SMITH SPEEDS TO VICTORY AT BETHANY
By: Ray Cunningham
Bethany, Missouri (September 4, 2022)………Wesley Smith sped to victory at Bethany (Mo.) Speedway on Sunday night by winning the USAC Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Racing Association Sprint Car feature event during the Northwest Missouri State Fair races.
The Billings, Mo. driver led every lap of the 25-lap feature while wheeling the John Helm/WSR Racing 12 to his third MWRA victory of the season and his third series win at Bethany over the course of the past three years of competition there.
MWRA point leader Wyatt Burks, Chris Parkinson, Chad Goff and Quinton Benson rounded out the top-five.
Burks of Topeka, Kan. drove the WBR No. 11w to his sixth podium in eight MWRA races in 2022. Second place in points, Chris Parkinson from Gladstone, Mo., garnered another podium finish to stay in contention for the championship going into the season finale later this month.
Positions six through ten included promising young driver Garrett Hulsey of Lone Jack, Mo. running sixth followed by Zach Clark of Olathe, Kan., who charged to seventh from his 17th starting spot on the grid, which earned him the JDL Justin Lawson Media Hard Charger award for passing the most cars in the feature event.
Overland Park, Kan. driver Warren Johnson raced his Rick and Deb Maycock-Smith ride to eighth while Oak Grove, Mo. racer Brian Beebe took home ninth. Friday night’s victor, Luke Howard of Overland Park, Kan., collected the 10th spot.
Earlier in the evening, Smith, Zach Sanders of Kearney, Mo., Parkinson and Benson won the four eight-lap heats. Clark, as well as Doug Sylvester of Ottumwa, Iowa, won the twin 10-lap semi-features to determine the final six cars in the main event.
USAC MWRA Sprint Cars will next be in action on Saturday, September 24, for the John E. Helm Memorial at Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Mo. in honor of the late driver and car owner affectionately known as the “Colonel.” This will be the final USAC MWRA points-paying race of 2022.
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USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: September 4, 2022 – Bethany Speedway – Bethany, Missouri
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 12s-Wesley Smith (6), 2. 7JR-J.D. Black (1), 3. 41-Brad Wyatt (4), 4. 93-Glen Saville (5), 5. 2J-Jason Billups (2), 6. 27J-Justin Johnson (8), 7. 7x-Lance Silvers (3), 8. 7m-Heath Murry (7), 9. 32-Dave Carlisle (9). NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 69-Zach Sanders (3), 2. 9x-Chad Goff (1), 3. 88G-Garrett Hulsey (7), 4. 65w-Chad Winfrey (4), 5. 12-Doug Sylvester (2), 6. 03-Tyler Burton (6), 7. 93c-Dillon Carlisle (8), 8. 88-Chad Tye (5). NT
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 65-Chris Parkinson (4), 2. 90-Warren Johnson (6), 3. 2H-Luke Howard (5), 4. 25-Kelly Graham (7), 5. 45-Jesse Bebee (1), 6. 2G-A.J. Gilbert (3), 7. 17-Steve Pumphrey (2), 8. 30-Monty Cook (8). NT
FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 15B-Quinton Benson (1), 2. 11w-Wyatt Burks (5), 3. 37-Brian Beebe (2), 4. 4-Braydon Cromwell (7), 5. 26-Zach Clark (6), 6. 93p-Buddy Parker (4), 7. 15E-Dakota Earls (3). NT
ALSO AT THE TRACK: 8UP-Doug Cook
FIRST SEMI: (10 laps, top-3 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Zach Clark (1), 2. Buddy Parker (4), 3. Chad Tye (6), 4. Jesse Bebee (3), 5. Lance Silvers (5), 6. Jason Billups (2), 7. Monty Cook (7). NT
SECOND SEMI: (10 laps, top-3 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Doug Sylvester (2), 2. A.J. Gilbert (4), 3. Tyler Burton (3), 4. 15E-Dakota Earls (5), 5. Heath Murry (6), 6. Dillon Carlisle (7), 7. Justin Johnson (1), 8. Dave Carlisle (8). NT
FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Wesley Smith (1), 2. Wyatt Burks (5), 3. Chris Parkinson (2), 4. Chad Goff (12), 5. Quinton Benson (7), 6. Garrett Hulsey (6), 7. Zach Clark (17), 8. Warren Johnson (3), 9. Brian Beebe (14), 10. Luke Howard (8), 11. Chad Winfrey (16), 12. Doug Sylvester (18), 13. Brad Wyatt (13), 14. Braydon Cromwell (10), 15. Buddy Parker (19), 16. Tyler Burton (22), 17. 88-Dakota Earls (21), 18. Kelly Graham (9), 19. A.J. Gilbert (20), 20. Zach Sanders (4), 21. Glen Saville (15), 22. J.D. Black (11). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Wesley Smith.
USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Wyatt Burks-1525, 2-Chris Parkinson-1380, 3-Dakota Earls-1120, 4-Chad Winfrey-1115, 5-Brian Beebe-1115, 6-Chad Goff-1105, 7-A.J. Gilbert-1065, 8-Brad Wyatt-1040, 9-Warren Johnson-1035, 10-Wesley Smith-1010.
NEXT USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT CAR RACE: September 24, 2022 – Valley Speedway – Grain Valley, Missouri
