[MMSA]

St. Jude's Weekend Elmer Davis Memorial Recap

This past weekend, the MMSA Lightning Sprints traveled south for a winged double header. The first stop for the the Winged Warriors was at Chandler Motor Speedway for the Elmer Davis Memorial. With nearly a full field of cars (19), the MMSA fans were eager for some winged action. The MMSA, in conjunction with Paul Davis Racing, organized a silent auction for the kids of St. Jude. Many drivers were generous enough to sign and donate items for the event.

Lynn Ambrose (1) would capture the heat 1 win followed by rookie Brad Strunk (23s), and the number 10 of Dorsett. Andy Bradley (86) dominated heat 2 over Fitzgerald (88x) and the 25 of Parker. Bradley (86) would accumulate the most passing points sealing him into the 6th start position.

When the feature event rolled out Drew Dorsett (10) would be the beneficiary of the 6 car invert starting on the pole, but it would be the 51 of Davis leading the field in parade laps in memory of his late father Elmer. Dorsett would eventually lead the field to green. Dorsett (10) and a hard charging Colin Ambrose (25) would battle in the opening laps. Meanwhile Lynn Ambrose (1), Brad Strunk (23s), and Andy Bradley (86) would battle for 3rd. Parker (25) would continue his assault on the 10 of Dorsett and eventually would pass him, however a caution for the number 11 of Brandon Smith would help Dorsett (10) retain the lead.

Dorsett (10) would take the green-pulling away form Parker (25), and Lynn Ambrose (1) would secure 3rd and Strunk (23s) would move to 4th. Collin Ambrose (36) would move past the Bradley brothers. Dorsett would have clean air while 2nd-5th positions would really mix it up. In the waning laps Bradley (86) would scrub the wall in turn 3 falling off the pace, in the same lap Strunk in the 23s would over heat bringing out the final caution. Dorsett (10) would once again leap away from Parker (25) on the restart and Ambrose (1) would also take advantage of the hesitation, shuffling Parker (25) to the 3rd position.

At the line it was Dorsett with his second win of the year, followed by Ambrose (1), Parker (25),
Ambrose (36), and Ty Tilton in the (42).

Watson Racing Engines hard charger honors went to Scott Bradley (1x).

Sunday night the premiere support series traveled to the one and only "Class Track"
Haubstadt's Tri State Speedway.

The pits were literally packed with the MMSA contributing 25 winged Lightning Sprints to the mix, however only 24 would sign in with Justin Lewis suffering mechanical problems.

The track was prepped to its usual excellence and the stands were filled to max capacity.

Andy Bradley (86) would hold off Dorsett (10), and a very strong rookie Strunk (23s) for the heat one win.

It would be the number (1) of Lynn Ambrose, over Rod Henning (15) and Colin Miller (2m) in heat 2.

The younger Ambrose (36) would win over Ohio regular Ty Tilton (42) and the 12 of Michael Roehling.

MMSA feature event time would finally come after a lengthy modified feature. Surprisingly, the stands still full with Lightning Sprint fan faithful. A massive field of 22 cars would participate, with Michael Roehling (12) , and Colin Ambrose (36) leading the field to green. Ambrose (36) would jump out in front to an early advantage, leaving Roeling (12) to battle with Ty Tilton in the 42. Bradley's (86) failed to accelerate and field split him as he fell back to 10th position. As the field thinned Rod Henning, driving the Dorsett Racing (15) Henchcraft, would settle in and go to work. Henning (15) would lock down to the bottom, passing Roeling (12) , and eventually Ambrose (36). Henning (15) would continue to lead by a narrow margin with the Ambrose (36) in tow. The fast mover from a deep starting position was the 1x of Scott Bradley, who began to move forward. Roeling (12) would hold down 3rd, at the midway point. The feature would have more cautions than usual, and they would claim Drew Dorsett (10), Ty Tilton (42), Brad Strunk (23s) and eventually current points leader Andy Bradley (86). Henning (15) would continue to lead through the restarts, and Ambrose (36) would continue to challenge on the less effective top side. Scott Bradley would advance past the elder Ambrose (1) to get to into the top 4. A last caution in the waning laps would give Ambrose (36) one more chance. When the green dropped the very experienced Henning (15) stuck to the bottom, Roeling (12) left the door open to Bradley (1x) who would claim 3rd.

At the checkers, Rod Henning (15) would drive to his first MMSA victory of the year. This makes him the 8th driver to do so this season in MMSA Lightning Sprint competition. Rod (15) was followed by Collin Ambrose (36), Scott Bradley (1x), Michael Roeling (12) , and rounding out the top 5 Lynn Ambrose (1).


Although team Dorsett was victorious both nights, the true winners were everyone who donated to St. Jude's Children's Hospital. The MMSA, in conjunction with Paul Davis Racing, raised just shy of $2700 dollars for the kids. On behalf of the Midwest Motor Sports Association, and Paul Davis Racing, we would like to thank everyone who contributed! A special thanks to Tri State Speedway, and Chandler Motor Speedway for hosting us.