7/25/2015
Ryan Bowers Completes UMSS Weekend Sweep at Rice Lake
Ryan Bowers continues to impress the sprint car racing community, as the young Ham Lake, MN driver earned his fifth UMSS win of the season and eighth career series victory at the Rice Lake Speedway on Saturday July 25. Bowers also completed a very successful weekend sweep, as he won the UMSS Dan Grams Memorial on Friday night at the St. Croix Valley Raceway prior to heading over to Rice Lake. Bowers, in just his second season behind the wheel of a winged sprint car, is the current UMSS point leader. Bowers earned $1,000 for his victory.
After the usual double round of qualifying race which saw Jerry Richert, Jr. and Thomas Kennedy win Ultimate Sprint Heats while Lou Kennedy, Jr. and Bowers topped the Challenge Races, the top four drivers in passing and finishing points redrew for their feature race starting spots. It was an all-Kennedy front row, as Thomas got the pole position with his dad Lou outside. Richert and Bowers were in row two. The fact that Thomas Kennedy was even racing was rather amazing, as the three-time UMSS winner this season was involved in a very hard crash the night before and had to take a trip to the hospital. Although Thomas was very sore and bruised, once the young driver from Winnipeg strapped into his sprint car he felt okay and was ready to race at Rice Lake. Sometimes "good medicine" comes in different ways, and for many racers that means getting right back into their race car as soon as they can.
Lou Kennedy blasted into the lead at the drop of the green with Thomas a close second. Bowers was up to third behind the Canadian family duo, as the laps clicked by under green flag racing. On lap 11, Bowers got by Thomas Kennedy for second and set his sights on the leader, Lou Kennedy. Bowers closed the gap, and on lap 17 the pair crossed the finish line side-by-side. Bowers was able to take the lead on the following lap and drove to Rock Auto Victory Lane several laps later in the caution-free 25 lap feature race. Lou Kennedy finished second ahead of Thomas Kennedy. Last Saturday's winner, Jamey Ogston, joined the three-car battle for second late in the race but had to settle for fourth. 2013 UMSS champion Chris Graf finished fifth ahead of three-time and defending UMSS champion Jerry Richert, Jr. The top six cars finished on the lead lap. Completing the top ten finishers was Anna Hippe, Mike Mueller, Reed Allex and Chad Patterson.
Ryan Bowers talked about his fifth win of the season following the race. "I have to thank Mastell Racing and my crew for giving me a great race car and a great opportunity each night. We've been fast after those first few races this season, and it's a lot of fun to drive a competitive car. Those two blue cars (the Kennedy clan) are tough competitors to race against. I'm glad I could keep the winner's check the past two nights south of the border." Bowers is in a close championship battle with Graf and Richert, and winning races certainly helps to keep him atop the UMSS standings. By all indications, the championship appears that it will come down to the final race or two of the season.
The next race for the UMSS winged sprints is on Sunday August 2 at the Granite City Speedway in Sauk Rapids. This will also be the second of four races in the Midwest Power Outlaw Sprint Car Series. Jerry Richert, Jr. won the opening Midwest Power race at the Deer Creek Speedway. The Granite City races pays $2,300 to win. The Traditional sprints will also join the race program at Granite City for a double division, double the fun night of sprint car racing action.
UMSS Race Results - Rice Lake Speedway July 25, 2015 (Race #13)
GRP Motorsports A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 199-Ryan Bowers[4]; 2. 21K-Lou Kennedy Jr.[2]; 3. 20K-Thomas Kennedy[1]; 4. 03-Jamey Ogston[5]; 5. 20G-Chris Graf[6]; 6. 63-Jerry Richert Jr[3]; 7. 5-Anna Kouba[9]; 8. 87-Mike Mueller[10]; 9. 91A-Reed Allex[7]; 10. 15-Chad Patterson[8]; 11. 7M-Bob McVitty[11]; 12. (DNF) 52-Jake Lempelius[13]; 13. (DNF) 95-Kevin Bradwell[12]; DNS 18-Ryan Wilson
Lap Leaders: Lou Kennedy 1-17, Bowers 18-25. No cautions!
Hoosier Racing Tire Challenge Race 1 (8 Laps): 1. 21K-Lou Kennedy Jr.[3]; 2. 63-Jerry Richert Jr[5]; 3. 91A-Reed Allex[1]; 4. 03-Jamey Ogston[4]; 5. 87-Mike Mueller[6]; 6. 7M-Bob McVitty[2]; DNS 18-Ryan Wilson
Lap Leaders: Ogston 1-5, Lou Kennedy 6-8. Cautions: (1) for 03 spin turn 4 while leading.
Mastell Brothers Trailer Service Challenge Race 2 (8 Laps): 1. 199-Ryan Bowers[2]; 2. 5-Anna Kouba[1]; 3. 20K-Thomas Kennedy[5]; 4. 20G-Chris Graf[4]; 5. 15-Chad Patterson[3]; DNS 52-Jake Lempelius; DNS 95-Kevin Bradwell
Lap Leader: Bowers 1-8. No cautions.
Meeks Video Ultimate Sprint Heat 1 (7 Laps): 1. 63-Jerry Richert Jr[2]; 2. 03-Jamey Ogston[4]; 3. 15-Chad Patterson[5]; 4. 91A-Reed Allex[7]; 5. (DNF) 95-Kevin Bradwell[3]; 6. (DNF) 52-Jake Lempelius[6]; 7. (DNF) 18-Ryan Wilson[1]
Lap Leader: Richert 1-7. Cautions: (1) red flag for three car crash in turn 3 on opening lap involving 18,95 & 52. Wilson done for the night. Bradwell and Lempelius would return for the feature.
Driverwebsites.com Ultimate Sprint Heat 2 (7 Laps): 1. 20K-Thomas Kennedy[1]; 2. 20G-Chris Graf[2]; 3. 21K-Lou Kennedy Jr.[3]; 4. 199-Ryan Bowers[5]; 5. 5-Anna Kouba[4]; 6. 87-Mike Mueller[7]; 7. 7M-Bob McVitty[6]
Lap Leader: Thomas Kennedy 1-7. No cautions.
Victory Lane Photo courtesy of Vince Peterson at Track Rat Photos.
Article Credit: Greg Parent, UMSS Media Director