News

BROWNSTOWN, ILL. (June 13, 2019) – As the sixth annual Illinois SPEED Week kicked off on Thursday night at Fayette County Speedway, the story for the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League looked quite familiar; that being the dominance of Logan Seavey this season. Leading all 30 laps, the Sutter, California native drove a flawless race and took the Keith Kunz Motorsports, Mobil 1, Spike/Toyota No. 67 to victory lane for the fifth time in eight races, opening his pursuit of back-to-back SPEED Week titles on top.

Earning high point man honors with an eighth-to-second heat race bid, Seavey quickly outdueled KKM teammate Holley Hollan into turn one and assumed the race lead. Early on, it looked as if an RMS Racing attack was in store as teammates Thomas Meseraull aboard the No. 7X and Michael Pickens in the No. 1NZ stormed into second and third as they began swapping sliders.

Meseraull was able to throw a slight challenge towards Seavey for the lead, but a caution with nine laps down set a wild four-way fight for the runner-up spot. Going back to green, Zach Daum momentarily snuck into second and brought Tanner Thorson, who started 11th, with him, making the battle for second between Daum, Thorson, Meseraull and Pickens.

Throttling around the outside, Thorson gunned the Walker Filters No. 98 into second and around Daum prior to the halfway point. Taking advantage of a restart, Thorson chunked a slider towards Seavey with the top spot up for grabs, but Seavey was well-prepared, mashing the gash and driving around the outside to maintain control.

From there, Seavey commanded the field with ease as he worked the high line into lap traffic and stretched his lead over Thorson. Throughout the closing laps, all eyes turned to Jesse Colwell and Jerry Coons Jr., who were locked in a side-by-side affair with the final podium position up for grabs.

In the end, Logan Seavey of Sutter, California ran away with a dominating wire-to-wire victory to open up the sixth annual Illinois SPEED Week with a win at Fayette County Speedway in Brownstown. The Keith Kunz Motorsports combatant extended his POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League points lead, took control of the Illinois SPEED Week title chase, and snagged his fifth POWRi win of 2019 aboard the Mobil 1, Spike/Toyota No. 67.

“This was just really my style of race track with a big cushion and a little bottom,” said Seavey in victory lane. “We were banging the fence down in turn four and especially on exit it gets real tricky with a big curb and you’re trying to not fall off the track. I was nervous with all of those restarts, but I know once I got this thing going around the top that we would be fine.”

Driving from 11th-to-second, Tanner Thorson of Minden, Nev. offered a stellar run through the pack as he snagged runner-up honors aboard the Walker Filters, Spike/Toyota No. 98. Jesse Colwell of Red Bluff, Calif. Completed a Keith Kunz Motorsports podium sweep as he placed the KKM Classic, Spike/Toyota No. 71 in third-place. Jerry Coons Jr. of Tucson, Ariz. Maneuvered from 13th-to-fourth aboard the Petry Motorsports No. 25, while Ethan Mitchell of Mooresville, N.C. closed out the top ten with a hard-charging 20th-to-fifth bid.

Rounding out the top ten at Fayette County Speedway was Michael Pickens in sixth, Thomas Meseraull in seventh, Tanner Carrick in eighth, Cannon McIntosh in ninth and Zach Daum in tenth.

Continuing tomorrow night with the second of four rounds, Illinois SPEED Week will move on to Jacksonville Speedway for a Friday, June 14 showing. A Saturday, June 15 appearance at Macon Speedway will lead into the finale on Sunday, June 16 at Lincoln Speedway.

For fans unable to attend in-person, Speed Shift TV will have you covered with a live pay-per-view broadcast of all three nights. Head over to www.speedshifttv.com to order your viewing pass today!

For more information, visit www.powri.com online, follow @POWRi_Racing on Twitter, or like POWRi on Facebook.

Smith Titanium Heat One (8 Laps):

1. 1NZ-Michael Pickens, Auckland, NZ (1); 2. 7X-Thomas Meseraull, San Jose, CA (4); 3. 71-Jesse Colwell, Red Bluff, CA (6); 4. 71K-Tanner Carrick, Lincoln, CA (5); 5. 42-Hank Davis, Sand Springs, OK (8); 6. 35-Sterling Cling, Tempe, AZ (2); 7. 72-Sam Johnson, St. Peters, MO (7); 8. 11-Daniel Robinson, Ewing, IL (3).

Keizer Wheels Heat Two (8 Laps):

1. 08-Cannon McIntosh, Bixby, OK (1); 2. 67-Logan Seavey, Sutter, CA (8); 3. 22-Andy Malpocker, St. Charles, MO (5); 4. 97K-Jesse Love, Redwood City, CA (4); 5. 28-Ace McCarthy, Tahlequah, OK (2); 6. 4D-Robert Dalby, Anaheim, CA (6); 7. 7M-Chance Morton, Coweta, OK (7); 8. 3B-Shelby Bosie, Sherman, IL (3).

Saldana Racing Products Heat Three (8 Laps):

1. 67K-Holley Hollan, Tulsa, OK (3); 2. 25-Jerry Coons Jr., Tucson, AZ (1); 3. 98-Tanner Thorson, Minden, NV (5); 4. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer, Paola, KS (8); 5. 19M-Ethan Mitchell, Mooresville, NC (4); 6. 20-Cody Weisensel (6); 7. 9X-Chris Baue, Indianapolis, IN (7); 8. 85-Grady Chandler, Edmond, OK (2).

Rod End Supply Heat Four (8 Laps):

1. 5D-Zach Daum, Pocahontas, IL (2); 2. 9-Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, OK (3); 3. 17-Austin Brown, Millstadt, IL (5); 4. 103-Broc Hunnell, Eolia, MO (4); 5. 3N-Jake Neuman, New Berlin, IL (7); 6. 8M-Kade Morton, Coweta, OK (6); 7. 5T-Presley Truedson, Kennedy, MN (1); 8. 50-Daniel Adler, St. Louis, MO (8).

Toyota Racing B-Main (12 Laps):

1. 28-Ace McCarthy (4); 2. 97K-Jesse Love (1); 3. 4D-Robert Dalby (5); 4. 19M-Ethan Mitchell (3); 5. 72-Sam Johnson (9); 6. 35-Sterling Cling (8); 7. 85-Grady Chandler (16); 8. 7M-Chance Morton (10); 9. 50-Daniel Adler (12); 10. 103-Broc Hunnell (2); 11. 11-Daniel Robinson (14); 12. 3B-Shelby Bosie (15); 13. 5T-Presley Truedson (13); 14. 20-Cody Weisensel (6); 15. 8M-Kade Morton (7); 16. 9X-Chris Baue (11).

POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League Main Event (30 Laps):

1. 67-Logan Seavey (1); 2. 98-Tanner Thorson (11); 3. 71-Jesse Colwell (5); 4. 25-Jerry Coons Jr. (13); 5. 19M-Ethan Mitchell (20); 6. 1NZ-Michael Pickens (6); 7. 7X-Thomas Meseraull (4); 8. 71K-Tanner Carrick (15); 9. 08-Cannon McIntosh (7); 10. 5D-Zach Daum (3); 11. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer (8); 12. 17-Austin Brown (12); 13. 67K-Holley Hollan (2); 14. 42-Hank Davis (14); 15. 97K-Jesse Love (18); 16. 3N-Jake Neuman (16); 17. 8M-Kade Morton (23); 18. 28-Ace McCarthy (17); 19. 72-Sam Johnson (21); 20. 9-Daison Pursley (9); 21. 4D-Robert Dalby (19); 22. 22-Andy Malpocker (10); 23. 35-Sterling Cling (22).
   Lap Leader(s): Seavey 1-30.
   Hard Charger(s): Mitchell +15.

NEW Illinois SPEED Week Point Standings (Through 1 of 4 Races):

1. 300 PTS – Logan Seavey, Sutter, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports #67)
2. 290 PTS – Tanner Thorson, Minden, NV (Keith Kunz Motorsports #98)
3. 280 PTS – Jesse Colwell, Red Bluff, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports #71)
4. 270 PTS – Jerry Coons Jr., Tucson, AZ (Petry Motorsports #25)
5. 260 PTS – Ethan Mitchell, Mooresville, NC (Bundy Built Motorsports #19M)
6. 250 PTS – Michael Pickens, Auckland, NZ (RMS Racing #1NZ)
7. 240 PTS – Thomas Meseraull, San Jose, CA (RMS Racing #7X)
8. 230 PTS – Tanner Carrick, Lincoln, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports #71K)
9. 220 PTS – Cannon McIntosh, Bixby, OK (Dave Mac Motorsports #08)
10. 210 PTS – Zach Daum, Pocahontas, IL (Daum Motorsports #5D)