Weir Wins Sprint Feature at ‘Jack and Jiggs Classic;’
Losh Tops the Mods; Macenko Wins the Kenyon Midget Main;
Hobbs and Arcaro Triumph in Street Stocks and Hornets
At Gas City I-69 Speedway Friday Night
GAS CITY, Ind., June 4 — Defending track champion Scotty Weir of Marion, Ind., used the high line to become the third different 25-lap non-wing sprint car feature winner in as many races over former track champion Shane Cottle of Kansas, Ill., Friday night at Gas City I-69 Speedway to highlight the fifth annual “Jack and Jiggs Classic.”
The 20-lap United Midwestern Promoters (UMP) modified feature was a battle of track champions too. Derek Losh of Rensselear, Ind., the 2020 modified champion, came from the rear to beat Bub Roberts of Warren, Ind., the 2021 champion.
Jackson Macenko of Cincinnati said he let two United States Speed Association (USSA) Kenyon midget feature victories get away from him earlier this year. He made sure that didn’t happen again as he led every lap of the 30-lap Kenyon midget feature.
There was a new winner in the street stock class, as Lee Hobbs of Mitchell, Ind., won that 15-lap main event over the driver who dominated the first two street stock features of the year, James Headley of Marion, Ind.
Landon Arcaro of Brookville, Ind., celebrated his 15th birthday on Wednesday and continued to celebrate in victory lane on Friday after winning his second 15-lap hornet feature in a row.
The “Jack and Jiggs Classic” pays homage to current track owner Jack Himelick and former promoter Jiggs Thomason. Himelick was on hand at the track. Thomason and his wife are both currently hospitalized due to COVID-19, but Thomason sent a message of good wishes through the current promoter, Larry Boos.
Non-Wing Sprint Cars
Weir started tenth and used the high line to blast through the field while the early leaders, polesitter Jack Hoyer of Frankford, Ind., and fellow front-row starter Colten Cottle, Shane’s nephew, also of Kansas, Ill., duked it out up front. Weir continued to use the high side to advance from seventh on lap two to fourth on lap three, and then he took third on lap four from Matt Goodnight of Muncie, Ind. Goodnight got him back on lap five on the backstretch, but Weir retook third on lap six right before a yellow flew, erasing Colten Cottle’s 0.536-second lead over Hoyer.
The yellow was for an incident on the backstretch which saw the sixth-place car driven by Shane Cockrum of Benton, Ill., and the seventh-place car driven by Kyle Shipley of Lebanon, Ind., become hooked together. An altercation ensued between the pair which drew a red flag. Their cars eventually got unhooked and they both restarted at the rear.
Weir was ready to strike on the restart in Scott and Donna Pedersen’s DRC/Pedersen Chevy, which is sponsored by Red’s Racing Engines, Indy Race Parts and AFCO. He passed Hoyer high in Turn 4 on lap seven for second, and took the lead in the same spot from Colten Cottle on lap eight.
Shane Cottle got around Hoyer on lap nine to move into third and he took second from his nephew on lap 16.
Hoyer was running fifth when he spun between Turns 3 and 4 with 20 laps down, and Garrett Abrams of Rushville, Ind., who was 15th at the time, slid into him. That yellow wiped out Weir’s 1.720-second lead over Shane Cottle and gave Cottle another chance to pass him, but Weir still had a 1.414-second advantage over Shane Cottle at the checkered.
Colten Cottle finished third in the famous Hazen No. 57. Korbyn Hayslett of Troy, Ohio came from 11th to finish fourth, while Chad Boespflug of Lebanon, Ind., came from 12th to place fifth.
Zack Pretorius of Yorktown, Ind.; Tim Creech of Indianapolis, and Goodnight crossed the finish line after them. Tyler Hewitt of Noblesville, Ind., flipped in Turn 4 with three laps down in the second sprint group qualifying session earlier in the evening but he rebounded to place ninth, and Dustin Ingle of Lima, Ohio rounded out the top 10.
UMP Modifieds
Losh started fifth in the modified feature, but he was forced to go to the work area with two laps down to replace a tire and make other repairs to his No. 21, which is sponsored by Superior Sales and Service, R & R Transmission, Aggressive Graphics and Rensselaer Iron and Metal. He could have been stranded in the work area, but he gained some time when a second yellow flew before the restart when Jerry Bland Jr. of Anderson, Ind.; Clayton Bryant of Yoder, Ind., and Jason McCoy collided in Turn 2. Losh return to the rear of the field under that yellow, still on the lead lap, while polesitter Nick Richards of Anderson, Ind. led the early going.
Roberts started third and took second from Andy Bishop of Gas City before another yellow flew for debris in Turn 2 with four laps down.
The yellow flew again with five laps down when McCoy spun between Turns 3 and 4. At that point Losh was penalized two spots for jumping the restart, which put him back to ninth.
Dylan Woodling of Warsaw, Ind., took the lead from Richards at the start/finish line with seven laps down, and Roberts passed Richards for second on the following lap. Roberts dipped under Woodling in Turn 4 for the lead on lap 12, but Losh had already worked his up to third by that point and was bearing down on them.
The top trio was three abreast going through Turns 3 and 4 working lap 15, but when that lap was recorded Roberts was leading followed by Losh and Woodling. Losh took the lead from Roberts on lap 16 and then powered away to a 3.168-second victory over him. Woodling finished third; Richards was fourth, and Bishop rounded out the top five.
The modified feature was part of the Gas City/Montpelier Motor Speedway “Neighborly Modified Challenge” mini-series, which carries an additional $1,600 point fund. The mini-series consists of races at Gas City on selected Friday nights and races at Montpelier the following night. The next two dates in the mini-series for Gas City are June 17 and July 29.
USSA Kenyon Midgets
Macenko led all 30 laps of the Kenyon midget feature in his No. 24, which is sponsored by J.T.M. Food Group, Jet’s Pizza, Brockman Signs and Valley Interior Systems. He had more than a 2-second lead on lap 10 when Ryan Huggler of Winamac, Ind., passed David Osborn of Indianapolis for second, and a 2.320-second lead five laps later at the halfway point when Trey Osborne of Columbus, Ohio passed Osborn for third.
Osborne passed Huggler for second on lap 22 and finished in that spot.
Dameron Taylor of Indianapolis was running seventh when he spun in Turns 3 and 4 with 28 laps down to wipe out Macenko’s 1.968-second lead over Osborne, but Macenko still had a 0.621-second margin of victory and his first feature win of the season. Huggler finished third, Osborn placed fourth and Marcel Berndt of Berlin, Germany finished fifth.
Street Stocks
After Headley’s domination of the first two street stock features of the year, it seemed like the only way anyone would win one of those features was by passing him. Hobbs found a different way. He started on the pole and never let Headley or anyone else by, leading all 15 laps in his No. H0, which he built and owns along with his wife, Shelly. It is sponsored by Superior Systems and Supply and Erv’s Card Shack/Living Room Center.
Headley started tenth but was already fifth by the end of lap one, fourth on lap two, third on lap three, and he took second from Bill Lewis of Fountain City, Ind., by dipping under him in Turn 4 on lap four.
Headley chased Hobbs the rest of the way, but he never got close because he became embroiled in a fierce battle to defend second from Lewis, who finished third. James Headley Jr. of Wabash, Ind., started ninth but placed fourth and Andy Bishop of Gas City both started and finished in the fifth position.
Hornets
Polesitter Greg Marlow of Greentown, Ind., and Heisman Skeens of Marion, Ind., didn’t make Arcaro’s second victory in as many weeks easy. Marlow led the first lap until Arcaro passed him on lap two. Arcaro was able to build up an 0.831-second lead by lap four, while behind him there was a heated battle for second between Skeens, Marlow and Jeremy Jones of Gas City.
A caution flag for debris in Turns 3 and 4 on lap 10 erased Arcaro’s 1.883-second lead and gave Skeens a crack at passing him. He did just that with a move to the inside in Turn 2 on the restart to lead lap 11, but Arcaro got him back by charging to the outside of him coming off Turn 4 on lap 12 and led the rest of the way.
Skeens lost power at that point and finished seventh, which vaulted Marlow up to second and he finished in that position. Jones finished third followed by Blake Andrus of Sweetwater, Texas, and Tracy Runion of Wilkinson, Ind.
Arcaro’s car is sponsored in part by Gilman’s Home Center, Remax Preferred Choice, and Smith Landscaping and Lawn Care.
What’s Next?
Next Friday night, June 10, is one of the biggest races of the year at Gas City as it hosts a stop on the USAC Indiana Midget Week trail. It’s an open-wheel doubleheader, as the USAC NOS Energy Drink national midgets will share the card with Gas City’s non-wing sprint cars.
Michael “Buddy” Kofoid of Penngrove, Calif., won Gas City’s USAC Midget Week feature last year.
The pits open at 3 p.m., the grandstands at 5 p.m., and hot laps are scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. Tickets and pit passes will be sold at the gate. The midget feature will be 30 laps. More info on the midget portion of the event can be found on usacracing.com.
For Gas City’s complete 2022 schedule and more information see the track’s website at gascityI69Speedway.com and also follow its social media outlets. The track is on Twitter (@GasCitySpeedway), Instagram (@GasCitySpeedway) and Facebook (GasCitySpeedwayOnTheGas).
Gas City I-69 Speedway is located on State Road 22, approximately a half-mile west of exit 259 of Interstate 69, about halfway between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, Ind.
