SCHUDY SIZZLES IN GRAIN VALLEY’S USAC MWRA SEASON OPENER

By: Ray Cunningham

Grain Valley, Missouri (April 6, 2024)………Kory Schudy took home the first-place prize in Saturday night’s USAC Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Racing Association Sprint Car season opener at Missouri’s Valley Speedway.

Schudy (Battlefield, Mo.) held off the Wagner Brothers at the end of 25-lap feature distance in his Jon Sawyer Racing machine, as the 2021 series champ bested the 28 entries on hand for the event for his ninth career USAC MWRA feature win, third best all-time.

The main event was a barnburner, but also a war of attrition.  Three-time and defending series champion Wyatt Burks (Topeka, Kan.) led from the get-go before being passed following a restart by Jack Wagner (Lone Jack, Mo.).  In an attempt to regain first, Burks went high, opening the door for Schudy to go low as he moved from his sixth starting spot to second place.

Schudy was on a rail as he took the fight to Wagner and his Jesse Hockett Racing No. 77, eventually passing Wagner on the high side to take the lead with seven laps remaining.  Meanwhile, Burks continued to give all he had from third to catch the leading twosome before losing traction.  As he began to spin, he performed a pirouette before turning over, which finished his evening, although he was okay.

On the restart with four laps remaining, Schudy was able to hold off Jack Wagner as his brother, Samuel Wagner (Lone Jack, Mo.), fought his way through the pack steadily, advancing 14 positions to earning third.

Samuel, the younger Wagner brother, experienced a wild evening which included venturing off the track on the hook following an incident involving multiple cars at the start of the second heat.  He recovered by advancing from 11th to second during the semi, then took the hard charger award after his third place run in the feature after starting 17th.

At the finish line, Jack Wagner took second with Samuel Wagner earning a series career-best third place result.  Rounding out the top-five were Taylor Walton (Odessa, Mo.) in fourth and Luke Howard (Overland Park, Kan.) in fifth.  Craig Carroll (Collinsville, Okla.), Zach Clark (Olathe, Kan.), Chris Parkinson (Gladstone, Mo.), Ty Hulsey (Owasso, Okla.) and Kobe Simpson (Bonham, Texas) rounded out the top-10.

A packed house at Dennis Shrout’s Valley Speedway also saw Michael Moore (Camden, Mo.), Xavier Doney (Odessa, Mo.), Schudy and Jack Wagner score heat race wins.  Tom Curran (Kansas City, Mo.), meanwhile, captured the 12-lap semi.  Wesley Smith (Nixa, Mo.) took high point honors for the evening after advancing from seventh to third in his heat race.

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USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION RACE RESULTS: April 6, 2024 – Valley Speedway – Grain Valley, Missouri

FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 21m-Michael Moore (1), 2. 93w-Taylor Walton (4), 3. 26-Zach Clark (3), 4. 21K-Kobe Simpson (7), 5. 33L-Mark Lane (6), 6. 9m-Matt Fox (2), 7. 03-Tyler Burton (5).

SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 74-Xavier Doney (1), 2. 11w-Wyatt Burks (4), 3. 9H-Cody Baker (3), 4. 65w-Chad Winfrey (7), 5. 11x-Tom Curran (5), 6. 24H-Ty Hulsey (6), 7. 73-Samuel Wagner (2).

THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 28-Kory Schudy (2), 2. 65-Chris Parkinson (3), 3. 2H-Luke Howard (1), 4. 93-Junior Parkinson (4), 5. 1-Chris Desselle (5), 6. 52-Dean Bowers (6), 7. 33-Bryson Smith (7).

FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 77-Jack Wagner (2), 2. 24c-Craig Carroll (4), 3. 2-Wesley Smith (7), 4. 15E-Dakota Earls (1), 5. 88G-Garrett Hulsey (6), 6. 27J-Justin Johnson (5), 7. 7x-Lance Silvers (3).

SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tom Curran (2), 2. Samuel Wagner (11), 3. Ty Hulsey (10), 4. Dean Bowers (4), 5. Garrett Hulsey (1), 6. Chris Desselle (3), 7. Bryson Smith (7), 8. Matt Fox (6), 9. Tyler Burton (8), 10. Justin Johnson (5), 11. Lance Silvers (9), 12. Dakota Earls (12).

FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kory Schudy (7), 2. Jack Wagner (3), 3. Samuel Wagner (17), 4. Taylor Walton (4), 5. Luke Howard (14), 6. Craig Carroll (2), 7. Zach Clark (12), 8. Chris Parkinson (8), 9. Ty Hulsey (18), 10. Kobe Simpson (6), 11. Mark Lane (16), 12. Junior Parkinson (15), 13. Dean Bowers (20), 14. Wyatt Burks (1), 15. Michael Moore (9), 16. Garrett Hulsey (19), 17. Xavier Doney (10), 18. Cody Baker (13), 19. Chad Winfrey (11), 20. Wesley Smith (5), 21. Chris Desselle (21), 22. Tom Curran (22).

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-6 Wyatt Burks, Laps 7-18 Jack Wagner, Laps 19-25 Kory Schudy.

USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION POINTS: 1-Kory Schudy-200, 2-Taylor Walton-175, 3-Luke Howard-170, 4-Zach Clark-160, 5-Chris Parkinson-155, 6-Kobe Simpson-145, 7-Mark Lane-140, 8-Junior Parkinson-135, 9-Dean Bowers-130, 10-Wyatt Burks-125.

NEXT USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION RACE: April 19, 2024 – Electric City Speedway – Butler, Missouri