SMITH WINS HELM MEMORIAL, SCHUDY WINS USAC MWRA TITLE

By: Ray Cunningham

Grain Valley, Missouri (September 25, 2021)………Saturday night at Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Missouri, the stars and cars of the Wholesale Batteries USAC Midwest Wingless Racing Association once again put on a great show in the final battle of 2021.

When the dust settled, Wesley Smith won the Helm Memorial over Jack Wagner, Kory Schudy, Wyatt Burks and Riley Kreisel. Meanwhile, Schudy was crowned MWRA Champion for 2021.

THE FINAL RACE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP:

Billings, Missouri’s Wesley Smith knew the task at hand would be daunting as he trailed rival Kory Schudy of Battlefield, Mo. by 65 points heading into the A feature Saturday night at Dennis Shrout’s Valley Speedway, the home of open wheel racing in the KC area for many years.

SMITH RUNNING FOR THE AGELESS WONDER

Wesley Smith and the Helm/WSR Racing No. 12 were up for the task at hand, leading the feature at the start of the 22-car field, and then holding off Jack Wagner of Lone Jack, Mo. for the 25-lap feature win. For Smith, it was his fourth USAC MWRA win of 2021 and his 10th non winged sprint car win this season.  Additionally, for the Helm’s, it was his third Helm Memorial victory in a row in the last four years.

For Schudy, the plan for the evening took on a different approach. The point leader of the MWRA, driving the JSR Racing No. 28 of Jon Sawyer, knew the main objective was to finish 11th or better if Smith won, a test he passed with flying colors.  He raced to his 12th top-five finish and his ninth podium in 13 races with the MWRA, a staggering number that also included three victories in the series for 2021.

The race got dicey in the late stages for Schudy after almost spinning out following contact with another car on lap 19 going down the backstretch. However, as he had done all season, the Show-Me-State chauffeur kept his JSR Racing ride under control to finish 3rd place and win his first sprint car championship in his third year racing in the Thunder and Lightning division.

Earlier in the feature, Taylor Walton of Odessa, Mo., flipped down the backstretch in a nasty looking spill which resulted in concussion symptoms

Heat races were won at the Helm Memorial by Warren Johnson, Cody Baker, Kory Schudy and Taylor Walton.

Chris Parkinson won the Hard Charger Award from DSF Flooring while Vinny Ward captured the 12th place award from the Helm Family.  Dakota Earls was bestowed the Hard Luck Award after finishing in 22nd.

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USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION RESULTS: September 25, 2021 – Valley Speedway – Grain Valley, Missouri

FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 2-Warren Johnson (1), 2. 82v-Vinny Ward (3), 3. 12-Wesley Smith (7), 4. 15E-Dakota Earls (8), 5. 27J-Justin Johnson (6), 6. 37-Brian Beebe (2), 7. 7x-Lance Silvers (5), 8. 52-Blake Bowers (4). NT

SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 38-Cody Baker (1), 2. 66m-Chad Goff (2), 3. 77-Jack Wagner (7), 4. 73-Samuel Wagner (6), 5. 65-Chris Parkinson (5), 6. 41-Brad Wyatt (8), 7. 74-Xavier Doney (4), 8. 88-Chad Tye (9), 9. 2J-Jason Billups (3). NT

THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 28-Kory Schudy (5), 2. 90-Luke Howard (2), 3. 4F-Chad Frewaldt (3), 4. 26-Zach Clark (1), 5. 91-Riley Kreisel (8), 6. 78-Rob Caho Jr. (6), 7. 9-Jeff Seesholtz (4), 8. 7m-Heath Murry (7), 9. 22R-Chris Rupard (9). NT

FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 93-Taylor Walton (2), 2. 11w-Wyatt Burks (4), 3. 15B-Quinton Benson (8), 4. 6s-Spencer Martinez (6), 5. 33L-Mark Lane (1), 6. 21m-Michael Moore (7), 7. 93p-Buddy Parker (5), 8. 48-Jake Riley (3). NT

FIRST SEMI: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 78-Rob Caho Jr. (4), 2. 88-Chad Tye (5), 3. 2J-Jason Billups (9), 4. 26-Zach Clark (2), 5. 21m-Michael Moore (3), 6. 9-Jeff Seesholtz (7), 7. 22R-Chris Rupard (8), 8. 93p-Buddy Parker (6). NT

SECOND SEMI: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 41-Brad Wyatt (1), 2. 65-Chris Parkinson (2), 3. 74-Xavier Doney (6), 4. 37-Brian Beebe (4), 5. 7m-Heath Murry (7), 6. Mark Lane (3), 7. Blake Bowers (9), 8. 48-Jake Riley (8). NT

ALSO AT THE TRACK: 11x-Tom Curran

FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Wesley Smith (2), 2. Jack Wagner (1), 3. Kory Schudy (3), 4. Wyatt Burks (6), 5. Riley Kreisel (15), 6. Luke Howard (11), 7. Chris Parkinson (20), 8. Warren Johnson (7), 9. Rob Caho Jr. (17), 10. Jason Billups (21), 11. Quinton Benson (4), 12. Vinny Ward (10), 13. Brad Wyatt (18), 14. Chad Frewaldt (16), 15. Spencer Martinez (14), 16. Chad Goff (12), 17. Samuel Wagner (13), 18. Cody Baker (8), 19. Brian Beebe (22), 20. Taylor Walton (5), 21. Chad Tye (19), 22. Dakota Earls (9). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Wesley Smith.

FINAL USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Kory Schudy-2355, 2-Wesley Smith-2310, 3-Chris Parkinson-2045, 4-Chad Goff-1915, 5-Wyatt Burks-1790, 6-Luke Howard-1595, 7-Zach Clark-1420, 8-Xavier Doney-1405, 9-Dakota Earls-1335, 10-Lance Silvers-990.