JACKSONVILLE, ILL. (September 1, 2019) – Perfection was the word of the night on Sunday for Auburn, Ill. native Mitchell Davis, who topped every facet of the evening en route to a convincing win at Jacksonville Speedway for his first-career POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprint League victory.
Earning LRB, Inc. #HighPointMan honors with a fourth-to-first heat race, Davis kept the momentum rolling and pulled a zero for the feature inversion, leaving his No. 56 on pole position of the 25-lapper.
Joined alongside Riley Kreisel of Warsaw, Mo. on the front row, Davis shot out of a cannon when the green flag dropped and quickly jolted into command of the race lead. The action was soon halted when Wesley Smith was sent to the pit area for safety reasons with smoke pouring out of his No. 12 machine, creating a safety hazard for competitors.
Davis rocketed back to life on the restart and pulled away while the attention turned to the battle brewing for second as Riley Kreisel had his hands full with Mario Clouser and Kory Schudy. Hitting the halfway mark, Schudy snuck by Clouser with a side-by-side pass down the frontstretch and started to work on Kreisel for the runner-up spot.
A caution for a stopped Slater Helt on lap 23 brought fans to the edge of their seat, with not only a green-white-checkered finale on tap, but championship implications in play. Going back to green, Davis remained in control with Schudy in second after passing Kreisel, who knew he had to finish at least third or better to maintain the points lead.
Taking the green flag, Schudy kept Davis honest in the fight for the lead while Kreisel focused on locking down a podium position ahead of Clouser. Schudy went low, shot high and gave it his all for eight corners, but was unable to mount a challenge on the No. 56 before the checkered flag dropped.
Crossing the stripe and completing a perfect night, Mitchell Davis parked his No. 56 in victory lane and climbed atop the cage victoriously in front of an enthused Jacksonville crowd. Going from start-to-finish, Davis’ impressive win marks his first-career victory with the POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprint League.
Finishing in second after capping a late charge, Kory Schudy of Springfield, Mo. brought his No. 28 home with close runner-up honors. Rounding out the podium in third-place, Riley Kreisel did exactly what he needed to do and maintained his points lead, meaning he just has to show up at the Hockett/McMillin Memorial and he’ll secure back-to-back POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprint League championships.
Mario Clouser finished in fourth-place aboard his No. 6 machine, while Anthony Nicholson of Bartlett, Tenn. rounded out the top five. Closing out the top ten on Sunday was Jack Wagner in the sixth position, Colten Cottle with a hard-charging effort from 15th-to-seventh, Austin Archdale in eighth spot, Joe B. Miller in ninth-place, and Pete Palazzolo in tenth.
Sunday’s trio of heat races was split by Riley Kreisel (Hinchman Racewear Heat 1), Wesley Smith (Bell Racing Heat 2), and Mitchell Davis (Schure Built Suspensions Heat 3).
Up next for the POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprint League is the ninth annual Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial at Lucas Oil Speedway on September 19-21. A three-day extravaganza alongside the Lucas Oil ASCS Sprint Cars, fans will witness the best of both worlds collide in an always-exciting weekend.
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Hinchman Racewear Heat One (8 Laps):
- 90-Riley Kreisel, Warsaw, MO (2); 2. 77-Jack Wagner, Lone Jack, MO (1); 3. 29-Mitch Wissmiller, Saybrook, IL (4); 4. 52F-Logan Faucon, Elkhart, IL (3); 5. 5C-Colten Cottle, Kansas, IL (5); 6. 73-Samuel Wagner, Lone Jack, MO (8); 7. 20-Steve Thomas, Rantoul, IL (7); 8. 01-Travis Pence, Stronghurst, IL (6).
Bell Racing HQ Heat Two (8 Laps):
- 12-Wesley Smith, Nixa, MO (2); 2. 22S-Slater Helt, Harrisonville, MO (1); 3. 6-Mario Clouser, Auburn, IL (6); 4. 31M-Joe B. Miller, Millersville, MO (5); 5. 70-Pete Palazzolo, St. Louis, MO (3); 6. 6B-Andy Baugh, Mason City, IL (4); DNS, 4-Braydon Cromwell, Lone Jack, MO.
Schure Built Suspension Heat Three (8 Laps):
- 56-Mitchell Davis, Auburn, IL (4); 2. 28-Kory Schudy, Springfield, MO (3); 3. 16-Anthony Nicholson, Bartlett, TN (5); 4. 2A-Austin Archdale, Brimfield, IL (2); 5. 8D-Robbie Standridge, Springfield, IL (6); 6. N2-Nic Harris, Atlanta, IL (7); 7. 90X-Patrick Budde, Bartelso, IL (1).
POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprint League Main Event (25 Laps):
- 56-Mitchell Davis (1); 2. 28-Kory Schudy (5); 3. 90-Riley Kreisel (2); 4. 6-Mario Clouser (4); 5. 16-Anthony Nicholson (6); 6. 77-Jack Wagner (7); 7. 5C-Colten Cottle (15); 8. 2A-Austin Archdale (13); 9. 31M-Joe B. Miller (10); 10. 70-Pete Palazzolo (17); 11. 8D-Robbie Standridge (12); 12. 73-Samuel Wagner (14); 13. 20-Steve Thomas (19); 14. N2-Nic Harris (16); 15. 90X-Patrick Budde (20); 16. 22S-Slater Helt (8); 17. 29-Mitch Wissmiller (9); 18. 52F-Logan Faucon (11); 19. 6B-Andy Baugh (18); 20. 01-Travis Pence (21); 21. 12-Wesley Smith (3); DNS, 4-Braydon Cromwell.
Lap Leader(s): Davis 1-25.
Hard Charger(s): Cottle +8.
Photo Credit - Brendon Bauman Photos