SMITH TAKES IMPROBABLE USAC MWRA SPRINT WIN AT ELECTRIC CITY

By: Ray Cunningham

Butler, Missouri (May 17, 2024)………The probable became the improbable for Wesley Smith during Friday night’s USAC Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Racing Association Sprint Car feature at Electric City Speedway.

Smith (Nixa, Mo.) worked his way from 10th to first to win his second USAC MWRA points race of 2024, and his 12th overall in series history, while driving the Brent Lewis Racing No. 2.

If that wasn’t enough of the improbable, Smith’s charge to the front that earned him the Country Day Care Kids of Olathe Hard Charger Award certainly was.  Smith had a rough run in the second heat after shock issues left him with an ill-handling racecar and a subpar fifth place finish.  However, he rebounded with an excellent run in the feature on a technical track to provide his car owner his first feature win with the USAC MWRA.

Afterwards, Smith was quoted as saying, “Usually when we start towards the back, the night typically doesn’t end up well.  But tonight, the Lewis sprint car was ready to go, and we took full advantage of our opportunities to win the race.”

On a night where bad luck was certainly plentiful, performances by Wyatt Burks (Topeka, Kan.) in second, Michael Moore (Camden, Mo.) third, Kobe Simpson (Bonham, Texas) fourth and Zach Clark (Raymore, Mo.) fifth stood out.  Burks’ run to second followed a third-place finish last week at Valley and moved him into first place in the series points.

Moore’s third place go represented his first podium with the USAC MWRA series, and also included a heat race win.  Meanwhile, Simpson’s long trip from Texas also proved to be fruitful after winning his heat as well before running fourth in the main event.  Clark’s fifth place result was his second of the 2024 season.

Chad Winfrey (Gladstone, Mo.), Mark Lane (Grain Valley, Mo.), Junior Parkinson (Wichita Falls, Texas), Luke Howard (Overland Park, Kan.) and Taylor Walton (Odessa, Mo.) completed the top-10 on a wild night of racing that saw three cars flip in the feature: Kory Schudy (Battlefield, Mo.), Dakota Earls (Independence, Mo.) and Walton with five laps to go.

All drivers were okay, but their cars all received significant damage.  Howard, who led for almost the entire distance, dropped out with a couple laps left after being passed by Smith following the final restart of the 25-lapper.

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USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION RACE RESULTS: May 17, 2024 – Electric City Speedway – Butler, Missouri

FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 21m-Michael Moore (1), 2. 11w-Wyatt Burks (5), 3. 15E-Dakota Earls (4), 4. 26-Zach Clark (6), 5. 03-Tyler Burton (3), 6. 27J-Justin Johnson (8), 7. 33L-Mark Lane (2), 8. 9m-Matt Fox (7). NT

SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 21K-Kobe Simpson (2), 2. 2H-Luke Howard (1), 3. 28-Kory Schudy (6), 4. 93w-Taylor Walton (3), 5. 2-Wesley Smith (4), 6. 65w-Chad Winfrey (5), 7. 93-Junior Parkinson (7). NT

FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Wesley Smith (10), 2. Wyatt Burks (5), 3. Michael Moore (4), 4. Kobe Simpson (6), 5. Zach Clark (7), 6. Chad Winfrey (12), 7. Mark Lane (14), 8. Junior Parkinson (13), 9. Luke Howard (1), 10. Taylor Walton (8), 11. Tyler Burton (11), 12. Matt Fox (15), 13. Dakota Earls (2), 14. Justin Johnson (9), 15. Kory Schudy (3). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-22 Luke Howard, Laps 23-25 Wesley Smith.

USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION POINTS: 1-Wyatt Burks-895, 2-Luke Howard-840, 3-Kory Schudy-835, 4-Taylor Walton-810, 5-Kobe Simpson-775, 6-Zach Clark-750, 7-Chad Winfrey-750, 8-Junior Parkinson-725, 9-Dakota Earls-720, 10-Michael Moore-720.

NEXT USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION RACE: May 18, 2024 – Electric City Speedway – Butler, Missouri