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Humston Rises to the Occasion for ASCS Midwest Win as Danley
Takes Title
by: Lonnie Wheatley
RISING CITY, Neb. (September 13, 2009) – Even though the American Sprint
Car Series Midwest championship was just out of his reach, Chad Humston
didn't let that fact dampen his spirits in Sunday night's
season-championship finale at the Butler County Motorplex.
Humston outdueled Brian Brown on the opening circuit and went on to lead all
25 circuits of the torrid affair to collect the $2,001 winner's share in the
track's 'Race to Remember' Tribute to 9/11 that was postponed by rain from
Friday night to Sunday.
While Humston added an ASCS Midwest series' best third victory of the
season, Jason Danley became the fifth different series champion in as many
years after racing from 19th to sixth to take the crown by 64 markers over
Humston.
While Humston paced the entire distance, he had to survive several cautions
along the way as the battle for second behind him raged on in wildly intense
fashion between Brown and Mike Boston, with Brown getting the nod at the
stripe.
Missouri's Brown started the feature from the pole position with Humston on
his outside shoulder. After a ragged first start got worse with a
backstretch scramble that eliminated Ryan Anderson and Jack Dover and sent
Stuart Snyder tailback, Brown led the way into the first corner only to have
Humston charge by exiting turn two for the lead.
After battling through turns three and four for the point, Humston edged out
front and never looked back in Mark Burch's Engler Tool & Machine No. 1m
Wolfweld, even surviving one last restart that set up a
green-white-checkered run to the stripe.
"I've never been leading and had to take the white flag twice, that's enough
to get you nervous," the Giltner, NE, shoe commented in victory lane. "Any
stumble on a restart could have been the difference, but crew chief Marvin
Brees gave me a perfect car and all I had to do was drive it."
In Humston's wake, the battles for position were epic with Brown and Boston
trading sliders virtually the entire race, Billy Alley and Brady Bacon doing
the same just behind them in the latter stages and charges from the tail by
both Danley and Nebraska Cup winner Tony Bruce, Jr.
Brown finally clamped down on the runner-up position when a slight Boston
bobble in turn four allowed Brown to secure the position. The slightest of
miscues nearly coast Boston an additional position, but he held on for
third.
Alley crossed the stripe on Boston's tailtank in fourth, with Tony Bruce,
Jr., rallying from 17th to round out the top five. Also advancing from the
"B" Main, Danley was sixth, with Gregg Bakker, Justin Henderson, Gene
Ackland and Ryan Roberts completing the top ten.
Fourth-starter Brady Bacon diced with Brown for the second position in the
early rounds until he spun in turn two on the fourth lap. Bacon battled back
through the field in short order and was trading sliders with Alley for the
fourth position when he looped it again on the 22nd circuit and was directed
pitside.
Bronson Maeschen, Ryan Anderson, Bacon and Bakker topped heat race action
for Sunday night's 29-car field, with Bruce winning the 10-lap "B" Main.
Maeschen suffered engine woes in the closing laps of his heat race and was
unable to make the call for the feature.
Mark Schmidt got upside down at the end of the backstretch as the checkered
flag flew upon the "B" Main, while Washington's Austen Wheatley tipped over
in turn one on the tumultuous first attempt to start the feature. Schmidt
was uninjured, while Wheatley rebounded to salvage an 11th-place finish.
ASCS Midwest Results from Butler County Motorplex:
Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 96-Bronson Maeschen, 2. 22a-Billy Alley, 3.
99jr-Justin Henderson, 4. 14g-Gene Ackland, 5. 82-Jason Danley, 6. 22k-Koby
Barksdale, 7. 8b-Bobby Becker, 8. 6-Nick Bryan.
Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 71r-Ryan Anderson, 2. 88-Mike Boston, 3. 28-Ken
Klabunde, 4. 23s-Stuart Snyder, 5. 35ab-Trevor Grossenbacher, 6. 91-Mitchell
Moore, 7. 34-Josh Padellford.
Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 99-Brady Bacon, 2. 21x-Brian Brown, 3. 18r-Ryan
Roberts, 4. 32-Toby Chapman, 5. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 6. 44w-Austen Wheatley,
7. 77-John Klabunde.
Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 11x-Gregg Bakker, 2. 1m-Chad Humston, 3. 24a-Jack
Dover, 4. 9j-Mark Schmidt, 5. 22x-Jesse Baker, 6. 21-Ryan Kitchen, 7.
19x-Chuck Jackson.
"B" Feature (10 Laps): 1. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 2. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 3.
82-Jason Danley, 4. 91-Mitchell Moore, 5. 22k-Koby Barksdale, 6. 21-Ryan
Kitchen, 7. 34-Josh Padellford, 8. 77-John Klabunde, 9. 22x-Jesse Baker, 10.
6-Nick Bryan, 11. 9j-Mark Schmidt, 12. 8b-Bobby Becker, 13. 19x-Chuck
Jackson.
“A” Feature (25 Laps): 1. 1m-Chad Humston, 2. 21x-Brian Brown, 3. 88-Mike
Boston, 4. 22a-Billy Alley, 5. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 6. 82-Jason Danley, 7.
11x-Gregg Bakker, 8. 99jr-Justin Henderson, 9. 14g-Gene Ackland, 10.
18r-Ryan Roberts, 11. 44w-Austen Wheatley, 12. 23s-Stuart Snyder, 13.
32-Toby Chapman, 14. 35ab-Trevor Grossenbacher, 15. 99-Brady Bacon, 16.
91-Mitchell Moore, 17. 28-Ken Klabunde, 18. 71r-Ryan Anderson, 19. 24a-Jack
Dover, 20. 96-Bronson Maeschen (DNS).
ASCS Midwest Points (Final Top Ten): 1. Jason Danley 1,700, 2. Chad Humston
1,636, 3. Jack Dover 1,358, 4. Brian Brown 1,286, 5. Eric Lutz 1,254, 6.
Mike Boston 1,157, 7. Lee Grosz 1,108, 8. (tie) Jonathan Cornell and Don
Droud, Jr. 1,072, 10. Ryan Anderson 949.
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