While the forecast looked gloomy all day, the rains stayed away from the Mt. Pleasant Speedway on Friday, May 15 for the Chuck's Discount Foods sponsored "Little B's Bonus Night" full show of racing action.
UMP Modified driver Chuck Powell No. 95 of Harrison added bonus money to the winning payouts in all classes, with the Miller Lite UMP Late Model class getting a $500 bonus, the Chuck's Discount Foods UMP Modifieds a $200 bonus, Smokers Club Street Stocks a $100 bonus, NAPA Modified Mini Stocks a $50 bonus and the Mt. Pleasant/Clare Automotive Stock Minis a $50 bonus. The night was in honor of 6-year-old "Little B," Brian Freeman Jr. of Owosso who is battling a potentially fatal disease.
With a few other tracks around the area cancelling due to the weather, there were a few new faces in the Mt. Pleasant pits.
Seventy-five cars in all rolled into the Mt. Pleasant Speedway pits with aspirations of collecting the bonus money at the end of the night by ending up in victory lane for their respective class' feature race.
Eight Miller Lite Late Model drivers took to the track for a "B" Main with the top five advancing to the night's Miller Lite UMP Late Model feature. When the dust settled Alan Voschaska No. 34 got the "B" Main win, with Brad Harden No. 52X, Joe Pomeroy No. 24, Shawn Reed No. 07 and Mark Andersen No. 85 all moving on to the main event later in the evening.
The 30-lap Miller Lite UMP Late Model feature rolled out 18 cars to compete for a total of $1,200 to the winning driver. Rich Neiser No. 87 of Fruitport got the jump early on the field and would eventually pull out to a large lead and getting his first career Mt. Pleasant Speedway feature win.
This Friday, May 22, the Mt. Pleasant Speedway is hosting one of its biggest shows of the season as the Sunoco American Late Model Series comes to Mt. Pleasant. The Sunoco ALMS is arguable the most popular dirt-track division in North America. The full-bodied, 800+ horsepower machines shake the earth and spotlight some of the most talented Super Late Model shoes in the country.
Nineteen open-wheeled modified cars came out for the Chuck's Discount Foods UMP Modified 25-lap feature, which would pay $550 to win including the bonus money. Starting on the front row were Powell and rookie modified driver Cody Bauer No. 19 of Farwell. Powell would get the jump on Bauer early and lead the first few laps before Jacob Poel No. 82 eventually got the lead and would bring Rich Robinson Jr. No. 15 of Mt. Pleasant with him into second place. With about six laps left in the Chuck's Discount Foods UMP Modified feature, Powell would have pull off the track into the infield with a right rear tire issue while running in the top five. On the next lap, Bauer would spin and Steven Hilliker No. 21 would find himself caught up in the accident and his night ending on the back of a wrecker. When the checkered flag flew, Poel took the feature win for the UMP Modified class, with the remaining top five of Robinson Jr., Troy Marciniak No. 8 of Muskegon, Tim Stemler No. 22 of Ionia, and Ken Smith No. 57S of St. John's.
The Smokers Club Street Stock class picked up a few newcomers on Friday and had two heat races producing winners of Rob Brillhart No. 77 of Crystal and rookie Street Stock driver David Mielke No. 87 of Gladwin.
The 20-lap Smokers Club Street Stock feature winner would grab $300 after the bonus. The early leader would be Brillhart with Josh Loomis No. 11 of Weidman in hot pursuit. Mike Sparks No. 91 of Otter Lake would bring out a caution and be sent to the rear early after a spin. After the caution Loomis and Mielke continued their battle for second behind Brillhart. Brillhart experienced problems with his car and pulled off the track giving Mielke the lead. From then on it was a fight between Mielke and Loomis for the top spot as the two went back and forth for the lead as Mielke would use the high side and Loomis the low side. In the end Mielke, a two-time defending Mt. Pleasant Speedway track champion in the Stock Mini class, would claim his second straight Smokers Club Street Stock feature win. Rounding out the top five were Loomis, Sparks who fought his back from the back of the field, Brad Metzer No. 72 and Jeff Fussman No. 12 of Shepherd.
The NAPA Modified Mini Stocks increased their field size for the second night of racing with Jeff Fowler No. 29 picking up both the heat race and 15-lap feature victory.
The Mt. Pleasant and Clare Automotive Stock Mini division also had more competitors. The 10-lap feature saw Nieman bounce off the wall but keep his car running early on. As the checkered flag waved, Mike Schnettler No. 88 of Sanford got his first feature win of the season.
This Friday, May 22, the Mt. Pleasant Speedway is hosting one of its biggest shows of the season as the Sunoco American Late Model Series comes to the track plus the Smokers Club Street Stocks, NAPA Modified Mini Stocks, and Mt. Pleasant and Clare Automotive Stock Minis. Gates open at 5 p.m., hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:45. For more information call 989-773-2387 or go to www.mtpleasantspeedway.com.
This Friday, May 22, the Mt. Pleasant Speedway is hosting one of its biggest shows of the season as the Sunoco American Late Model Series comes to Mt. Pleasant. The Sunoco ALMS is arguable the most popular dirt-track division in North America. The full-bodied, 800+ horsepower machines shake the earth and spotlight some of the most talented Super Late Model shoes in the country.
