing Points Award and once again he rolled a four on the invert dice. B-main transfer positions went to Robert Dalby, Hunter Fischer, and Dustin Weland in B-main number one; and to Zane Hendricks, Zac Taylor, and Noah Harris in B-main number two. RMMRA competitor Brent Rees used his pole starting position to jump out to the early lead, but he was quickly chased down by POWRi West racer, Kory Schudy. Schudy would have plenty of restarts slowing the field, but he managed to stay out front and pick up his first POWRi West A-main win. Following Schudy to the line was Casey Shuman, Grady Chandler, Cannon McIntosh, and Patrick Bourke rounded out the top five.
It was a great weekend of racing for the POWRi West versus RMMRA Midget Round-Up. Great car counts and great track preparation led to a lot of exciting racing. Up next for the Lucas Oil POWRi West Midget League presented by HE & M Saw will be a return to its roots as the series returns to I-44 Riverside Speedway on Saturday, June 10th. Be sure to check out www.powri.com for more information on the POWRi West Midget League. POWRi West would like to thank all of its sponsors for their continued support in 2017.
POWRi West Contingency Winners - Airport Raceway, Garden City, KS
Saturday
Smith Titanium Heat Race 1 - Luke Icke
Saldana Race Products Heat Race 2 - Kory Schudy
Keizer Wheels Heat Race 3 - Matt Moore
Rod End Supply Heat Race 4 - Keith Rauch
Pyrotect Fuel Cells Heat Race 5 - Casey Shuman
Integrity Customs High Points Award - Michelle Decker
The Engine Heater Hard Charger - Wesley Smith
Highest Finishing BOSS Chassis - Matt Moore
Micron Tom Award - Matt Moore
HE&M Saw A-main winner - Matt Moore
Sunday
Smith Titanium Heat Race 1 - Wesley Smith
Saldana Race Products Heat Race 2 - Steven Shebester
Keizer Wheels Heat Race 3 - Keith Rauch
Rod End Supply Heat Race 4 - Blake Edwards
Pyrotect Fuel Cells Heat Race 5 - Brent Rees
Integrity Customs High Points Award - Blake Edwards
The Engine Heater Hard Charger - Grady Chandler
Highest Finishing BOSS Chassis - Kory Schudy
HE&M Saw A-main winner - Kory Schudy