GEHRKE CHARGES FROM 16^TH TO 1^ST WIN AT GAS CITY

By: Linda Mansfield

Gas City, Indiana (September 3, 2021)……… Chett Gehrke of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma was victorious in Friday night’s 20-lap USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget feature.

Polesitter Stratton Briggs of Anna, Ohio led the first six laps of the feature, chased by Abby Hohlbein of Cloverdale, Ohio.

Gehrke started 16th, broke into the top-10 on lap two, and was sixth by lap four. On lap five, he moved into fourth place, on lap six he took third, and on lap seven he passed both Hohlbein and Briggs to take the lead.

Gehrke’s midget dropped fluid on the racetrack on lap 12 so much that it caused a caution, but he was still able to not only finish but to lead the rest of the way.

Jacob Denney of Galloway, Ohio started fifth and was always in the mix. He took second from Briggs on lap 12 and finished just 0.371 of a second behind Gehrke for the runner-up honors, ending his seven-race win streak with the series.

Josh Yenser of Hilliard, Ohio and Bryce Massingill of Troy, Ohio had a good battle for third with their No. 12Y and No. 12M, respectively. Yenser got the show position, while Briggs passed Massingill on the white-flag lap for fourth. Massingill held on for fifth.

Mark Nieft Jr. of Brownsburg, Ind., flipped between turns three and four during the second qualifying session. Zack Gingerich of Celina, Ohio flipped in turn four at the start of the second heat. Luke Lemons flipped hard and high between turns three and four with two laps down in the feature while running fourth. All got out of their crumpled cars under their own power.

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USAC MIDWEST THUNDER SPEED2 MIDGET RACE RESULTS: September 3, 2021 – Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, Indiana

FIRST QUALIFYING GROUP: 1. Bryce Massingill, 12m, Massingill-12.682, 2. Jacob Denney, 11T, Taylor-12.717, 3. Stratton Briggs, 71, Briggs-12.833, 4. Ian Creager, 36, Creager-12.978, 5. Michael Magic, 4m, Magic-13.473, 6. Kyle Kriegbaum, 12, Kriegbaum-13.474, 7. Ryan Moran, 01, Moran-13.823, 8. Carl Peterson, 49, Peterson-NT.

SECOND QUALIFYING GROUP: 1. Cory Guingrich, 42, Guingrich-12.900, 2. Josh Yenser, 12Y, Yenser-12.921, 3. Alex Watson, 3E, Watson-12.955, 4. Zack Gingerich, 8z, Gingerich-13.142, 5. Jeremy Howe, 2, Howe-13.904, 6. Kameron Gladish, 4K, Gladish-13.906, 7. Jim Jones, 97, Jones-14.009, 8. Mark Nieft Jr., 20N, Nieft-NT.

THIRD QUALIFYING GROUP: 1. Abby Hohlbein, 11H, Hohlbein-12.728, 2. Chett Gehrke, 93c, Gehrke-12.945, 3. Luke Lemons, 33, Lemons-13.211, 4. Taylor Nibert, 11L, Taylor-13.342, 5. Kyle Dager, 10, Dager-13.355, 6. Keith Ousley, 0, Ousley-13.408, 7. Bryce Dues, 23D, Dues-13.628.

FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Stratton Briggs, 2. Jacob Denney, 3. Ian Creager, 4. Bryce Massingill, 5. Kyle Kriegbaum, 6. Michael Magic. NT

SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Alex Watson, 2. Josh Yenser, 3. Jeremy Howe, 4. Mark Nieft Jr., 5. Kameron Gladish, 6. Jim Jones, 7. Zack Gingerich, 8. Cory Guingrich. NT

THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Abby Hohlbein, 2. Luke Lemons, 3. Kyle Dager, 4. Bryce Dues, 5. Keith Ousley, 6. Chett Gehrke, 7. Taylor Nibert. NT

FEATURE: (20 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chett Gehrke (16), 2. Jacob Denney (5), 3. Josh Yenser (6), 4. Stratton Briggs (1), 5. Bryce Massingill (10), 6. Abby Hohlbein (4), 7. Alex Watson (3), 8. Ian Creager (7), 9. Cory Guingrich (19), 10. Kyle Dager (9), 11. Taylor Nibert (18), 12. Zack Gingerich (17), 13. Kyle Kriegbaum (12), 14. Keith Ousley (14), 15. Jeremy Howe (8), 16. Kameron Gladish (13), 17. Carl Peterson (20), 18. Mark Nieft Jr. (11), 19. Jim Jones (15), 20. Luke Lemons (2), 21. Ryan Moran (DNS), 22. Bryce Dues (DNS). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 Stratton Briggs, Laps 7-20 Chett Gehrke.

**Mark Nieft Jr. flipped during the second qualifying group. Zack Gingerich flipped during the second heat. Luke Lemons flipped on lap three of the feature.

USAC MIDWEST THUNDER SPEED2 MIDGET POINTS: 1-Jacob Denney-692, 2-Stratton Briggs-647, 3-Bryce Massingill-615, 4-Ian Creager-587, 5-Chett Gehrke-570, 6-Abby Hohlbein-524, 7-Josh Yenser-481, 8-Zack Gingerich-417, 9-Kyle Dager-363, 10-Aaron Leffel-316.

NEXT USAC MIDWEST THUNDER SPEED2 MIDGET RACE: September 4, 2021 – Montpelier Motor Speedway – Montpelier, Indiana – Non-Points Special Event

CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:

K & M Tool & Die First Heat Winner: Stratton Briggs

Performance Powder Coating Second Heat Winner: Alex Watson

Brewhouse Drive Thru Third Heat Winner: Abby Hohlbein

Rosewood Machine Precision Move Of The Race: Chett Gehrke (16^th to 1^st)