Brownstown Speedway names 2018 champions

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Brownstown Speedway has named its 2018 champions for its six divisions of racing competition.

Devin Gilpin of Columbus won his second consecutive late model track champion at Brownstown. Alan Magner of North Vernon finished second in points, followed by Steven Godsey of Bedford, Karlie Holt of Orleans and Jared Bailey of Bedford. Brayton Laster of Greenwood was the super late model rookie of the year.

Super Late Model final points: 1. Gilpin 1,452; 2. Magner 1,424;

3. Godsey 1,371; 4. Holt 1,175; 5. Bailey 1,077; 6. Adam Bowman 1062; 7. Shelby Miles 962; 8. Zak Blackwood 843; 9. Lee Williams 859; 10. Laster 764.

Matt Boknecht of Seymour won a Brownstown Speedway record eighth career track championship by taking the open wheel modified championship in 2018. He had previously been tied with Tim Clark of North Vernon with seven track titles.

Jeremy Owens of North Vernon was second to Boknecht in the final points standings with Dennis Boknecht of Seymour, Logan Mounce of Mitchell and Ryan Thomas of Brownstown completing the top-five drivers. Brayden Watson of Bloomington was the modified rookie of the year.

Boknecht’s sponsors in 2018 were Boknecht Tucking, J&M Construction, Blondie’s Pizza, G&G Oil, Diamond Race Cars and Travis Kern Racing Engines.

Open Wheel Modified final points: 1. Matt Boknecht 2,866; 2. Owens 2,833; 3. Dennis Boknecht 2,712; 4. Mounce 1,811; 5. Thomas 1,754; 6. Tim Rivers 1,664; 7. Earl Plessinger 1,469; 8. Austin Burton 1,456; 9. Gilpin 1,437; 10. Watson 1,373.

Tyler Cain of Seymour captured his first career Indiana Late Model Series championship. Tyler Neal of Paragon was second in points this year, followed by Raymond Humphrey of Bloomington, Justin Bowling of Salem and Marty O’Neal of Spencer. Bowling was named the rookie of the year in the division.

Cain’s sponsors for 2018 included Tek Head Electronics Repair, Clean Right by Adam Hall, Lynch Machining, Strope’s Heating and Repair, Cain Hereford Company by Darren Cain, Erwin Customs, Beach Heating and Air Conditioning, Rudy and Dick’s Barber Shop, Main Trailer Sales, Goecker Building Supply, Pewter Hall, Randy Korte Consulting, Hendren Racing Engines and Rocket Chassis.

Indiana Late Model Series final points: 1. Cain 2,780; 2. Neal 2,731; 3. Humphrey 2,728; 4. Bowling 2,446; 5. O’Neal 2,332; 6. Steve Peeden 2,077; 7. Zack Burton 2,032; 8. Steven Godsey 1,941; 9. Skyller Lewis 1,885; 10. Brian Wilhite 1,818.

Brownstown’s Jason Hehman completed a successful season by winning his first Brownstown Speedway track title. He also took the championship at Bloomington Speedway in 2018. Colton Sullivan of Columbus was second to Hehman in the super stock class with Aubrey Eagan of Bedford, Jack Frye of Bloomington and Tim Schumpe of Vallonia rounding out the top-five competitors. Zach Sasser of Bedford was the top rookie in the class.

Hehman’s sponsors this year included Pewter Hall, TSR Chassis, Jason Ayers Trucking, Hartley Trucking, Cain Motorsports, Travis Kern Racing Engines, Pranger Heating and Air, Spieker Family Farms, Lucas Oil Products and Bluebird Café.

Super Stocks final points: 1. Hehman 3,175; 2. Sullivan 3,003; 3. Eagan 2,993; 4. Frye 2,732; 5. Schumpe 2,687; 6. J.T. Hoffman 2,671; 7. David Brewer 2,647; 8. Steve Hollars 2,609; 9. Matt Terry 2,246; 10. Sasser 2,156.

Derek Clegg of Nabb took his first career track championship at Brownstown this year by taking the top position in the pure stock division. Keaton Streeval of Edinburgh placed second with Zachary Stalker of Heltonville, Jeremey Huebner of Loogootee and Seymour’s Josh Hayes trailing. Kevin Streeval of Edinburgh was named the top rookie.

Pure Stocks final points: 1. Clegg 2,837; 2. Streeval 2,719; 3. Stalker 2,563; 4. Huebner 2,509; 5. Hayes 2,493; 6. Donnie Wilson 2,392; 7. Mickey Hines 2,104; 8. Corey Southern 2,071; 9. Rick Gumm 1,979; 10. Allie Eagan 1,800.

Meseraull wins USAC midget finale

Thomas Meseraull did not waste any time getting up to speed when he landed a new ride. And when he gets up to speed in that new ride, it’s a foregone conclusion it’s going to occur in spectacular fashion.

That thread continued Dec. 15 when the San Jose, California, native jumped into the seat of the RMS LLC No. 7 for the first time and drove it straight to victory lane following a stirring battle with C.J. Leary in the fourth annual Junior Knepper 55 at the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin.

It was the final event of the season for the USAC National Midget Series, which concluded its season with a nonpoints special event race.

“Funny story,” Meseraull began. “I was going to run Rusty Kunz’s car like I did last year, and it was going to be Joe Dooling’s motor. When Joe sold everything, I lost my ride. Three days later, I called (crew chief) Donnie Gentry, who was wrenching on these cars. (The team) actually bought a (Dooling No. 63) car two weeks ago and bought a motor from Clauson and put it together. That’s a brand-new car that Rusty Kunz built.”

Christopher Bell came into the event on a two-race win streak in the Columbus-based Keith Kunz Motorsports, but his night ended after leading the first 31 laps of the event as he slowed and exited the racetrack.

With 14 laps remaining, Meseraull had control after a duel with C.J. Leary and never let it from his grasp as he maneuvered to the bottom of the racetrack, tip-toeing around the berm as he constructed a lead in excess of three seconds. Only a handful of lappers were on the path of Meseraull’s march toward victory, but they were handled with ease as he cruised to a 3.814-second victory over Jake Neuman, Derek Hagar, Trey Marcham and Kevin Thomas Jr.

Feature (55 laps): 1. Meseraull; 2. Neuman; 3. Hagar; 4. Marcham; 5. Thomas Jr.; 6. Tyler Courtney; 7. Joe B. Miller; 8. Ronnie Gardner; 9. Ryan Smith; 10. Justin Grant; 11. C.J. Leary; 12. Howard Moore; 13. Paul Nienhiser; 14. Seth Bergman; 15. Chase Briscoe; 16. Thomas Chandler; 17. Christopher Bell; 18. Brian Shirley; 19. Dillon Welch; 20. McKenna Haase.

This week in racing history

From 10 years ago in 2008, Brownstown’s track champions were Cody Mahoney (late models), Alan Magner (super stocks), Matt Boknecht (modifieds), Bub Cummings (bombers) and Shawn McIntosh (pure stocks).

James Essex writes a motorsports notebook for The Republic. Send comments to [email protected].

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