HUMBOLDT, KS (August 25, 2018) - Capitalizing on the trouble that can be lap traffic, Riley Kreisel overtook Ty Hulsey for the top spot just past halfway tonight at Humboldt Speedway and stormed off with his third victory of the season with the POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprints League. Earning tonight's LRB, Inc. #HighPointMan honors, Kreisel started from the pole position, but it was Ty Hulsey who jumped into the lead off the start. After trailing Hulsey for 14 laps, Kreisel capitalized when Hulsey became boxed-in by a lapper and moved his No. 90 to the top spot and never looked back.
Bringing in 27 entries for the finale of the POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprints League doubleheader at Humboldt Speedway, another four heat race slate would set the table. Warren Johnson won Hinchman Racewear heat one, Ty Hulsey took Bell Racing USA heat two, Quinton Benson banked Schure Built Suspension heat three and Chad Goff claimed Wilwood Disc Brakes heat four. TJ Artz triumphed in the Hoosier Tire B-Main and transferred along with Casey Wills, Slater Helt and Samuel Wagner.
Declining the high point challenge and redrawing a 0 for the feature inversion, LRB, Inc. #HighPointMan, Riley Kreisel, would roll out from the pole position with Ty Hulsey to his outside. Garnering the early lead with a stellar drive into turn one, Hulsey claimed early command of the race as he moved his Risley Racing No. 24H to the top spot.
While Kreisel stayed close and kept Hulsey at bay, the attention turned to the battles behind them as a four-car war was waged for the fourth spot between Matt Moore, Quinton Benson, Joe B. Miller and Mitchell Davis. Meanwhile, last night's winner, Wesley Smith, had snuck into the third spot and started to track down Hulsey and Kreisel out front.
Entering lap traffic at the halfway point, Hulsey approached the back markers with Kreisel breathing down his neck. Kreisel's patience came to fruition quickly as Hulsey became boxed in by a lapper and Kreisel turned his No. 90 to the bottom and pulled even at the stripe. Clearing his pass for the lead into turn one, Kreisel slid up and took command of the top spot on the fifteenth circuit.
A red flag on lap 18 for Craig Carroll (who was okay) would bunch the field back up, but would do no good in slowing down Kreisel's torrid pace. He would storm away to a dominant advantage on the restart, while Smith attacked Hulsey for the second spot and Moore, Miller and Benson were quick to challenge right behind him.
Leading the final 11 laps, Warsaw, Missouri's Riley Kreisel would run away to score a dominating victory at Humboldt Speedway tonight. The triumph marked Kreisel's third-career win with the POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprints League in 2018, a league-best. With a second-place result on Friday and his win tonight, Kreisel's points lead only grew in the chase for the championship.
Coming home with a second-place with a late-race pass, Wesley Smith backed up his win from last night with a strong runner-up result tonight. Ty Hulsey commanded the opening half of tonight's feature, but lap traffic was costly and send the Oklahoman home with a third-place in the Risley Racing No. 24H. In his WAR Sprints debut, Matt Moore of Bethany, Oklahoma showed out in style claiming back-to-back top five finishes of fifth and fourth. Closing out the top five would be Joe B. Miller in fifth aboard the McGarry Motorsports No. 31M.
Rounding out the top ten tonight at Humboldt was Chris Parkinson (6th), Quinton Benson (7th), Kyle Clark (8th), Warren Johnson (9th) and Anthony Nicholson (10th).
The POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprints League will take the Labor Day weekend off, before reconvening for a doubleheader on September 8th-9th. Returning to Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Missouri on Saturday, September 8th, the league will then make their inaugural appearance in the state of Nebraska with a Sunday showdown at Eagle Raceway in Eagle, Nebraska on September 9th.
Hinchman Racewear Heat One (8 Laps):
- 7JR-Warren Johnson, Overland Park, KS (1); 2. 9-Matt Moore, Bethany, OK (4); 3. 65-Chris Parkinson, Gladstone, MO (3); 4. 4-Braydon Cromwell, Lee's Summit, MO (2); 5. 82-Vinny Ward, Warrenton, MO (6); 6. 73-Samuel Wagner, Lone Jack, MO (5); 7. 22S-Slater Helt, Harrisonville, MO (7).
Bell Racing USA Heat Two (8 Laps):
- 24H-Ty Hulsey, Owasso, OK (2); 2. 12-Wesley Smith, Nixa, MO (4); 3. 16-Anthony Nicholson, Bartlett, TN (3); 4. 77-Jack Wagner, Lone Jack, MO (6); 5. 31W-Casey Wills, Sperry, OK (5); 6. 41-Brad Wyatt, Kearney, MO (1); 7. 85-Forrest Sutherland, Cherryvale, KS (7).
Schure Built Suspension Heat Three (8 Laps):
- 15B-Quinton Benson, Emma, MO (1); 2. 56-Mitchell Davis, Auburn, IL (3); 3. 90-Riley Kreisel, Warsaw, MO (7); 4. 24C-Craig Carroll, Collinsville, OK (5); 5. 2-Zach Clark, Olathe, KS (6); 6. 30-Ryan Kent, Lone Jack, MO (2); 7. 7R-JD Black, Grain Valley, MO (4).
Wilwood Disc Brakes Heat Four (8 Laps):
- 9X-Chad Goff, Spring Hill, KS (1); 2. 31M-Joe B. Miller, Millersville, MO (3); 3. 15D-Andrew Deal, Caney, KS (2); 4. 9$-Kyle Clark, Sapulpa, OK (6); 5. 57-TJ Artz, Lincoln, NE (5); 6. 13W-Grant Wresche, Kellyville, OK (4).
Hoosier Tire B-Main (12 Laps, 4 Transfer):
- 57-TJ Artz (4); 2. 31W-Casey Wills (3); 3. 22S-Slater Helt (8); 4. 73-Samuel Wagner (5); 5. 4-Braydon Cromwell (2); 6. 7R-JD Black (11); 7. 41-Brad Wyatt (10); 8. 30-Ryan Kent (7); 9. 85-Forrest Sutherland (9); 10. 13W-Grant Wresche (6); 11. 2-Zach Clark (1);
POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprints League Main Event (25 Laps):
- 90-Riley Kreisel (1); 2. 12-Wesley Smith (4); 3. 24H-Ty Hulsey (2); 4. 9-Matt Moore (3); 5. 31M-Joe B. Miller (9); 6. 65-Chris Parkinson (12); 7. 15B-Quinton Benson (6); 8. 9$-Kyle Clark (11); 9. 7JR-Warren Johnson (5); 10. 16-Anthony Nicholson (13); 11. 9X-Chad Goff (7); 12. 77-Jack Wagner (10); 13. 31W-Casey Wills (18); 14. 73-Samuel Wagner (20); 15. 56-Mitchell Davis (8); 16. 24C-Craig Carroll (15); 17. 15D-Andrew Deal (14); 18. 82-Vinny Ward (16); 19. 57-TJ Artz (17); 20. 22S-Slater Helt (19).
Lap Leader(s): Hulsey 1-14, Kreisel 15-25.
Hard Charger(s): Chris Parkinson +6 (12th-to-6th).
Photo Credit: Redlined Photography