2006 News
WOMS /presented by Corrigan Oil
NICK MITCHELL A REPEAT CHAMPION
After a season of firsts for the Wolverine Outlaw Winged Midget Series and
a heated battle with veteran Chris Hettinger, it was Nick Mitchell
repeating as 2006 champion. The season found the series taking its wings
off for part of its own season as well as competing in tri-sanctioned
events run in combination with USAC and UMARA. The season found 10
races, beginning with the season opening tri-sanctioned show at
Mansfield. It was there that Nick ran his first laps without a wing,
finding immediate success with a heat race victory in his first attempt.
He would go on to finish 8th in the feature and follow that up with a 7th
at the next USAC regional race at Columbus. Over the course of the season
Mitchell would go on to score a feature win at the WOWMS show at Spartan
Speedway and never finish any worse that third in the stand-alone events.
His biggest race of the year was, interestingly enough, the race at Grundy
County Speedway in the August tri-sanctioned event. There, Nick would
qualify 9th and battle with the leaders all evening, finally bringing home
a third place finish. All this was accomplished in a 2001 Combo Car Hawk
battling amongst a bevvy of Beasts, Spikes, and Drinans that were
considerably newer and more powerful. This was the second straight year
that Mitchell has led the series points from flag-to-flag, while only
suffering two DNF's in those two years. He credits much of this
durability to the new powerplant purchased at the beginning of 2005, and
the watchful wrench of chief mechanic James Morehart. The Jason Sanderson
owned car is crewed by Dominic Intagliata, Eric Holley, Phil McCloskey,
and Iraqi war veteran Dustin "the boy" Simmons.
BERLIN RESULTS
WOWMS Drivers Stand Tall at Grundy
With 25 cars signed in to the pits at Grundy for the Tri-Sanctioned
show with UMARA and USAC, four were representing the Wolverine Outlaw
Winged Midget Series. When the checkered flag fell, TWO were in the
top 5, and one slotted right outside the top ten in eleventh. The day
started out with a new track record turned in by USAC competitor,
Brian Olson with a 14.374. Chris Hettinger and Derek Snyder battled
gremlins all evening and were unable to qualify. Nick Mitchell
qualified 9th and Doug Dietsch slotted in 19th. Dietsch was the first
heat racer, transferring into the feature by finishing 5th. In the
second heat, Hettinger finished 7th, and was destined for the consi
until it was cancelled. Mitchell and Snyder found themselves in the
third heat that took three attempts to start and found Derek
barrel-rolling out of turn four, ending his evening. Mitchell
finished 5th. The start of the feature saw Mitchell in 8th, Dietsch
in 18th, and Hettinger starting 25th. The drop of the green found 25
midgets scrambling, with positions being traded continually over the
entire field. All of the WOWMS cars made steady progress and ran
solid, consistent laps, led by a furious charge of Hettinger who
fought his way to an eventual 5th place finish. After replacing the
electronics on three separate occasions, and persevering with the help
of his fellow WOWMS competitors, Hettinger's perseverance didn't go
unnoticed on the evening, with the hard-charger award surely being
offered to his passing of 20 cars in the feature. Dietsch found the
track getting slick over the course of the feature and ended up in
11th, with another solid run for the rookie of the year championship
at Grundy on the line. Mitchell battled with the leaders all evening
and worked his way to a 3rd place finish further solidifying his
points lead in the 2006 championship. The WOWMS season wraps up at
Berlin Speedway in Grand Rapids, Michigan on September 30th in a
tri-sanctioned event. Look for a complete rundown of the event
posting soon on wingedmidgets.com
Spartan Speedway 8/04/06 quick results.
#5 Nick Mitchell takes the 30 lap win on the Fast 1/4 mile
Hettinger #71 wins heat Race One.
Car #2 Gary Harrell wins
Heat two.
MITCHELL BREAKS THROUGH AT SPARTAN
2005 Wowms Champion Nick Mitchell finally found his way into victory
lane this year at Spartan Speedway on Friday night. After setting
quick time, Mitchell found himself starting 6th in the feature on the
invert. At the drop of the green the action was furious at the tight
1/4 mile speedway and Mitchell slotted into his 6th starting spot.
From there, he picked off his competitors one-by-one, passing the
second place running Gary Harrell on lap 18. A fortunate caution flew
after the cars of Irwin and McCloskey came together in turn four,
bunching the field up for a 12 lap dash to the finish. Both cars were
able to continue. Chris Randolph, the second-quick qualifier brought
the field down for the restart and experienced an electrical glitch
two laps later, with Mitchell grabbing the lead. Randolph was able to
get the car back underway without losing any further spots, and
finished in the second position, with Chris Hettinger, Gary Harrell,
and Doug Deitsch rounding out the top five. "I didn't have anything
for Nick after he got by me", Randolph stated after the race that was
run in front of a standing room only crowd. Heat races were won by
Harrell and Hettinger.
Kalamazoo Speedway 8/05/06 Quick
Results
Chris Randolph #35 wins the feature event
along with heat race Two.
Kent McCloskey (12) takes the
win with heat race One.
Chris Randolph wins at Kalamazoo even after electrical failure on
Friday night.
Fresh off a second place finish at Spartan Speedway, quick qualifier
Chris Randolph passed leader Gary Harrell on lap 8 and was never headed
for his first feature win of 2006 at Kalamazoo Speedway. "I changed a
switch on the car after last night which seemed to work", said Randolph,
whose 13.333 time equaled a little over 101 miles per hour on the smooth
oval. A lap 12 caution saw the second place points runner Chris
Hettinger loop his mount in turn two, with Dave Troyer equalling the
feat on lap 17. Points leader and defending series champion Nick
Mitchell brought the field down for green and settled for a 3rd place
finish behind Harrell, with McCloskey and Hettinger rounding out the top
five. Heat wins went to Kent McCloskey and Randolph. A newcomer to the
series was Mike Higdon, and a strong run came from Phil Shroad -
finishing 7th. Awards went to McCloskey - Dave Steingass Hard Charger,
and Doug Deitsch - Rookie of the race. The next race for WOWMS will be
the tri-sanctioned show at Grundy County Speedway on August 19th.
" WOWMS NON-WINGED Invitational "|
There has been much discussion concerning midget racing with or without
the wings.
Spartan Speedway Results 6/25/06.
Chris Hettinger in the #71 machine is taking racinforalivin
serious with his crew and the fast 1/4 mile of Spartan Speedway to
thank. Hettinger drove to\ victory on lap 23 after chasing Isaiah Bross #4 for the previous 23 laps. Isaiah was out of reach at the
first drop of the green as the car took off in the direction of
finish. It was not until the caution of lap 20 did Isaiah have the
chance to slow down or Hettinger may have not caught him. Hettinger
passed Bross on lap 23 taking home another victory. Hettinger a
racinforalivin.com candidate was taken by surprise at his fortune.
"Spartan is my home track and it is a great place to win" states the
popular WOWMS driver. Haley Barnett #3 started on the pole position
of this race. " I just did not have the motor I had hope for" states
Haley. She finished 8th. Isaiah
Bross somewhat content with second
said"it will happen next time". Isaiah has always been a strong
contender in the WOWMS racing series. Derek Snyder drove to 4th
with the borrowed car of Phil Shroad. He started 8th in the feature
so he will be this weeks winner of the Dave Steingass HardCharger
Award. Derek also took victory in Heat race #1. Nick Mitchell in the
#5 and fast qualifier Gary Harrell also were on hand to capture the
Spartan spirit along with rookie candidate Dietsch and veteran
#12 McCloskey. Drivers not able to finish were Seth Mihal, Adam Valz and
unfortunately Chris O'Connell in the 19. O'Connell back to racing with
WOWMS, had fast time at Spartan in '03 so we are hoping for more great
racing action from the #19. Car #35 Chris Randolph tried very hard to
make the race. He qualified 2nd, yet on his 2nd qualifying lap broke
on the back stretch with possible battery trouble. He did not start.
Dave Troyer in the #23 got the new motor to start and finished all but
2 laps. Fairly new to the WOWMS group is Dave Fuhrman #32 who
rented one of his cars to the Detroit Free Press racing writer Mike
Brudenell. Mike Brudenell was invited to race along side WOWMS best
of the best by Bobby Jackson WOWMS midget racer. WOWMS will
be featured in the Free Press by Brudenell. The crowd and announcer
Ed Enios had fun with the writer and
photographer from the Free
Press. Almost everyone was interviewed and photographed. Watch the
Free Press for Free Press for WOWMS. Brudenell finished all 30 laps
on the low side, tried to stay out of the way and did not mess up poor
Paul's grass. He finished 10th. Mike Stated "I have a little
carting experience. This is the way to get a story. Live it". WOWMS
would like to thank the Mike Brudenell, Bobby Jackson, and the Free
Press staff for this wonderful opportunity. To vote for Chris
Hettinger WOWMS racinforalivin candidate go to www.racinforalivin.com.
WOWMS next Co-Sanctioned race will be at Grundy County Speedway on
Saturday July 8th,2006. WOWMS racing will also continue on Friday
July 14th at Dixie Motor Speedway. For the current WOWMS
updates continue to click on www.wingedmidgets.comQualifying
1. Harrell (2) 12.154; 2. Randolph (35) 12.236; 3. Mitchell (5) 12.304; 4. Hettinger (71) 12.332; 5. Bross (4) 12.500; 6. Dietsch (0) 12.567; 7. Barnett (3) 12.672; 8. McCloskey (12) 12.706; 9. Snyder (48) 12.738; 10. Troyer (23) 12.941; 11. O'Connell (19) 12.945; 12. Valz (21) 13.096; 13. Fuhrman (32) 13.506; 14. Brudenell (21FP) 14.679. 15. Mihal (30) DNQ
WOWMS/UMARA/USAC
GRUNDY RESULTS. Tri-Sanctioned Event.
Morris, IL (6/3/06) Jim Anderson made his first win in a National Midget
feature race a memorable one, driving the Guess Racing #99 for the first
time at the Tribute to Mel Kenyon tri-sanctioned event at Grundy County
Speedway. A stellar field of 28 pavement midgets were on hand to honor,
and race with, Mel Kenyon.
Bobby Santos set fast time and looked like his recent hot streak would
continue, but contact in his heat left him with a flat tire and a starting
spot in the B Main. Santos went on to win the B, which put him outside of
row eight for the 50 lap feature. He decided to accept the QuickStix
Quick Time Challenge offered to the fast qualifier and moved to the rear
of the field in an effort to collect the $500 bonus.
Santos put on a great demonstration of patience and passing skill as he
moved all the way up to 4th, but Anderson started on the pole and never
gave up the lead. Steve Thinnes challenged, but to no avail. Brian Olson
and UMARA D'Arcy Buick/GMC rookie Josh Lane rounded out the top 5. Kenyon
struggled with his borrowed car all night, but kept it running to finish
14th.
In the Illini Midgets, Freddie Teer set fast time and won the feature.
David Budres and Tony Devea took the heats.
Ken Osborne won the BIDCA Classic Modified main, with the heats going to
Joe Mox and Todd Shepherd.
The