ELDON, MO. (August 17, 2019) – Driving from fourth to the lead by the second circuit, Kory Schudy’s Jon Sawyer Racing No. 28 was on kill from the drop of the green flag on Saturday night. Controlling the final 40 of 41 laps in convincing fashion, Schudy went untouched and unchallenged as he cruised to the checkered flag to collect a $3,000 payday, the 2019 Non-
Wing Nationals victory, and the second win of his POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprint League career.
With a six-car inversion drawn by LRB, Inc. High Point Man, Korey Weyant, a stellar crowd at Lake Ozark witnessed the front row of Lane Stone and Mario Clouser lead the field to the green flag. Scheduled for a 41-lap feature, the longest race in WAR Sprints history, drivers shuffled into position and bided their time as the action got underway.
Pacing the opening circuit, Stone of Concordia, Mo. led his first feature lap aboard his No. 73S machine while Kory Schudy quickly maneuvered by third-starter Dylan Kadous and Clouser to move into second. Working a lane above Stone, Schudy rolled through the middle and crept right by Stone to narrowly lead the second lap by mere inches at the line.
A shocking lap three caution flew when Clouser looped his No. 31B in turn three, innocently collecting Kadous of Topeka, Kans. and last year’s championship runner-up, Quinton Benson, in the aftermath. While Benson re-fired and tagged the tail, both Clouser and Kadous saw their features come to an early heartbreaking end.
Going back to green, Kreisel and Weyant both shot by Stone for second and third as Schudy built a strong advantage out front. Schudy, Kreisel and Weyant eventually settled into their 1-2-3 order while the back end of the top five saw plenty of shuffling with Ty Hulsey from tenth, Anthony Nicholson from 11th and Jonathan Cornell from 13th coming into the fray.
The second caution of the evening flew on lap 23 as Landon Simon, who was charging through the top ten from 16th, brought his No. 24 to a stop in turn four with an overheating motor. On the ensuing restart, Nicholson roared his No. 16 to life and drove by Weyant for the third position, bringing Smith and 15th-starter Wesley Smith with him.
Taking the final restart with 12 to go following a red flag for Lane Stone, Schudy again stormed away in command as Kreisel felt pressure from Nicholson and Smith for the second bid. Throughout the closing stages, Schudy would receive no challenge for the top spot as Smith stole the final podium spot from Nicholson.
When the checkered flag dropped however, it was all about Kory Schudy of Springfield, Mo., who proved to the class of the field on Saturday night. Leading the final 40 of 41 laps, the Jon Sawyer Racing No. 28 pilot was untouchable in the Non-Wing Nationals finale, never seeing a serious challenge as he coasted to a $3,000 payday in his second-career POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprint Leaguer win.
Riley Kreisel, the defending champion and current points leader, brought his No. 90 home with a second-place effort after the Warsaw, Mo. native tried anything and everything to catch Schudy, but to no avail on this night. Wesley Smith, who won Friday’s opener at Lake Ozark, followed his triumph with a hard-charging bid from 15th-to-third as he rounded out the podium.
Finishing inside the top ten was Anthony Nicholson in fourth-place, Wyatt Burks in fifth-from-17th, Ty Hulsey in sixth, Jonathan Cornell in seventh, Korey Weyant in eighth, Brian Beebe in ninth and Quinton Benson in tenth.
Riley Kreisel (Hinchman Racewear Heat 1), Dylan Kadous (Bell Racing HQ Heat 2) and Mario Clouser (Schure Built Suspensions Heat 3) triumphed in heat race action, while Wyatt Burks topped the Hoosier Tire B-Main.
Following some time off next weekend, the POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprint League will resume their 2019 campaign with the final two point races of the year at 34 Raceway in Burlington, Iowa on Saturday, August 31 and Jacksonville Speedway in Jacksonville, Ill. on Sunday, September 1.
For more information on POWRi Racing, you can visit www.powri.com online, follow @POWRi_Racing on Twitter and Instagram, or like POWRi on Facebook.
Hinchman Racewear Heat One (8 Laps):
- 90-Riley Kreisel, Warsaw, MO (4); 2. 81A-Chris Morgan, Topeka, KS (2); 3. 24H-Ty Hulsey, Owasso, OK (1); 4. 15B-Quinton Benson, Emma, MO (3); 5. 12-Wesley Smith, Nixa, MO (5); 6. 16-Anthony Nicholson, Bartlett, TN (9); 7. 65-Chris Parkinson, Gladstone, MO (8); 8. 70-Pete Palazzolo, St. Louis, MO (7); 9. 41-Brad Wyatt, Kearney, MO (6).
Bell Racing HQ Heat Two (8 Laps):
- 31-Dylan Kadous, Topeka, KS (2); 2. 73S-Lane Stone, Concordia, MO (4); 3. 99-Korey Weyant, Springfield, IL (9); 4. 65C-Jonathan Cornell, Sedalia, MO (1); 5. 7R-JD Black, Grain Valley, MO (8); 6. 2C-Zach Clark, Olathe, KS (5); 7. 73-Samuel Wagner, Lone Jack, MO (3); 8. 77K-Katlynn Leer, Moulton, IA (7); 9. 75-Broc Elliott, California, MO (6).
Schure Built Suspensions Heat Three (8 Laps):
- 31B-Mario Clouser, Auburn, IL (2); 2. 28-Kory Schudy, Springfield, MO (6); 3. 37-Brian Beebe, Oak Grove, MO (4); 4. 24C-Craig Carroll, Collinsville, OK (1); 5. 24-Landon Simon, Tipp City, OH (5); 6. 11W-Wyatt Burks, Topeka, KS (7); 7. 4-Braydon Cromwell, Lone Jack, MO (3); 8. 22S-Slater Helt, Harrisonville, MO (8); 9. 2-Jason Billups, Holt, MO (9).
Hoosier Tire B-Main (12 Laps / 4 Transfer):
- 11W-Wyatt Burks (1); 2. 2C-Zach Clark (2); 3. 65-Chris Parkinson (3); 4. 22S-Slater Helt (6); 5. 77K-Katlynn Leer (8); 6. 73-Samuel Wagner (4); 7. 70-Pete Palazzolo (7); 8. 41-Brad Wyatt (10); 9. 75-Broc Elliott (11); 10. 4-Braydon Cromwell (5); 11. 2-Jason Billups (9).
POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprint League Main Event (41 Laps):
- 28-Kory Schudy (4); 2. 90-Riley Kreisel (5); 3. 12-Wesley Smith (15); 4. 16-Anthony Nicholson (11); 5. 11W-Wyatt Burks (17); 6. 24H-Ty Hulsey (10); 7. 65C-Jonathan Cornell (13); 8. 99-Korey Weyant (6); 9. 37-Brian Beebe (8); 10. 15B-Quinton Benson (12); 11. 65-Chris Parkinson (19); 12. 81A-Chris Morgan (7); 13. 24C-Craig Carroll (14); 14. 22S-Slater Helt (20); 15. 7R-JD Black (9); 16. 73S-Lane Stone (1); 17. 24-Landon Simon (16); 18. 2C-Zach Clark (18);19. 31B-Mario Clouser (2); 20. 31-Dylan Kadous (3).
Lap Leader(s): Stone 1; Schudy 2-41.
Hard Charger(s): Smith +12; Burks +12.