Cottle, Denney, Losh, Bishop and Allen Win Features During ‘Jack and Jiggs Classic’ Friday at Gas City I-69 Speedway

Shane Cottle of Kansas, Ill. became the sixth different winner in as many non-wing sprint car races held so far this year at Gas City I-69 Speedway when he held off Max Adams of Loomis, Calif. for the 25-lap feature victory Friday night. It was the headliner of a five-division show called the “Jack and Jiggs Classic,” named in honor of track owner Jack Himelick and former promoter Jiggs Thomason, who were both in attendance.

 

Jacob Denney of Galloway, Ohio won the 20-lap USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 midget feature. Derek Losh of Rensselaer, Ind., recorded his fourth modified feature victory of the season at the Grant County quarter-mile dirt track over the only other driver to have won in that division so far this year, Zeke McKenzie of Claypool, Ind.

 

Andy Bishop of Gas City led all 15 laps of the street stock feature to earn his third consecutive victory in that division. Gage Allen of Warren, Ind., thwarted the stranglehold the Headley family has had in the hornet division by getting his first victory of the season in that 15-lap main event to close the evening’s activities a few minutes before midnight.

 

Polesitter Cole Ketcham of Muncie, Ind. led the first two laps of the sprint car feature before a red flag flew after Max Guilford took a hard flip on the frontstretch. Luckily the driver from Auckland, New Zealand climbed out of his car under his own power.

 

Adams, driving the famous Paul Hazen No. 57, took the lead from Ketcham on the frontstretch on lap three and led through lap 15, using the high line while Cottle concentrated on the low one. Adams seemed to be faster in Turns 1 and 2 while Cottle appeared to have the upper hand in Turns 3 and 4.

 

Following a yellow for a spin by Tyler Kendall of Greenfield, Ind. in Turn 2 on lap 15, Cottle passed Adams for the lead on lap 16 by dipping under him in Turns 3 and 4. He led the rest of the way. Driving Jamie and Michelle Paul’s DRC with a Foxco-prepped engine, Cottle took the checkered flag 0.446 seconds before Adams did. The winning car is sponsored by High Asspirations Farm, Rumpke and the Olde Schoolhouse Winery.

 

C.J. Leary of Greenfield, Ind. stayed close in third place waiting to capitalize on a mistake by the two drivers ahead of him, but that never occurred and the reigning USAC AMSOIL sprint car champion placed third. Travis Hery of Piqua, Ohio finished fourth and Brayden Clark of Tipton, Ind. rounded out the top five. Oklahoma native Jason McDougal was the hard charger, coming from 20th and last to place sixth. His hustling earned him an extra $100 from A.J. and Matt Brookmyer in addition to the sixth-place prize money. The Brookmyers also awarded a Hoosier right-rear tire to the first sprint car non-qualifier, which was Matt Goodnight of Winchester, Ind., who finished right behind McDougal in the B main.

 

Adam Taylor of DeMotte, Ind. started second in the USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 midget feature and led the first 12 laps before Chet Gehrke of Bardtown, Ky. dipped under him in Turn 2 for the lead and brought Denney along with him to assume second. Denney, who is 15 years old, passed Gehrke with two laps to go and then beat him to the checkered by just 0.123 seconds. Taylor held on for third followed by Stratton Briggs of Anna, Ohio and Alex Watson of Columbus, Ohio. The winning D2 midget is a Triple X chassis owned by Chuck Taylor of Troy, Ohio, powered by a Chevy Ecotech engine, and sponsored by Erwin.

 

The D2 midgets will also be in action at Gas City on Sept. 11 and Oct. 2.

 

The modified feature got off to a rough start when popular Dillon Nusbaum of Warsaw, Ind., the track’s 2018 modified champion, flipped in Turn 2 with one lap down. Luckily he got out of his car under his own power.

 

Polesitter Ryan Sutter of Coldwater, Ohio led the first lap but McKenzie got the lead in Turn 3 on lap two and led through lap eight. Losh slipped under McKenzie in Turn 4 to assume command for the first time on lap nine. McKenzie was having nothing of that, however, and he powered under Losh in Turn 2 on lap 11 to regain the lead. McKenzie stuck to the low line and Losh took the high side as they battled tooth and nail before Losh got the lead for good with a move to the outside of McKenzie as they were going through Turn 2 with five laps to go.

 

Losh’s XR1 Rocket by Ruhlman, which has a Mullins Race Engines powerplant, was 0.974 seconds ahead of McKenzie’s Vanquish powered by a Hogue engine at the checkered. Aaron Orr of Columbia City, Ind. finished third followed by Sutter and the division’s defending track champion, Scott Orr of Columbia City, Ind. The winning modified is sponsored by Superior Sales and Service, Aggressive, R & R Transmission, Rensselaer Iron and Metal and Talbert Manufacturing.

 

Bishop led all 15 laps of a caution-plagued street stock feature with his No. 14 sponsored by Thompson Trucking and R & R Transmission. Bill Bradley of Marion, Ind., the only other driver to win a street stock feature at Gas City so far this year other than Bishop, finished second. Mark Wooten was third; Adam Lantz finished fourth and Andrew Short of North Judson, Ind. placed fifth.

 

James Headley Jr. of Wabash, Ind. led the first 12 laps of the hornet feature with his father, James Headley of Marion, Ind., glued to his car’s back bumper. Headley Jr.’s car appeared to lose power on the backstretch working lap 13 and it looked like he was headed to the pits, and in the confusion Allen passed them both, led the next two laps, and came up the surprise winner. Headley finished second, 0.784 seconds behind. Kolton Sollars of LaFontaine, Ind. finished third. Bill Lewis of Fountain City, Ind. placed fourth and Headley Jr. rebounded to finish fifth.

 

Allen, who turned 20 on July 24, drives a Chevy Cavalier built the same year he was born. The family effort is sponsored by DPF Solutions of Marion, Ind. and the Armes-Hunt Funeral Home of Fairmount, Ind.

 

The track’s “Night of Destruction” slated for Saturday, Aug. 15 has been postponed until next year, but a program has been added for next Friday, Aug. 14.  Called the “Mid-Summer Showdown,” it will feature non-wing sprint cars, modifieds, street stocks, hornets and a special school bus race.

 

Teams trying to find that extra bit of speed will have the opportunity to participate in a “test and tune” session on Wednesday, Aug. 19 before the Dale Korporal’s Candy Man Classic on Friday night, Aug. 21. Non-wing sprint car drivers will compete in twin 20-lap features for a total purse of $20,000 that night. Modifieds, street stocks and hornets will share the billing. 

 

The complete schedule for 2020 is on the track’s website at GasCityI69Speedway.com.  Fans and competitors can also follow it on Twitter: @GasCitySpeedway; Instagram: @GasCitySpeedway and Facebook: GasCitySpeedwayOnTheGas.

 

Gas City I-69 Speedway is located on State Road 22, approximately a half-mile west of I-69, exit 259.

 

The results:

 

Non-Wing Sprint Heat 1 (8 laps, 4 transferred): 1. Aaron Leffel, 2. Brayden Clark, 3. J.J. Hughes, 4. Cody White, 5. Anthony D’Alessio, 6. Adam Wilfong, 7. Ryan Barr, 8. Jason McDougal.

 

Non-Wing Sprint Heat 2 (8 laps, 4 transferred): 1. Cole Ketcham, 2. Travis Hery, 3. Tyler Kendall, 4. Korbyn Hayslette, 5. Dustin Ingle, 6. Zack Pretorius, 7. Aaron Davis.

 

Non-Wing Sprint Heat 3 (8 laps, 4 transferred): 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Evan Mosley, 3. Brian Vaughn, 4. Jamie Fredrickson, 5. Cooper Welch, 6. Parker Fredrickson, 7. Braydon Cromwell.

 

Non-Wing Sprint Heat 4 (8 laps, 4 transferred): 1. Max Adams, 2. Shane Cottle, 3. Max Guilford, 4. Billy Cribbs, 5. Adam Byrkett, 6. Matt Goodnight, 7. Paul Dues.

 

Non-Wing Sprint B-Main (10 laps, 4 transferred): 1. Adam Byrkett, 2. Anthony D’Alessio, 3. Dustin Ingle, 4. Jason McDougal, 5. Matt Goodnight, 6. Paul Dues, 7. Zack Pretorius, 8. Cooper Welch, 9. Parker Fredrickson, 10. Braydon Cromwell, 11. Adam Wilfong, 12. Aaron Davis, 13. Ryan Barr (DNS).

 

Non-Wing Sprint Feature (25 laps, with starting position in parenthesis): 1. Shane Cottle (7), 2. Max Adams (2), 3. C.J. Leary (3), 4. Travis Hery (5), 5. Brayden Clark (6), 6. Jason McDougal (20), 7. Anthony D’Alessio (18), 8. J.J. Hughes (9), 9. Cole Ketcham (1), 10. Adam Byrkett (17), 11. Tyler Kendall (10), 12. Aaron Leffel (4), 13. Billy Cribbs (16), 14. Cody White (13), 15. Dustin Ingle (19), 16. Jamie Fredrickson (15), 17. Brian Vaughn (11), 18. Korbyn Hayslett (14), 19. Evan Mosley (8), 20. Max Guilford (12).

Margin of Victory: 0.446 seconds

Lap Leaders: Laps 1-2, Ketcham; laps 3-15, Adams; laps 16-15, Cottle.

 

USAC SpeeD2 Midget Heat 1 (8 laps, 5 transferred): 1. Adam Taylor, 2. Abby Hohlbein, 3. Ian Creager, 4. Bryce Massingill, 5. Bryce Dues, 6. Mark Nieft Jr., 7. Eddie Mehl, 8. Zane Briggs, 9. Ryan Thomas.

 

USAC SpeeD2 Midget Heat 2 (8 laps, 5 transferred): 1. Alex Watson, 2. Corey Guingrich, 3. Zack Gingerich, 4. Nick Bowers, 5. Jon Steed, 6. Tommy Kouns, 7. Justin Collet, 8. Travis Stickles, 9. Jim Jones.

 

USAC SpeeD2 Midget Heat 3 (8 laps, 5 transferred): 1. Chet Gehrke, 2. Stratton Briggs, 3. Jacob Denney, 4. Gunnar Lucius, 5. Adam Schmenk, 6. Nathan Foster, 7. Kyle Kriegbaum, 8. Kyle Dager, 9. Cody Downard (DNS).

 

USAC SpeeD2 Midget B-Main (8 laps, 5 transferred): 1. Tommy Kouns, 2. Zane Briggs, 3. Mark Nieft Jr., 4. Eddie Mehl, 5. Nathan Foster, 6. Ryan Thomas, 7. Kyle Kriegbaum, 8. Cody Downard, 9. Kyle Dager, 10. Justin Collet, 11. Travis Stickles (DNS), 12. Jim Jones (DNS).

 

USAC SpeeD2 Midget Feature (20 laps, with starting position in parenthesis): 1. Jacob Denney (9), 2. Chet Gehrke (3), 3. Adam Taylor (2), 4. Stratton Briggs (4), 5. Alex Watson (1), 6. Gunnar Lucius (12), 7. Bryce Massingill (10), 8. Nick Bowers (11), 9. Ian Creager (7), 10. Adam Schmenk (15), 11. Jon Steed (14), 12. Zach Guingrich (8), 13. Zane Briggs (17), 14. Abby Hohlbein (5), 15. Cory Guingrich (6), 16. Nathan Foster (20), 17. Bryce Dues (13), 18. Eddie Mehl (19), 19. Mark Nieft Jr. (18), 20. Tommy Kouns (16).

Margin of Victory: 0.123 seconds

Lap Leaders: Laps 1-12, Taylor; laps 13-18, Gehrke, laps 19-20, Denney.

 

Modified Heat 1 (8 laps, 4 transferred): 1. Tony Anderson, 2. Aaron Orr, 3. Josh Betts, 4. Clayton Bryant, 5. Jesse Strange, 6. Josh Hotsinpiller, 7. James Watters, 8. Bill Griffith.

 

Modified Heat 2 (8 laps, 4 transferred): 1. Zeke McKenzie, 2. Dillon Nusbaum, 3. Derek Losh, 4. Cole Sink, 5. Jason Jones, 6. Nick Richards, 7. Chris Hicks.

 

Modified Heat 3 (8 laps, 4 transferred): 1. Ryan Sutter, 2. Terry Grilliot, 3. Jim Mallery, 4. Andy Bishop, 5. Tom Jacobs, 6. Jessica Sroufe, 7. Drew Charlson.

 

Modified Heat 4 (8 laps, 4 transferred): 1. Scott Orr, 2. Dylan Woodling, 3. Bub Roberts, 4. Todd Sherman, 5. Percy Gendreau, 6. Adam Lantz, 7. Josh Moore.

 

Modified B-Main 1 (10 laps, 4 transferred): 1. Jesse Strange, 2. Bill Griffith, 3. Adam Lantz, 4. Nick Richards, 5. Chris Hicks, 6. Tom Jacobs, 7. Jason Jones, 8. Drew Charlson, 9. Percy Gendreau, 10. Josh Hotsinpiller, 11. Jessica Sroufe, 12. Josh Moore, 13. James Watters (DNS).

 

Modified Feature (20 laps, with starting position in parentheses): 1. Derek Losh (10), 2. Zeke McKenzie (2), 3. Aaron Orr (7), 4. Ryan Sutter (1), 5. Scott Orr (3), 6. Dylan Woodling (8), 7. Todd Sherman (16), 8. Andy Bishop (15), 9. Terry Griliott (5), 10. Jim Mallery (11), 11. Clayton Bryant (13), 12. Cole Sink (14), 13. Jesse Strange (17), 14. Tony Anderson (4), 15. Chris Hicks (20), 16. Josh Betts (9), 17. Bill Griffith (18), 18. Bub Roberts (12), 19. Adam Lantz (19), 20. Dillon Nusbaum (6).

Margin of Victory: 0.974 seconds.

Lap Leaders: Lap 1, Sutter; laps 2-8, McKenzie; laps 9-10, Losh; laps 11-14, McKenzie; laps 15-20, Losh.

 

Street Stock Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. Andy Bishop, 2. Gerald Mullenix, 3. David Norman, 4. Eric Sandlin, 5. Larry Persinger, 6. Josh McCord, 7. Jeffery Jessup, 8. Bill Bradley.

 

Street Stock Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. Adam Lantz, 2. Mike Fincher, 3. Andrew Short, 4. Luke Timmerman, 5. Mark Wooten, 6. Reece Harkinson, 7. Trenton Vogts, 8. Kenny Brady.

 

Street Stock Feature (15 laps): 1. Andy Bishop (1), 2. Bill Bradley (15), 3. Mark Wooten (10), 4. Adam Lantz (2), 5. Andrew Short (6), 6. Gerald Mullenix (3), 7. David Norman (5), 8. Eric Sandlin (7), 9. Luke Timmerman (8), 10. Josh McCord (11), 11. Jeffery Jessup (13), 12. Trenton Vogts (14), 13. Larry Persinger (9), 14. Reece Harkinson (12), 15. Mike Fincher (DNS), 16. Kenny Brady (DNS).

Margin of Victory: 2.412 seconds

Lap Leaders: Laps 1-15, Bishop.

 

Hornet Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. James Headley Jr., 2. Bill Lewis, 3. Greg Marlow, 4. Charles Teegarden, 5. Mark Casto, 6. Jesse Arenas, 7. Alexes Spaulding, 8. Brady Hines.

 

Hornet Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. James Headley, 2. Gage Allen, 3. Kolton Sollars, 4. Eddie Tucker Jr., 5. Brandon Lines, 6. Seth Trissel, 7. Joey Eastes, 8. Sam Landis.

 

Hornet Feature (15 laps, with starting position in parentheses):

  1. Gage Allen (4), 2. James Headley (2), 3. Kolton Sollars (6), 4. Bill Lewis (3), 5. James Headley Jr. (1), 6. Eddie Tucker Jr. (9), 7. Greg Marlow (5), 8. Charles Teegarden (7), 9. Tyler Ray (8), 10. Mark Casto (10), 11. Joey Eastes (15), 12. Alexes Spaulding (14), 13. Brandon Lines (11), 14. Jesse Arenas (12),
  2. Seth Trissel (DNS), 16. Brady Hines (DNS), 17. Sam Landis (DNS).

Margin of Victory 0.784 seconds

Lap Leaders: Laps 1-12, Headley Jr.; 13-15, Allen.

Gas City PR