Joey Paxson Wins Thursday Night at the Rush County Fair
The Midwest TQ Racing League
presented by Jenmarco.com opened their 2015 fair circuit on Thursday night at the Rush County Fair in Rushville, Ind. and Connersville’s Joey Paxson was the class of the field winning his first MTQRL feature.
Morning rain was a challenge for the fair board but they persevered, worked on the racing surface all afternoon and provided the drivers with one of the raciest Rushville tracks in recent years.
When starter Dave Wilson’s green flag dropped to start the twenty-five lap feature Dustin Wheeldon jumped out to the early lead followed closely by Callie Wolsiffer, Joey Paxson & Ronnie Combs. Wolsiffer got by Wheeldon on the sixth circuit to take the lead with the night’s fast qualifier, Jason Setser passing Combs for fourth the same lap.
The caution flag flew on laps eight, nine and eleven with five drivers, including Wheeldon and Setser, retiring to the pit area. When racing resumed Combs got around Paxson for second and set his sights on Wolsiffer.
Combs was able to make the pass to take the point on lap fifteen, but it was now a four-way battle for the lead with Wolsiffer applying pressure to Combs, and Paxson and Tate Martz on her heels.
As the Tony Stewart Racing teammates Combs and Wolsiffer battled for the lead, Martz slipped by Paxson and looked like he might be the driver to come out on top. With Combs fighting to hold on to his lead, Paxson saw an opening and in three laps went from fourth place to the front of the pack.
Paxson put some distance on Combs to lead the final four laps in his brother Mike’s #71P Ripberger’s Auto Repair / Smith Installation / Amazing Powder Coating / Weiler Auto Body Drinan Honda.
Wolsiffer muscled her way by Combs on the last lap to finish second with Martz and Dalton Miller rounding out the top five. Tyler Wooten, Rick Robinson, Matt Hedrick, Jon Steed and Setser completed the top ten.
Setser, in his first TQ race in nearly fourteen years, was the night’s fast qualifier with a lap of 13.032 seconds. Combs won the Jackson Oil & Solvents Duel for Fuel and Perfect North Slopes heat winners were Setser, Martz and Miller.
The Duane & Sonja Alexander Hard Luck Driver award went to Jon Watson who tagged the front stretch wall and flipped in his heat race. Dalton Miller raced his way through the field, passing eight cars, and was the Steed Motorsports Hard Charger. Wolsiffer’s career best second place finish earned her the Tony Stewart Rookie of the Race, and the Steed Motorsports team won the Jackson Oil & Solvents gift certificate.
The MTQRL three-quarter midgets were scheduled to return to the Rush County Fair on June 26th but rains forced that event to be postponed until July 3rd. The MTQRL will now race at Rushville on Friday July 3rd and again on Saturday July 4th. Practice is scheduled for 6:30 pm each night with qualifications at 7:00 pm and racing at 7:30 pm.
Adult general admission is $10 each night but if you attend on Friday and return on Saturday with Friday’s admission ticket, you will receive $5 off general admission. You must show your ticket from July 3rd to receive the discount on July 4th. No exceptions.
For more information on the MTQRL please Like Us on Facebook at “Midwest TQ Racing League” or visit our website
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