Grain Valley, MO. (7/12/25) Wesley Smith would thrill in an instant classic night of the Wholesale Batteries Challenge Series at Valley Speedway action with the POWRi WAR/MWRA Sprints in the King of Kansas City to notch his league-leading sixteenth career feature victory in a hard-fought battle to the line.
Racing onto the quick surface of Valley Speedway, POWRi WAR/MWRA would find twenty-one talented traditional sprinters witnessing Luke Howard set the quickest hot-lap time of 13.181 seconds as Wyatt Burks, Chad Goff, and Wesley Smith each earned heat racing victories.
Kick-starting the initial green flag start with high-point qualifier Wyatt Burks and Wesley Smith lined up in the front row, Wyatt Burks would gain the lead on the opening four laps with Wesley Smith and Jack Wagner blasting into the podium spots.
Overtaking for the lead on lap five, Wesley Smith would take the point of the field by using high-side momentum as Wyatt Burks and Jack Wagner would battle for the runner-up position as lap traffic began to come into play.
Exciting the crowd with side-by-side racing for several laps, Wesley Smith and Jack Wagner would trade sliders and cross-overs on both sides of the track with neither driver giving up an inch for the top position.
Taking the feature win in a thrilling last laps that would see three lead changes, Wesley Smith would rise to the crowning occasion as the King of Kansas City to clinch his first seasonal victory with the POWRi WAR/MWRA at Valley Speedway as Jack Wagner would place second by only two-tenths of a second with Wyatt Burks completing the final podium placements.
“This is what non-wing sprint car racing is all about in Kansas City,” said victorious and excited Wesley Smith in the Grain Valley, Missouri, victory lane celebrations. Adding, “I don’t know if I want to get into a slider-fest with Jack again, but this time it worked out for us.”
Challenging closely behind would find Samuel Wagner finish fourth as Luke Howard rounded out the top-five finishers for the Wholesale Batteries Inc. POWRi WAR/MWRA Challenge Series at Valley Speedway in the King of Kansas City seasonal event.
Valley Speedway | POWRi WAR/MWRA | 7/12/25:
Start2Finish TV Quick Hot Lap Time: 2-Luke Howard(13.181)
Flying A Motorsports Heat Race 1 Winner: 11W-Wyatt Burks
Eibach Racing Heat Race 2 Winner: 9-Chad Goff
Auto Meter Heat Race 3 Winner: 44-Wesley Smith
Wholesale Batteries Inc. High Point Qualifier: 11W-Wyatt Burks
Smileys Racing Products Hard Charger: 26-Zachary Clark(+10)
Wholesale Batteries Inc. Feature Winner: 44-Wesley Smith
Event Information: https://www.myracepass.com/events/557721
Wholesale Batteries A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 44-Wesley Smith[2]; 2. 77-Jack Wagner[4]; 3. 11W-Wyatt Burks[1]; 4. 73-Samuel Wagner[9]; 5. 2-Luke Howard[10]; 6. 33-Bryson Smith[3]; 7. 9-Chad Goff[5]; 8. 15E-Dakota Earls[7]; 9. 26-Zachary Clark[19]; 10. 41-Brad Wyatt[6]; 11. ST1-Lane Stone[12]; 12. 11I-Danny Billings[11]; 13. 93-JR Parkinson[15]; 14. 6-Jake Kouba[17]; 15. 03-Tyler Burton[20]; 16. 57-Billy Butler[13]; 17. 27-Justin Johnson[14]; 18. 25-Mike McCleary[18]; 19. 18K-Kyle Gorham[16]; 20. B52-Blake Bowers[21]; 21. 11X-Tom Curran[8].
Flying A Motorsports Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 11W-Wyatt Burks[4]; 2. 41-Brad Wyatt[2]; 3. 15E-Dakota Earls[3]; 4. 11I-Danny Billings[6]; 5. 27-Justin Johnson[1]; 6. B52-Blake Bowers[7]; 7. (DNS) 03-Tyler Burton.
Eibach Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 9-Chad Goff[2]; 2. 33-Bryson Smith[4]; 3. 11X-Tom Curran[3]; 4. ST1-Lane Stone[5]; 5. 93-JR Parkinson[1]; 6. 18K-Kyle Gorham[7]; 7. 25-Mike McCleary[6].
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 44-Wesley Smith[3]; 2. 77-Jack Wagner[6]; 3. 73-Samuel Wagner[2]; 4. 2-Luke Howard[4]; 5. 57-Billy Butler[7]; 6. 6-Jake Kouba[5]; 7. 26-Zachary Clark[1].
Start2Finish Qualifying 1: 1. 11W-Wyatt Burks, 00:13.353[6]; 2. 15E-Dakota Earls, 00:13.698[2]; 3. 41-Brad Wyatt, 00:14.084[5]; 4. 27-Justin Johnson, 00:14.215[4]; 5. 03-Tyler Burton, 00:14.312[1]; 6. 11I-Danny Billings, 00:14.387[7]; 7. (DNS) B52-Blake Bowers, 00:20.000.
Start2Finish Qualifying 2: 1. 33-Bryson Smith, 00:13.535[3]; 2. 11X-Tom Curran, 00:13.798[4]; 3. 9-Chad Goff, 00:14.168[6]; 4. 93-JR Parkinson, 00:14.357[2]; 5. ST1-Lane Stone, 00:14.456[1]; 6. 25-Mike McCleary, 00:15.308[5]; 7. 18K-Kyle Gorham, 00:15.482[7].
Start2Finish Qualifying 3: 1. 2-Luke Howard, 00:13.181[4]; 2. 44-Wesley Smith, 00:13.339[5]; 3. 73-Samuel Wagner, 00:13.423[3]; 4. 26-Zachary Clark, 00:13.502[1]; 5. 6-Jake Kouba, 00:13.821[2]; 6. 77-Jack Wagner, 00:13.828[6]; 7. 57-Billy Butler, 00:13.985[7].
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Photo Credit: Ryan Black with D.T.O. Photography