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HAUBSTADT, INDIANA (October 13, 2018) - It was all CJ Leary on Saturday night at Haubstadt's Tri-State Speedway as the POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Wildcard League debuted in Indiana, as part of the "Harvest Cup" alongside the Midwest Sprint Car Series (MSCS). Storming by Kyle Cummins on the third circuit, Leary, a native of Greenfield, Indiana, led the remaining 28 laps aboard his Leary Construction No. 30 and fended off challenges from Kent Schmidt and Justin Grant to take a $5,000 payday in his first-career WAR Wildcard victory.

Attracting 34 WAR/MSCS entries to the annual "Harvest Cup" at Haubstadt, Indiana's Tri-State Speedway, the event marked the first-ever race sanctioned by the POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Wildcard League in the "Hoosier State." Utilizing the MSCS format, racers would be treated to a program including group qualifying, heat races, a B-Main and the 30-lap main event.

Donny Brackett topped session one of qualifying at 13.890, Justin Grant was fastest in group two at 13.586, CJ Leary was quickest in group three at 13.136, and Jarett Andretti set quicktime in group four at 13.414. Kyle Cummins won Hinchman Racewear heat one, Robert Ballou claimed Bell Racing USA heat two, CJ Leary stole Schure Built Suspensions heat three, and Chase Stockon scored Wilwood Disc Brakes heat four. Donny Brackett won the Hoosier Tire B-Main and transferred to the feature with James Lyerla, Brandon Morin and Trey Gropp.

As the 20-car main event rolled out, all eyes were on Princeton, Indiana's Kyle Cummins, who was slated to start from the pole position. After his previous wins at Lake Ozark (MO) Speedway in August and Lucas Oil (MO) Speedway in September, Cummins was one victory away from earning a monumental $20,000 payday in the Bell Racing USA Triple Crown Challenge.

When the green flag flew, it was Cummins who guided the No. 3C to the point ahead of Robert Ballou. CJ Leary quickly advanced into second and put pressure on Cummins for command of the lead, which he assumed on the third lap. Cummins was right back on the attack, however, not letting Leary slip away without a fight.

While Leary soon snuck away into lap traffic, Cummins faltered to fourth due to a mistake on the cushion, which allowed nearby native of Owensville, Indiana, Kent Schmidt, to take over the second spot. A red flag on lap eight fort Brandon Mattox (who was okay) halted things momentarily and bunched the field back up. Another red flag on lap 14 for Landon Simon (who was okay) served as the final stoppage of the night.

Coming to the final restart with 16 laps remaining, Schmidt was quick to challenge Leary for the top spot. As Leary relentlessly ran it high and wide around the tight bullring, Schmidt remained committed to methodically working the low line. Justin Grant then entered the picture as he maneuvered his TOPP Motorsports No. 4 entry from sixth-to-third and began pressuring Schmidt for second.

The attention returned to Cummins as the five to go signal was given, as he had come roaring back into contention and was closing in on Schmidt and Grant for the second spot. With a handful of laps left, Leary was completely immersed in lap traffic, which allowed Schmidt one final bid for the win. Schmidt ran it low and deep into turn three on the final lap, but Leary stuck the throttle and drove around to retain command and the victory.

The win marked CJ Leary's first-career victory in POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Wildcard League competition, making him the inaugural winner of WAR action in Indiana. Collecting a cool $5,000 payday, it was a dominating, yet quite challenging score for the Greenfield, Indiana native in the WAR/MSCS co-sanctioned "Harvest Cup."

Following Leary across the line was Kent Schmidt with a popular runner-up finish, confirmed by the roar of the crowd during his front stretch interview following the second-place run. Rounding out the podium with a third-place finish was Ione, California's Justin Grant aboard the TOPP Motorsports No. 4. Kyle Cummins' quest for a $20,000 payday in the Bell Racing USA Triple Crown Challenge came to a valiant and bittersweet end with his fourth-place result. Jarett Andretti charged from 12th-to-5th in his No. 18 machine to round out the top five. Closing out the top ten at Tri-State was Robert Ballou in sixth, Chase Stockon in seventh, Chet Williams in eighth, Donny Brackett in ninth and Aric Gentry in tenth.

The "Harvest Cup" at Haubstadt marked the conclusion to a successful 2018 campaign for the POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Wildcard League, after the POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Sprints League wrapped up their season last week. Details on the championship banquet and 2019 season will be released as they are finalized.

Group Qualifying Session One:

1. 4B-Donny Brackett (13.890); 2. 36D-Dave Darland (13.942); 3. 3C-Kyle Cummins (14.114); 4. 24-Brian VanMeveren (14.501); 5. 74X-Josh Hodges (14.608); 6. 54-Trey Gropp (14.663); 7. 5-Carson Short (14.869); 8. 99-Alec Sipes (15.065); 9. 20-Chayse Hayhurst (DNQ).

Group Qualifying Session Two:

1. 4-Justin Grant (13.586); 2. 12-Robert Ballou (13.610); 3. 04-Landon Simon (13.763); 4. 11-James Lyerla (14.054); 5. 71P-Jason McDougal (14.126); 6. 56-Mitchell Davis (14.319); 7. 90X-Riley Kreisel (14.742); 8. 60-Buddy Cunningham (15.398); 9. 45-Eric Perrott (15.477).

Group Qualifying Session Three:

1. 30-CJ Leary (13.136); 2. 5K-Kent Schmidt (13.468); 3. 28-Brandon Mattox (13.824); 4. 10-Aric Gentry (13.915); 5. 4C-Daylan Chambers (14.278); 6. 14J-Jadon Rogers (14.388); 7. 90-Patrick Budde (15.275); 8. 27-Brian Wallace (15.510).

Group Qualifying Session Four:

1. 18-Jarett Andretti (13.414); 2. 32-Chase Stockon (13.521); 3. 7BC-Tyler Courtney (13.948); 4. 38-Chet Williams (14.040); 5. 98-Brandon Morin (14.041); 6. 63-Josh Cunningham (14.692); 7. 7H-Kyle Hathaway (DNQ); 8. 100-Justin Meneely (DNQ).

Hinchman Racewear Heat One (10 Laps):

1. 3C-Kyle Cummins (2); 2. 36D-Dave Darland (3); 3. 5-Carson Short (7); 4. 24-Brian VanMeveren (1); 5. 99-Alec Sipes (8); 6. 4B-Donny Brackett (4); 7. 74X-Josh Hodges (5); 8. 54-Trey Gropp (7); 9. 20-Chayse Hayhurst (DNS).

Bell Racing USA Heat Two (10 Laps):

1. 12-Robert Ballou (3); 2. 4-Justin Grant (4); 3. 71P-Jason McDougal (5); 4. 04-Landon Simon (2); 5. 11-James Lyerla (1); 6. 56-Mitchell Davis (6); 7. 90X-Riley Kreisel (7); 8. 60-Buddy Cunningham (8); 9. 45-Eric Perrott (9).

Schure Built Suspension Heat Three (10 Laps):

1. 30-CJ Leary (4); 2. 5K-Kent Schmidt (1); 3. 28-Brandon Mattox (2); 4. 10-Aric Gentry (1); 5. 14J-Jadon Rogers (6); 6. 4C-Daylan Chambers (5); 7. 27-Brian Wallace (8); 8. 90-Patrick Budde (7).

Wilwood Disc Brakes Heat Four (10 Laps):

1. 32-Chase Stockon (3); 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney (2); 3. 18-Jarett Andretti (4); 4. 38-Chet Williams (1); 5. 98-Brandon Morin (5); 6. 63-Josh Cunningham (6); 7. 7H-Kyle Hathaway (DNS); 8. 100-Justin Meneely (DNS).

Hoosier Tire B-Main (12 Laps):

1. 4B-Donny Brackett (5); 2. 11-James Lyerla (2); 3. 98-Brandon Morin (4); 4. 54-Trey Gropp (12); 5. 90X-Riley Kreisel (10); 6. 63-Josh Cunningham (8); 7. 4C-Daylan Chambers (7); 8. 45-Eric Perrott (16); 9. 56-Mitchell Davis (6); 10. 99-Alec Sipes (1); 11. 27-Brian Wallace (11); 12. 14J-Jadon Rogers (3); 13. 20-Chayse Hayhurst (15); 14. 74X-Josh Hodges (DNS); 15. 60-Buddy Cunningham (DNS); 16. 90-Patrick Budde (DNS); 17. 7H-Kyle Hathaway (DNS); 18. 100-Justin Meneely (DNS).

POWRi Lucas Oil WAR Wildcard League / MSCS Sprints Main Event (30 Laps):

1. 30-CJ Leary (3); 2. 5K-Kent Schmidt (7); 3. 4-Justin Grant (6); 4. 3C-Kyle Cummins (1); 5. 18-Jarett Andretti (12); 6. 12-Robert Ballou (2); 7. 32-Chase Stockon (4); 8. 38-Chet Williams (16); 9. 4B-Donny Brackett (17); 10. 10-Aric Gentry (15); 11. 5-Carson Short (9); 12. 11-James Lyerla (18); 13. 24-Brian VanMeveren (13); 14. 54-Trey Gropp (20); 15. 7BC-Tyler Courtney (8); 16. 04-Landon Simon (14); 17. 36D-Dave Darland (5); 18. 98-Brandon Morin (19); 19. 71P-Jason McDougal (10); 20. 28-Brandon Mattox (11).
   Lap Leader(s): Cummins 1-2, Leary 3-30.
   Hard Charger(s):Williams +8 (16th-to-8th), Brackett +9 (17th-to-9th).