August 7, 2023 – Holly, Michigan – Must See Racing Sprint Series Presented by Engine Pro today announced that several cash bonuses will be up for grabs during the Bob Frey Classic at Lorain Raceway Park in South Amherst, Ohio August 19.
Must See Racing will present to the fans a double-header of winged sprint car racing on this night featuring the Maxima Racing Oils Midwest Lights Series and the 410 National Series. The 410 series will highlight the event with the annual ‘Jerry Caryer Memorial 40’.
Lap money will be offered in both events to the leader of select laps. The lap money pot continues to grow as we draw closer to the event and lap sponsors continue to come in. Last years ‘Jerry Caryer Memorial 40’ winner Jason Blonde took home over an estimated $1500 in lap money in addition to regular purse money.
This year the series is offering a $750 bonus to the fastest qualifier of the 410 event with $250 going to the second fastest qualifier. This will certainly make qualifying for this year’s event exciting.
The event annually honors local sprint car legend Bob Frey who got his start at the track in the early 1970’s. Frey would later go on to win 5 Little 500 titles and victories in USAC Silver Crown and USAC National Sprint Car Series competition. Frey was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2022.
A strong filed of 410 National Series drivers is expected including Jason Blonde, Davey Hamilton Jr., Rick Holley, Bobby Komisarski, Joe Liguori, Jimmy McCune, Tyler Roahrig, Bobby Santos III, Charlie Schultz, and many others.
For more information on the Bob Frey Classic or Must See Racing please log onto www.mustseeracing.com or follow us on Facebook.
July 31, 2023 – Plymouth, Indiana – Plymouth Motor Speedway along with Must See Racing Sprint Series Presented by Engine Pro today announced that winged pavement sprint cars will return to the 3/8 semi-banked track September 16, 2023. It will be the first-time winged pavement sprint cars have graced the track in over 13 years.
The speedway opened in 1952 as an asphalt track but was covered with dirt in 2012. The dirt was removed prior to last season, and this will be the first winged sprint car event on the asphalt since Jimmy McCune was victorious in a Hoosier Outlaw Sprint Series event on September 9, 2011.
Modern era winged sprint cars became a regular attraction to the Plymouth Motor Speedway beginning in 1991 when Sprints on Dirt added dates to its schedule. Winged sprints cars were so popular that the speedway would run as many as 4 events per year and drew huge crowds. Over the years, in addition to S.O.D., Capital Promotions and HOSS have contested multiple events at the track.
Due to the length of absence of winged sprint cars at the track, a huge crowd is expected. This will be the season finale for the MSR 410 National Series and the 2023 champion will be crowned on this night. Local driver Tyler Roahrig headlines a group of drivers that will probably include Jimmy McCune, Bobby Santos III, Charlie Schultz, Joe Ligouri, Jason Blonde, Rick Holley, Davey Hamilton Jr., and many more.
“The Must See Racing staff, teams and drivers are really looking forward to competing at Plymouth Motor Speedway’s track that is perfect for our high horsepower fast winged sprint cars. This is going to be an exciting event and some great racing entertainment for the fans” said MSR president Jim Hanks.
A full night of racing action including qualifying and heat races will be capped off by a 40-lap feature event. For more information, please visit www.mustseeracing.com or like and follow the MSR Facebook page.
MARNE, Mich. (July 22, 2023) – If Jimmy McCune’s Friday night Must See Racing Engine Pro Sprint Car Series win was a wild fight, his Saturday night victory at Berlin Raceway was a simple, sunset cruise.
McCune made it look easy at the seven-sixteenths-mile oval en route to scoring his second trophy in as many days. He started from the outside pole, took the lead at the outset, and never trailed in the 30-lap feature, holding off Davey Hamilton Jr. the whole way for his fourth feature win of the season.
The five-time series champion from Toledo, Ohio, weathered two caution periods and subsequent restarts before taking the checkered flag in front by 1.872 seconds.
“That was a special car, right there,” said McCune after his 42nd career Must See Racing win and third series victory at Berlin. “Kerch (Engine builder Dick Kercher) had this motor set on kill tonight. The car would do anything that I wanted or needed it to. We’ve worked our tails off trying to get this thing to run right over the past couple of months and it’s nice to see those efforts finally rewarded with the finishes this team is capable of.
“I know a lot of people might have doubted us after the rough start to the season, but we’re back where we need to be now and we’re looking forward to carrying this momentum into the last month of the tour.”
The first slowdown in the main event was for an ailing Quintin Saayman on the backstretch with nine laps complete, while the second yellow flag waved with nine laps to go after Anthony McCune spun entering turn three and smacked the inside wall with the back end of his familiar No. 8 machine.
Hamilton ran second to McCune for all 30 laps Saturday night, trying several different things in traffic in an event to get around the race-long leader, to no avail.
“Our restart speed wasn’t the best in the feature tonight,” Hamilton lamented. “We weren’t where we needed to be on the short runs, but as the laps went on we got better and better … and just didn’t need that last caution, I don’t think. We were better in traffic, but that last yellow hurt us and just got Jimmy back in the clean air where he was a little stronger than we were.
“We had nothing for him at the end, but still a really strong effort for this team and we feel like a victory this year is coming; I feel good about where our program is at.”
Series point leader Jason Blonde maintained his advantage over defending champion Charlie Schultz with a third-place finish. Mike McVetta used a pass on the final restart to claim fourth and Schultz was fifth. Polesitter Teddy Alberts faded to eighth from the top starting position in the main event.
Schultz limited the ground lost by kicking off the night with his third fast time of the season, touring Berlin’s semi-banked oval in 13.300 seconds (118.421 mph) in qualifying with his Star Customs-backed No. 9s sprint car.
Bobby Komisarski and Tommy Nichols split the first two heat race victories, while Rick Holley claimed the fully-inverted Engine Pro Fast Car Dash heat race that featured the fastest eight cars from qualifying.
The Must See Racing Engine Pro Sprint Car Series season continues back at Berlin Raceway on Aug. 12 with the tour’s third and final visit this season to the historic facility.
For more information on Must See Racing, visit www.mustseeracing.com.
Jimmy McCune won Friday’s Must See Racing stop at Birch Run Speedway. (Kelly Poole photos)
BIRCH RUN, Mich. (July 21, 2023) – In a feature as electric as any in the 14-year history of the Must See Racing Engine Pro Sprint Car Series, Jimmy McCune won his third race of the season Friday night at Birch Run Speedway and Event Center.
McCune led 28 of 30 laps at the four-tenths-mile paved oval and fended off a masterful challenge from Bobby Santos III en route to victory lane.
Despite starting on the pole and dominating most of the 30-lap distance, it still took four lead changes and a one-lap dash to glory before McCune could celebrate the win for good.
A masterful dance through slower traffic saw Tyler Roahrig lead lap seven by inches and eventual runner-up Santos do the same on lap 26. Both times, McCune fought back in turn one to retake the lead the next circuit.
Then, after a final-lap spin by Davey Hamilton Jr. set up a restart and single-lap sprint to the finish, McCune pulled away and raced to victory without another thought in the moment.
“I don’t know,” admitted McCune when asked how he ended up in victory lane for the 41st time in his Must See Racing career. “Somebody had to have been riding along with me there, because Tyler and I and the lapped car we passed on the frontstretch … all I could think about was, ‘Don’t let me lose this because of a lapped car,’ and I just squeezed and didn’t lift.’
“I closed my eyes for a second … but we made it through,” he added. “Even when Santos got to me, there were a few hairy spots in the closing laps, and we just kept fighting to keep the lead and the clean air. Now that we’ve finally got the motor running well and we can focus more on the handling of this car, I’m excited to go again rather than worried about what we’re going to have. This is a big one, for sure.”
Behind McCune and Santos, Jason Blonde converted a last-lap pass into a third-place finish, maintaining a 15-point lead in the championship standings in the process.
Charlie Schultz was fourth and Rick Holley closed the top five.
Santos kicked off the program by setting fast time around the four-tenths-mile paved oval with a lap of 13.422 seconds (107.287 mph). It marked his first top qualifying effort of the season, first at Birch Run, and the ninth of his Must See Racing career.
Schultz, Hamilton and Blonde won their respective heat races prior to the main event.
The Must See Racing Engine Pro Sprint Car Series season continues Saturday night with the second of three visits this season to Berlin Raceway in Marne, Mich.
Blonde won the most recent tour visit to the seven-sixteenths-mile oval on May 20.
For more information on Must See Racing, visit the series website at www.mustseeracing.com.
RESULTS: Must See Racing Engine Pro Sprint Car Series; Birch Run (Mich.) Speedway; July 21, 2023
Qualifying (best of two laps): 1. Bobby Santos III, 22a, Fieler-13.422; 2. Davey Hamilton Jr., 14, Morgan-13.563; 3. Charlie Schultz, 9s, IBT-13.633; 4. Anthony McCune, 8, McCune-13.693; 5. Tyler Roahrig, 36, Statham-13.785; 6. Jimmy McCune, 88, McCune-13.802; 7. Rick Holley, 85, Holley-13.827; 8. Dorman Snyder, 99, Stickney-13.834; 9. Teddy Alberts, 44, Wolverine-13.914; 10. Jason Blonde, 42, Nosal-14.050; 11. Tommy Nichols, 55, Nichols-14.159; 12. Joe Speakman, 72s, Speakman-14.225; 13. Todd McQuillen, 2, Koyan-14.350; 14. Johnny Petrozelle III, 81, Blake-14.365; 15. Tom Geren, 11g, Geren-14.684; 16. Andrew Bogusz, 17, Bogusz-14.700; 17. Bobby Komisarski, 7, Fogle-14.750; 18. Kevin Mingus, Z10, Mingus-14.884; 19. Charlie Baur, 23, Baur-14.912; 20. Quintin Saymaan, 77, Saymaan-15.403.
Heat #1 (8 laps): 1. Charlie Schultz [5], 2. Joe Speakman [2], 3. Jimmy McCune [4], 4. Tom Geren [1], 5. Teddy Alberts [3], 6. Andrew Bogusz [6], 7. Charlie Baur [7].
Heat #2 (8 laps): 1. Davey Hamilton Jr. [5], 2. Tyler Roahrig [4], 3. Dorman Snyder [3], 4. Tommy Nichols [2], 5. Bobby Komisarski [6], 6. Johnny Petrozelle [1], 7. Quintin Saayman [7].
Heat #3 (8 laps): 1. Jason Blonde [2], 2. Anthony McCune [4], 3. Todd McQuillen [1], 4. Rick Holley [3], 5. Bobby Santos III [5], 6. Kevin Mingus [6].
July 18, 2023 – Tyler Roahrig is set to return to winged asphalt sprint car competition this weekend and he will compete in the Must See Racing Sprint Series Presented by Engine Pro events this weekend in Michigan. The series will visit Birch Run Speedway Friday July 21 and Berlin Raceway Saturday night.
Roahrig is no stranger to winged competition. In fact, the Plymouth, Indiana native got his sprint car start running with a wing. In less than 20 starts, he picked up two victories before moving on to non-winged competition where he has been a terror. He currently has two Little 500 victories and counting.
It was announced last week that Roahrig would be driving the Ken Statham owned #36 Hurricane chassis, previously driven by Troy DeCaire, the remainder of the year in MSR competition. Tyler will make his debut for the Tampa, Florida based team this weekend.
“I like wing racing, but I’ve been so busy with other racing endeavors, and life in general outside of racing, and haven’t pursued it the last few seasons” explains Roahrig.” Either way you look at it, it’s a good deal for me. I get to drive a top-of-the-line car. Ken and Theresa Statham are great people. I got to spend the last week and a half with them. Hopefully this will lead to a successful relationship, and we can do some more racing together.
“I haven’t done a lot of winged racing lately but don’t feel any pressure. “I Know there are some good cars in Must See Racing. Jimmy McCune, Bobby Santos, and Jason Blonde. These guys are good. Jason Blonde was winning when I was racing with the wings.
Saturdays Berlin Raceway might be his toughest weekend assignment. In addition to the MSR event, the 500 Sprint Car Tour will be on hand for a rare 410 sprint car winged and non-winged double header. He will be competing in both events. He has won the last three 500SCT appearances at the track.
Roahrig doesn’t seem too concerned with the extra work he will have to do on Saturday night. “I’ve got two great teams to do it with, and that will make things a lot easier. I’m sure it will be a little bit different. My non-wing car has been good at Berlin so hopefully it won’t require a ton of attention. I know Bobby Santos is gonna be doing the same thing. It’s kinda cool. I’ve done two cars in the same day before. That’s one of my goals, to win two races in one day, with different cars. I’ve seen Kody Swanson and Bobby Sanros do it. If I could win both races on Saturday that would be incredible. I’m looking forward to this weekend” concluded Roahrig.
July 11, 2023- Holly, Michigan – The Must See Racing Sprint Series Presented by Engine Pro is preparing for its biggest weekend of the year when the series visits Birch Run Speedway in Birch Run, Michigan July 21 and returns to Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan the following night for the second of its three visits there in 2023.
Birch Run Speedway has been the site of several exciting events in recent seasons and July 21 is expected to be the same. Charlie Schultz and Jimmy McCune each picked up feature victories there when the series last visited over Memorial Day Weekend as part of the 3rd annual American Speed U.S. Nationals.
The following evening at Berlin Raceway is expected to be one of the most anticipated pavement sprint car events of the year as MSR will be joined by the non-winged 500 Sprint Car Tour for a rare non-wing / winged pavement sprint car event in the same night. This will be only the second time in the sports history that unrestricted 410 wing and non-winged sprint car events have been ran at the same track on the same night. The only other time was in 2010 when the USAC National Sprint Car Series joined MSR at Salem Speedway as part of the Joe James / Pat O’Connor Memorial.
Tyler Roahrig and Bobby Santos have indicated they will be doing double duty at Berlin and plan to run both the MSR event and 500 Sprint Car Tour events in the same night using separate cars. The weekend is expected to field the strongest list of competitors and car count seen so far this season for MSR. Other drivers expected to compete also include Jason Blonde, Jeff Bloom, Davey Hamilton Jr., Rick Holley, Ryan Litt, Anthony McCune, Jimmy McCune, Mike McVetta, Tommy Nichols, Charlie Schultz, and Dorman Snyder among others.
Jason Blonde won the season opener at Berlin May 20 and assumed the series points lead. Through five races he continues to set the pace. He currently holds 12-point margin over second place Charlie Schultz and an 18-point margin over third place Jimmy McCune. The series is enjoying its most competitive season in several years with 4 different winners in 5 events contested in 2023. Only McCune has more than 1 win (2) going into next weekend’s Michigan double-header.
For more information on all things Must See Racing please visit www.mustseeracing.com .
Jimmy McCune in victory lane at Owosso Speedway. (David Sink photo)
OVID, Mich. (June 24, 2023) – Whether his pre-race nerves were smoke and mirrors, the world may never know, but Jimmy McCune completed a surprise turnaround Saturday night at Owosso Speedway.
McCune took a car that, by his own admission, “hadn’t handled right all day,” to victory lane in a thrilling 40-lapper at the three-eighths-mile oval. He held off a persistent Davey Hamilton Jr. aboard his familiar No. 88 for a milestone 40th career Must See Racing Engine Pro Sprint Car Series victory.
While Hamilton looked for a way past time and time again, McCune relied on veteran experience to keep his car in the right place at the right moment from the drop of the green flag on through.
“It seemed like forever,” said McCune of the second half of the race. “I thought we’d never get to the checkered [flag]. We were mediocre all day, but track position made it happen for us there. Getting out front in clean air helped us enough to overcome some of the issues we had. We just never could get our legs underneath us until it counted.
“Right before the feature, I threw the kitchen sink at it, and then threw the faucet at [the car] too for good measure,” he added. “I saw something in a cloud that I said, ‘We’re gonna do that,’ and it paid off for us somehow. This is a great night.”
After a nine inversion placed Bobby Komisarski on the pole, Komisarski saw McCune lead the opening lap following a tenacious outside move by the five-time champion. Still, however, Komisarski kept the pressure on despite a caution flag on lap four when Ryan Litt’s car lost brakes and stopped in turn one.
Jimmy McCune (88) raced to victory Saturday night at Owosso Speedway in Must See Racing sprint car action. (David Sink photo)
It took until the 11th lap for Hamilton to get past Komisarski into the runner-up spot, but once there Hamilton pursued McCune heavily even around a final caution with 18 laps scored for debris on the backstretch.
Despite looking both outside and inside, Hamilton just didn’t have anything to get around McCune and into clean air to try and escape, settling for his second straight second-place finish.
“I think we just needed more laps, honestly,” Hamilton admitted. “We were getting closer at the end; Jimmy was getting tighter and tighter, but just didn’t have enough time tonight. I made my car as wide as this race track, trying to find new ways around Jimmy, but we’ll have our day soon. I’m sure of it.”
Defending series champion Charlie Schultz completed the podium ahead of Komisarski and Bobby Santos III.
Past rookie-of-the-year Rick Holley kicked off the night with his first career fast time in qualifying, posting a lap of 13.066 seconds (103.322 mph) around the recently repaved three-eighths-mile oval.
Komisarski and Litt won their respective heat races prior to the main event.
The Must See Racing Engine Pro Sprint Car Series returns to action Saturday, July 1 at Illinois’ Rockford Speedway, part of the historic quarter-mile oval’s final season of racing.
RESULTS: Must See Racing Engine Pro Sprint Car Series; Owosso (Mich.) Speedway; June 24, 2023
Qualifying (best of two laps): 1. Rick Holley, 85, Holley-13.066; 2. Jason Blonde, 42, Nosal-13.311; 3. Ryan Litt, 07, Litt-13.339; 4. Bobby Santos III, 22a, Fieler-13.391; 5. Charlie Schultz, 9s, IBT-13.509; 6. Davey Hamilton Jr., 14, Morgan-13.629; 7. Dorman Snyder, 99, Stickney-13.648; 8. Jimmy McCune, 88, McCune-13.669; 9. Bobby Komisarski, 7, Fogle-13.710; 10. Anthony McCune, 8, McCune-13.836; 11. Teddy Alberts, 44, Wolverine-13.870; 12. Kevin Mingus, Z10, Mingus-14.157; 13. Tom Geren, 11, Geren-14.490; 14. Jeff Bloom, 26, Bloom-NT; 15. Todd McQuillen, 2, Koyan-NT; 16. Tommy Nichols, 55, Nichols-NT; 17. Joe Speakman, 72s, Speakman-NT.
Heat #1 (8 laps, all transfer): 1. Bobby Komisarski [2], 2. Dorman Snyder [4], 3. Jimmy McCune [3], 4. Kevin Mingus [6], 5. Teddy Alberts [5], 6. Joe Speakman [8], 7. Anthony McCune [1], 8. Tommy Nichols [7], 9. Tom Geren (DNS).
Heat #2 (8 laps, all transfer): 1. Ryan Litt [2], 2. Bobby Santos III [1], 3. Jason Blonde [3], 4. Davey Hamilton Jr. [6], 5. Charlie Schultz [5], 6. Rick Holley [4].
June 23, 2023 – Holly, Michigan – Tampa, Florida driver Tommy Nichols is having a rough start to his 2023 Must See Racing Sprint Series Presented by Engine Pro championship chase. In 4 series starts, he has failed to finish a single race in the series this season. It has been every possible scenario you could think of.
Nichols began the season with the intent to chase the Midwest based MSR winged pavement sprint car series despite living in Tampa. A good friend, Aaron Pierce, offered him space out of his Daleville, Indiana shop, to work out of, and leave his cars. He’s been making the commute back and forth each weekend from his Tampa home to compete. To say this has been challenging would be an understatement.
His DNF’s has been a variety of issues ranging from handling, a collapsed top wing, and engine woes. But these setbacks haven’t hampered Nichols’ spirit and he intends to get back at it when the series visits the newly repaved 3/8 Owosso Speedway in Ovid, Michigan.
Nichols was involved in a serious accident Sunday afternoon in a non-winged sprint car event at Toledo Speedway that saw his car plow into the turn one wall receiving damage. Then on Thursday evening his late evening flight to Indianapolis was postponed due to weather in the Orlando area. It seems the poor guy can’t catch a break.
“I haven’t finished a single MSR race this year” stated Nichols. “The first race at Berlin I had to pull in because the car wasn’t handling. The following race the wing broke after starting on the pole. The race after that we were sitting on fast time in practice and the motor blew. We took it home and had it repaired, took it back up there, bolted it in, and it blew again.
“This week we had to pull the motor out of the non-wing car and put it in the wing car. As I sit here at the airport (Thursday evening) all the flights are getting cancelled because the weather’s really bad down here in Florida. Hopefully we can get up there late tonight and finish it up late tomorrow. We just gotta plumb it up and nut and bolt the car. That’s about it, and she’s ready to go”.
“The crash Sunday looked worse than it really was. It only tore up the front axle, the front nose of the car, and the bumper. It didn’t even tear up a single radius rod on the car. The foam blocks saved my life. I wasn’t even sore. The right front wheel caught the foam block and basically helicoptered the car around and did circles.
“I was following 2 cars and they were basically bottom feeding and staying nose to tail. I committed to a move on the outside, and when I did, they happened to go 2-wide. And when they did, I ended up making it 3-wide. I was 25 mph faster than them going into the corner. I had a choice to make. Run into the back of them or try to save it on the outside. I thought I could save it, but there was nothing but debris out there”.
Despite all his recent setbacks, Nichols has a single goal in mind for this Saturday’s Owosso event. “Finish the race. We need to get a green and we need to get a checkered. Wherever we finish will be an accomplishment. We gotta take it one checkered flag at a time” concluded Nichols.
June 20, 2023 – Holly, Michigan – Owosso Speedway next awaits the Must See Racing Sprint Series Presented by Engine Pro and the Maxima Racing Oils Midwest Lights Series with a winged sprint car double header this Saturday night June 24 at Owosso Speedway in Ovid, Michigan.
When Must See Racing comes to town this weekend the “Fastest Short Track Cars in the World” will give new meaning to the word “speed”. The 3/8 high-banked Owosso Speedway was recently repaved over the offseason and it is expected that the all-time track record could fall to the MSR National 410 series.
The MSR National 410 series is amid its most competitive season to date. In four races there have been for different winners. There are still a handful of drivers expected to win a feature race before seasons end that haven’t won yet in 2023. Jason Blonde, Charlie Schultz, Jimmy McCune, and Bobby Santos III have each won a MSR feature event in 2023.
Defending Midwest Lights champions Cody Gallogly has thus far won both of that series’ events and looks like he could be a serious contender for a repeat Maxima Racing Oils Midwest Lights Series championship.
The series is in the middle of its busiest stretch of races. This will be the second of three consecutive weekends for the national series.
This weekends early entry list reveals a very stout lineup of drivers. Early entries include Ryan Litt, Jimmy McCune, Anthony McCune, Jason Blonde, Bobby Santos III, Rick Holley, Jeff Bloom, and Davey Hamilton Jr, are just a few of the early entries.
For more info on Must See Racing or this weekends Owosso event, please log onto www.mustseeracing.com
Bobby Santos III (22a) took his first Must See Racing sprint car win of the season Friday night at Lorain Raceway Park. (David Sink photos)
SOUTH AMHERST, Ohio (June 16, 2023) – A late-race caution afforded Bobby Santos III the chance to strike in Friday night’s Must See Racing Engine Pro Sprint Car Series feature at Lorain Raceway Park, and the Massachusetts veteran resoundingly seized the moment.
Santos powered around the outside of a dominant Davey Hamilton Jr. when the green flag waved with 10 laps left, then drove away into the night en route to victory during the opening act of the Super Crown Nationals at the three-eighths-mile oval.
The past NASCAR modified champion captured the checkered flag by .958 seconds over Hamilton, winning for the seventh time in his Must See Racing career in a race that appeared to be Hamilton’s for the taking.
Hamilton, a third-generation driver from Tampa, Fla., roared to the top spot on lap five of the 40-lapper and appeared to be in control for the majority of the night. He opened up a lead of more than a half track on Santos, who started 10th after the inversion die was rolled, by the midway point of the race.
However, what Hamilton couldn’t have foreseen was the mechanical issue that befell 2020 series champion Anthony McCune with 10 to go, forcing the only caution flag of the night and setting up a double-file restart with Santos on the high side and motivated to make something happen.
He did just that, ultimately collecting the king’s crown in victory lane for his first victory at Lorain.
“When the caution came out, I knew that was my only shot,” noted Santos in victory lane. “Davey and his boys did an awesome job; they were the car to beat. We just got a good restart and got the clean air at the end when it mattered.
“Coop and Tony worked their butts off … because we weren’t always where we needed to be today, but we got the job done when we needed to,” he added. “The track was tough all night and it was hard to pass, but we proved there were two lanes because we started 10th and won, so that’s pretty cool.”
Though Hamilton was disappointed at falling short of the win after leading a race-high 26 laps, he was quick to give credit to Santos and circled the one aspect of his performance that he knows needs work.
“I need to get better on my restarts; I’m the one that’s responsible for this second-place finish,” Hamilton admitted. “The guys did a great job with this piece; it was capable of winning tonight, for sure. Bobby’s the man to beat, though, no matter where he goes.
“To run second to him is good, but I think we deserve one spot better and can get there soon enough.”
Five-time series champion Jimmy McCune completed the podium finishers ahead of point leader Jason Blonde and Mike McVetta, who finished fifth after winning the ISMA/MSS supermodified feature earlier in the night.
Defending series titlist Charlie Schultz crossed the line sixth, the final car on the lead lap Friday night.
Two-time Must See Racing Driver of the Year Joe Liguori kicked off the program by shattering the sprint car track record at Lorain Raceway Park, ripping around the three-eighths-mile oval in 12.171 seconds (110.919 mph) with his No. 13 Sunshine Trailer Park-backed Brand-X.
The effort marked Liguori’s first fast time of the season and the seventh of his Must See Racing career. Unfortunately, Liguori broke an engine during his heat race and was forced to end the night early.
Joe Speakman, Todd McQuillen and McVetta split the trio of eight-lap heat race wins before the main.
McQuillen passed polesitter J.J. Henes on the initial start and led the first four circuits of the feature before giving way to Hamilton’s blue No. 14.
The Must See Racing Engine Pro Sprint Car Series season continues June 24 at Michigan’s Owosso Speedway for the first of two visits to the recently-repaved oval this season.
For more information on Must See Racing, visit the sanctioning body’s website at www.mustseeracing.com.
Qualifying (best of two laps): 1. Joe Liguori, 13, Liguori-12.171 (NTR); 2. Bobby Santos III, 22a, Fieler-12.593; 3. Mike McVetta, 50m, Myers-12.621; 4. Anthony McCune, 8, McCune-12.699; 5. Charlie Schultz, 9s, IBT-12.715; 6. Jimmy McCune, 88, McCune-12.727; 7. Davey Hamilton Jr., 14, Morgan-12.734; 8. Jason Blonde, 42, Nosal-12.916; 9. Todd McQuillen, 2k, Koyan-13.074; 10. Tom Geren, 11g, Geren-13.242; 11. J.J. Henes, 36jr, Henes-13.432; 12. Sawyer Stout, 40, ACME-13.576; 13. Joshua Sexton, 51s, Sexton-13.618; 14. Kevin Mingus, Z10, Mingus-13.652; 15. Jeff Bloom, 28, Bloom-13.658; 16. Joe Speakman, 72, Speakman-13.824; 17. Bobby Komisarski, 7, Fogle-14.136; 18. Tommy Nichols, 55, Nichols-NT; 19. Rick Holley, 85, Holley-NT.
Heat #1 (8 laps, all transfer): 1. Joe Speakman [1], 2. Joshua Sexton [4], 3. Kevin Mingus [3], 4. Bobby Komisarski [5], 5. Jeff Bloom [2].
Heat #2 (8 laps, all transfer): 1. Todd McQuillen [2], 2. Davey Hamilton Jr. [4], 3. Tom Geren [1], 4. Jason Blonde [3], 5. Sawyer Stout [6], 6. J.J. Henes [5].
Heat #3 (8 laps, all transfer): 1. Mike McVetta [2], 2. Bobby Santos III [3], 3. Anthony McCune [1], 4. Charlie Schultz [5], 5. Jimmy McCune [6], 6. Joe Liguori [4].
