ELDON, MO. (June 8, 2019) – Leading from start-to-finish at Lake Ozark Speedway on Saturday night, Wyatt Burks of Topeka, Kansas seized the race lead at the drop of the green flag and never relinquished it. Driving the Clem’s Signs No. 11W, Burks picked up his eighth-career win with the POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprint League, placing him in sole possession of the second spot on the all-time WAR win list.
Off to a wild start, the 25-lap main event began with a caution for a stopped Korey Weyant, which would only snowball into further trouble. Stopping for a safety check, it was discovered that polesitter Riley Kreisel’s No. 90 was missing a fuel cap, resulting in a trip to the work area and a return at the tail of the field.
When the green flag officially dropped, Burks stormed into the early lead as Joe B. Miller maneuvered around the outside of Chris Parkinson for the runner-up spot. Running away into lap traffic by the halfway mark, Burks went unpressured until a caution for top five running Parkinson and Wesley Smith bunched the field back up.
Miller turned in a strong restart with 13 to go, but it was evident that Burks was not to be denied this night, as he railed around the high side of turns one and two before cutting to the bottom of turns three and four, extending his ever-growing advantage in the process. A lap 20 caution for Kreisel, who blew a right rear tire, gave Miller another shot at Burks, but the No. 11W proved too strong.
Wyatt Burks would run unchallenged, leading all 25 laps aboard the Clem’s Signs No. 11W en route to his eighth-career victory with the POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprint League and the first WAR win of his 2019 season.
Chasing Burks to the stripe in second-place was Joe B. Miller, who turned in an impressive recovery in the McGarry Motorsports No. 31B after a tough Friday showing. Lane Stone of Concordia, Missouri rounded out the podium with a career-best performance of third-place for his No. 73 machine.
Closing out the top ten was Kory Schudy in fourth, Brian Beebe in fifth, Todd McVay in sixth, TJ Artz in seventh, Jack Wagner in eighth, Mitchell Davis in ninth and Taylor Walton in tenth.
The POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprint League will be back in action next Sunday, June 16 with a special event (non-points) at Double-X Speedway in California, Missouri.
Hinchman Racewear Heat One (8 Laps):
- 57-TJ Artz, Lincoln, NE (1); 2. 90-Riley Kreisel, Warsaw, MO (3); 3. 56-Mitchell Davis, Auburn, IL (2); 4. 28-Kory Schudy, Springfield, MO (6); 5. 12-Wesley Smith, Nixa, MO (7); 6. 4-Braydon Cromwell, Lone Jack, MO (8); 7. 41-Brad Wyatt, Kearney, MO (4); 8. 54-Trey Gropp, Lincoln, NE (5).
Bell Racing HQ Heat Two (8 Laps):
- 73-Lane Stone, Concordia, MO (1); 2. 31B-Joe B. Miller, Millersville, MO (5); 3. 89-Todd McVay, Grain Valley, MO (4); 4. 49B-Ben Brown, Marshall, MO (6); 5. 73W-Jack Wagner, Lone Jack, MO (7); 6. 21X-Steve Stroud, St. Charles, MO (2); 7. 99-Korey Weyant, Springfield, IL (3); 8. 22S-Slater Helt, Harrisonville, MO (DNS).
Schure Built Suspensions Heat Three (8 Laps):
- 11W-Wyatt Burks, Topeka, KS (1); 2. 37-Brian Beebe, Oak Grove, MO (3); 3. 65-Chris Parkinson, Gladstone, MO (6); 4. 93-Taylor Walton, Warrensburg, MO (2); 5. 9-Chad Goff, Spring Hill, KS (4); 6. 2X-Zach Clark, Olathe, KS (5); 7. 77K-Katlynn Leer, Moulton, IA (8); 8. 2-Jason Billups, Holt, MO (7).
POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprint League Main Event (25 Laps):
- 11W-Wyatt Burks (2); 2. 31B-Joe B. Miller (6); 3. 73-Lane Stone (3); 4. 28-Kory Schudy (9); 5. 37-Brian Beebe (7); 6. 89-Todd McVay (8); 7. 57-TJ Artz (4); 8. 73W-Jack Wagner (13); 9. 56-Mitchell Davis (11); 10. 93-Taylor Walton (14); 11. 9-Chad Goff (16); 12. 4-Braydon Cromwell (15); 13. 2X-Zach Clark (17); 14. 41-Brad Wyatt (20); 15. 65-Chris Parkinson (5); 16. 99-Korey Weyant (21); 17. 21X-Steve Stroud (19); 18. 2-Jason Billups (22); 19. 12-Wesley Smith (12); 20. 90-Riley Kreisel (1); 21. 49B-Ben Brown (10); 22. 22S-Slater Helt (23); 23. 77K-Katlynn Leer (18); 24. 54-Trey Gropp (DNS).
Lap Leader(s): Burks 1-25.
Hard Charger(s): Wyatt +6.