Gallogly Schools Lorain Lights Field During Bob Frey Classic
SOUTH AMHERST, Ohio (Aug. 6, 2022) – Cody Gallogly moved one step closer to his first Must See Racing Midwest Lights Series championship by dominating Saturday’s event at Lorain Raceway Park, held as part of the inaugural Bob Frey Classic.
Gallogly kicked off the program by setting a new Midwest Lights track record (13.171 seconds/102.498 mph) in qualifying, then led 27 of 30 laps around the three-eighths-mile paved oval for his second win of the season with the crate-engined sprint car tour.
He added four tallies to his championship lead over rival and runner-up finisher J.J. Henes, giving the Baltimore, Ohio, driver a 13-point cushion with two rounds remaining.
“We know that, when we’re on top of our game, we’re a championship-caliber team,” said Gallogly, who won by 8.183 seconds, in victory lane. “I feel like we proved that tonight. This car was set on kill from the moment we rolled out for qualifying … and in that feature I thought we were as good as we’d been all day long.
“The motor had been laying down in the last two races; it just wasn’t running right and that was hurting us,” he added. “J.J. obviously took advantage of that with his wins, as he should have, but we’re back running how we need to be now and it’s going to be a battle these last few races, that’s for sure.”
Including lap money, Gallogly banked $1,375 for his Lorain Raceway Park victory.
An invert of four placed Joshua Sexton on the pole for the feature, but outside front-row starter Sawyer Stout got the jump on the initial start, leading the first three laps in John Higgins’ iconic red No. 92.
Stout was passed by Gallogly, who started fourth, on lap four after washing up the track in turn two and opening the bottom lane for the eventual winner. Stout later retired from the race with battery issues.
Once he took the lead, Gallogly was unstoppable, running away by more than a half lap in a caution-free feature that took just six minutes, 57 seconds to complete.
After coming home a distant second, Henes admitted that he just “didn’t have the speed” to contend with Gallogly and that his team has work to do in order to rebound over the final two races.
“Today was not a good day for us,” admitted Henes. “The last few races we’ve been really fast, and Cody’s had problems, but now that he’s got those gremlins fixed it was heads up tonight and he was just a lot better than we were. I like it more in a way – we don’t want to beat him when he’s down – but we also don’t like getting our butts kicked like we did in this one.
“Hopefully we can get this thing figured out and be faster next race,” Henes added. “We were just missing a little bit everywhere tonight, and you can’t do that and expect to win these races.”
Sexton completed the podium ahead of Michigan’s Andrew Bogusz and Dale McQuillen.
Teenager Charlie Baur won the first eight-lap heat race Saturday, his first heat win with the series in his rookie season behind the wheel of a sprint car. Stout claimed the second heat race victory with ease.
Jason Blonde captured the headlining Must See Racing Engine Pro Sprint Car Series feature Saturday night by leading 38 of 40 laps in the third annual Jerry Caryer Memorial Race.
Must See Racing Midwest Lights competitors will now have nearly two months to recharge before the penultimate race of the season, the Bev Jaycox Memorial Cavalcade on Oct. 1 at Sandusky (Ohio) Speedway.
For more information on Must See Racing, visit the sanctioning body’s website at www.mustseeracing.com.
Must See Racing Midwest Lights Series; Lorain Raceway Park; South Amherst, Ohio; Aug. 6, 2022
Qualifying (best of two laps): 1. Cody Gallogly, 27, Gallogly-13.171 (NTR); 2. J.J. Henes, 36JR, Henes-13.394; 3. Sawyer Stout, 92, Higgins-13.536; 4. Joshua Sexton, 51s, Sexton-13.792; 5. Andrew Bogusz, 17, Bogusz/Sachs-13.869; 6. Dale McQuillen, 21, McQuillen-14.415; 7. Charlie Baur, 23, Baur-14.458; 8. Tim Henthorne, 15t, Henthorne-14.570; 9. Lauren DePasquale, 18, DePasquale-15.264.
Heat #1 (8 laps, all transfer): 1. Charlie Baur [2], 2. Andrew Bogusz [4], 3. Tim Henthorne [1], 4. Dale McQuillen [3], 5. Lauren DePasquale (DNS).
Heat #2 (8 laps, all transfer): 1. Sawyer Stout [2], 2. J.J. Henes [3], 3. Cody Gallogly [4], 4. Joshua Sexton [1].
Maxima Racing Oil A-Feature (25 laps): 1. Cody Gallogly [4][$1,375], 2. J.J. Henes [3][$600], 3. Joshua Sexton [1][$500], 4. Andrew Bogusz [5][$400], 5. Dale McQuillen [6][$390], 6. Charlie Baur [7][$380], 7. Tim Henthorne [8][$370], 8. Sawyer Stout [2][$435], 9. Lauren DePasquale (DNS).
Lap Leader(s): Joshua Sexton Grid, Sawyer Stout 1-3, Cody Gallogly 4-30.
Hard Charger: #27 – Cody Gallogly (+3)
