Winston, MO (June 10, 2017) - Taking advantage of polesitter Slater Helt's misfortune, Wyatt Burks picked up his first POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprints win of 2017 Saturday night at I-35 Speedway in Winston, Missouri.
On the original start, Helt moved from the bottom and beat second-starting Korey Weyant down the backstretch to take over the lead. Just as Helt moved past the flagstand, the yellow flag came out for Quinton Benson, who got too high in turns three and four and came to a stop. Also having trouble was Hunter Lane, who came to a stop in the infield. As the field was going around the track under yellow, Helt, who was the FK Midwest High Point Man for the evening, came to a stop on the backstretch with a mechanical issue. He was towed to the pits ending his evening and his shot for a first career WAR win.
This was the break that Burks needed as the Topeka, Kansas driver was now on the front row. Burks beat Weyant into turn one and set a good pace as the leader. Behind him, fourth-starting Chris Parkinson moved past Weyant into second.
The race's final yellow would come out on lap four as Glen Saville spun to a stop in turn one. When racing resumed, Burks again moved out front as he was followed by Parkinson and Weyant.
Burks assumed a comfortable lead. Parkinson would attempt a couple of passes for the lead using a higher lane, but could not pull the move off as he moved back in line with the leader.
Burks went on to pick up his fourth career WAR win in the RCB Motorsports/Clem Signs/Jadon's Hope Foundation Maxim with Salina power. Parkinson picked up his best finish of 2017 in his Country Kid's Daycare/54th Street Bar and Grill/Design Source Flooring DRC with Kevin's Liberty Machine power. Weyant was third in his Ealey Transportation/Weeble's Bar and Grill/Tosti's Transmission Eagle with Automotive Machine power. Benson moved back from the tail to fourth in his GHR/Midwest Speed Shop/Sea to Sea Transportation XXX with Speed Shack Performance power. Rob Hockett rounded out the top five in his Jesse Hockett Racing/Lucas Oil/Rod End Supply Frankenstein with Roth power under the hood. Warren Johnson was sixth as he was followed by Steve Mahannah. Katlynn Leer, Brad Wyatt, and Vinny Ward completed the top ten.
The POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprints will next be in action Saturday, June 17 at the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri.
Following up will be a two-day weekend of racing referred to as "BORDER WARS" where the POWRi WAR and WAR East Sprints come together for the first time in history. First up is Belle Clair Speedway in Belleville, Illinois on Friday, June 30, then St. Francois County Raceway in Farmington, Missouri on Saturday, July 1.
Hinchman Racewear Heat 1 - 8 laps
- 22S-Slater Helt, Harrisonville, MO (3); 2. 42-Warren Johnson, Overland Park, KS (2); 3. 65-Chris Parkinson, Gladstone, MO (4); 4. 9L-Hunter Lane, Milo, IA (2); 5. 77H-Rob Hockett, Lone Jack, MO (7); 6. 41-Brad Wyatt, Kearney, MO (5); 7. 82-Vinny Ward, Warrenton, MO (6)
Wilwood Disc Brakes Heat 2 - 8 laps
- 99-Korey Weyant, Springfield, IL (1); 2. 11W-Wyatt Burks, Topeka, KS (2); 3. 15B-Quinton Benson, Emma, MO (3); 4. 93-Steve Mahannah, Springfield, MO (4); 5. 77K-Katlynn Leer, Moulton, IA (6); 6. 75-Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW (5)
POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprints A-Main - 25 laps
- 11W-Wyatt Burks (3); 2. 65-Chris Parkinson (5); 3. 99-Korey Weyant (2); 4. 15B-Quinton Benson (6); 5. 77H-Rob Hockett (7); 6. 42-Warren Johnson (4); 7. 93-Steve Mahannah (8); 8. 77K-Katlynn Leer (9); 9. 41-Brad Wyatt (11) 10. 82-Vinny Ward (13); 11. 75-Glen Saville (12)-DNF; 12. 9L-Hunter Lane (10)-DNF; 13. 22S-Slater Helt (1)-DNF
Photo Credit: Redlined Photography