Sasser takes Scott Patman Memorial at Brownstown Speedway

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Brownstown Speedway hosted the Scott Patman Memorial for Pewter Hall Super Stocks on May 7.

J.T. Huffman battled for the lead early in the feature. Zach Sasser took the lead with 15 laps to go and went on to score his biggest Brownstown Speedway Super Stock victory.

Matt Boknecht ended up second, followed by Greg Amick, Isaiah Sasser and Tucker Chastain. Dalton Fleenor got the Slim Fast award for the hard charger of the race. Cale Kern won the Dash for Cash.

Tyler Neal added his name to the list of Graphix Indiana Late Model Series Pro Late Model winners for 2022. Neal got his first ILMS win of the year and became the fifth different winner in ILMS features this season. Neal was followed by Tyler Collins, Steve Peeden, Chad Stapleton and Josh Boller.

Keaton Streeval earned his second win in a row in All in 1 Pools Pure Stock feature action. Streeval led Dusten Carr, Edgar Godsey, Josh Hayes and Josh Johnson at the checkers.

Make it four in a row for Michael Brewer in the Cain’s Tree Service Hornets. Brewer got the win over Davey Waggoner, Kaleb Caudill, Shannon Walp and Josh Hallett.

Cranmer was back in

victory lane in Flag 2 Flag Media Crown Vics, but this time it was Brandon Cranmer. He got his first win of the year over Aaron Seay, Michael Cranmer, Phillip Boudreaux and Joel Smith.

Tonight, Brownstown will host the Hoosier Dirt Classic for super late models. Also racing tonight will be the pro late models, modifieds, super stocks and hornets. For information, visit brownstownspeedway.com.

TQ Midgets at Columbus tonight

Tony Stewart Speedway at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds in Columbus will host the first race of the 2022 season, the All-Star Circuit of Champions TQ Midgets. Hot laps are scheduled to start at 6 p.m., followed by qualifying at 6:30 p.m. Racing is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Lawrenceburg racing tonight

After being rained out May 7, Lawrenceburg Speedway is set to resume its 2022 racing tonight with sprints, modifieds, pure stocks and hornets. For info, visit lawrenceburgspeedway.com

Paragon ready for tonight

Tonight, Paragon will host a super stock special, along with 410 non-wing sprints, steel-block sprints, modifieds, bombers and hornets. For info, visit paragonspeedway.com.

Rock Crest special up next

Rock Crest Raceway, formerly known as Twin Cities Raceway Park, in Vernon will hold the W.E. Burton Memorial for pure stocks on Friday. Also competing will be super stocks, hornets and crown vics.

Bloomington hosting ILMS

Bloomington Speedway will host the Indiana Late Model Series on Friday. Also racing will be sprints, bombers and hornets.

Columbus go-karts busy next weekend

Columbus Go-Kart Racing, which conducts events at the Tony Stewart Speedway on the grounds of the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds, will host the second King of Columbus on Friday and May 21. Events slated for May 7 were rained out.

Gappens new manager at Eldora

Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, has named veteran motorsports executive Jerry Gappens as its new general manager, succeeding Roger Slack, who has decided to call time on his 12-year career at Eldora.

Gappens comes to Eldora from Indiana’s Gas City I-69 Speedway, where he has been the promoter of the quarter-mile dirt oval since 2018.

Prior to his tenure at Gas City, Gappens spent 23 years with Speedway Motorsports, specifically serving as executive vice president and general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon for eight years (2008 to 2015) and senior vice president of events and marketing of Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina for 15 years (1993 to 2007).

Slack, the outgoing general manager of Eldora who has spent more than three decades in motorsports, is taking a sabbatical from the industry.

“Jerry Gappens brings a ton of experience to Eldora Speedway that will allow us to deliver the best fan experience possible as well as the best experience for all the racers who compete at our track,” said Stewart, who purchased the track from the legendary Earl Baltes in 2004. “Jerry knows grassroots racing from being at Gas City, and he also knows how to put on big events from his time at New Hampshire and Charlotte.

“I know from my own experience racing at New Hampshire and Charlotte that Jerry genuinely cared about the amenities and overall environment the fans had in the grandstands and the drivers and teams had in the infield. He was visible, out and about, accessible and no job was too small,” Stewart added. “The details mattered. It’s exactly what we need at Eldora.”

Carved from a cornfield in 1954, Eldora has become a leader in motorsports growth and sustainability. The half-mile dirt oval hosts some of the most prestigious grassroots racing events in the world, and this year marks its 69th consecutive season of racing.

“When Tony called and asked if I was interested in becoming the general manager of Eldora, I recognized immediately that this is a great, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Gappens said. “Dirt racing is in my blood, and Eldora is the most legendary short track racing venue in the country. I’m thrilled to join the team at Eldora and work together to further its already outstanding legacy. I’m taking that same approach with all the great events Eldora has on tap this year, including the return of The Eldora Million on June 9, one of the most legendary events in the track’s history.”

The Eldora Million has only been run once before — in 2001 when Donnie Moran, the four-time World 100 winner, outdueled Don O’Neal, an eventual Dirt Late Model Dream champion, to take the $1 million payday.

The Eldora Million on June 9 will feature a full program of racing action with tournament-style preliminary features on June 8 that will set the event’s heat races before culminating with the $1 million-to-win championship feature.

The combination of two giant shows — The Eldora Million and the 28th running of the $128,000-to-win Dirt Late Model Dream June 10 and 11 — all in a span of four days creates one of the richest open competition events in motorsports history with posted prize money in excess of $1.9 million.

All four days of racing from the Dirt Late Model Dream Week, including The Eldora Million, will be available worldwide exclusively on FloRacing, Eldora’s official livestream partner.

Tickets and camping spaces for all of Eldora’s 2022 events are on sale now exclusively at eldoraspeedway.com, where fans also can sign up for breaking news and updates delivered via email or text message.

Local racer passes away

Danny Ogle, a Columbus native, died May 7. He was 51.

Ogle was a former driver, car owner and official at both Twin Cities Raceway Park and Thunder Valley Raceway in Salem. He was the son of the late Ken “Hillbilly” Ogle, who is a member of both the Twin Cities and Brownstown Speedway halls of fame.

This week in racing history

From 60 years ago in 1962, the Columbus Go-Kart Club opened its racing season. The division winners were Charles Thompson, Warren Fisher, Harold Reeves and Bill Ault.

From 40 years ago in 1982 at Brownstown, Ray Godsey won the late model feature over Kenny Simpson, Roger Absher, Bob Fleetwood and Paul Crockett. Darrell Hunter won the street stock feature over Bob Johnson, Bill Abell, John Mull and Marty Thompson. On a Wednesday night special, the All-Star Circuit of Champion Sprint Cars were at Brownstown with Steve Kinser taking the win over Rickey Hood, Rick Ungar, Lee Osborne and Tom Goad. Troy Burton won the street stock feature over Dan Londeree, Bob Johnson, Joe Glass and Mark Elzey.

Also from 40 years ago at Twin Cities, Lee Fleetwood won the limited late model feature over Steve Boley, Jim Ruddick, Bud Seymour and Johnny Mefford. Troy Burton took the street stock feature over Darrell Smallwood, Bill Franks, Charlie Hartwell and Ernie Niemoeller.

The 1982 racing season for the Columbus Kart Club kicked off at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds. Division winners were Tony Stewart, Taulby Donnell, Darrin Scudder, Jerry Shirley, John Pollock and Steve Stuckwisch.

From 30 years ago in 1992 at Brownstown, Don O’Neal won the Kenny Simpson Memorial Race over Bob Pierce, John Gill, C.J. Rayburn and Jack Boggs. Mark Barber won the street stock feature over Scott Patman, Randy Petro, Darren Davis and Brad Schlehuser. George Berry won the bomber feature over Ray Hughes, Murl Robinson, Bruce Turner and Kevin Sebastian.

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

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