Winston, Missouri (September 7, 2024)………For the first time in his career, Chris Parkinson became a USAC Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Association Sprint Car winner on Saturday night at Winston, Missouri’s I-35 Speedway.
Parkinson (Gladstone, Mo.) had come oh-so-close before, and had finished fourth in series points for 2020, third in 2021 and was the runner-up in each of the past two seasons.
Stepping back in 2024 to run a limited schedule, Parkinson drove a nearly perfect race, coming from fifth to second by picking off the frontrunners one-by-one as he rode the rim at the northwest Missouri speed plant.
Parkinson secured the win following a lap 19 restart when he passed leader Zach Clark (Raymore, Mo.) entering the first turn, and then motored to victory over opening lap leader Dakota Earls (Independence, Mo.). Clark crossed the stripe in third while Junior Parkinson, (Wichita Falls, Texas) and Tyler Burton (Independence, Mo.) completed the top-five.
Earls’ second place run came after a heat race win, and leading early on in the 25-lap feature. The Missourian relinquished the top spot to Clark by lap two, then fell back as far as fourth before rebounding late in the going to repass Clark for second to duplicate his best ever finish with the series.
Like Parkinson and Earls, third place finisher Clark was looking for his first win in the series. After winning his heat race and earning high point honors, Clark was in position to do just that. He rolled a two in the redraw, sending him to the second row for the start of the feature. However, he didn’t remain there long as he took the lead from Earls on the second lap, then stormed to a sizable lead.
Clark’s margin up front was a mere car length when Cody Baker rode the high side up to second place, and then caught Clark who was running the bottom. Unfortunately for Baker, he went off the rim going into turn one to bring out the yellow flag. That sent the Lone Jack, Mo. driver to the tail of the lead lap cars for the restart with seven laps to go.
A couple of attempted restarts ensued. On the first lap 19 attempt, Baker, now with brake issues, tagged fifth place running Chad Winfrey, resulting in both cars being sidelined for the remainder of the race. On the next restart, Clark, also suffering brake issues, was passed by Parkinson on his way to victory.
Chris’ father, Junior Parkinson, and Burton rounded out the top-five. For both drivers, it was their best career result in USAC MWRA competition.
Finishing sixth was Justin Johnson (Parkville, Mo.) who took the Country Kids Day Care of Olathe Hard Charger award after advancing from 10th to 6th in the 25-lap feature. Dusty Murray (Kansas City, Mo.) ran seventh, and veteran Max Grogan (Basehor, Kan.) took eighth. Winfrey, Baker, Jared McCarty (Independence, Mo) and Lance Silvers (Ottumwa, Iowa) completed the field after not finishing the feature.
USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT CAR RACE RESULTS: September 7, 2024 – I-35 Speedway – Winston, Missouri
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 26-Zach Clark (4), 2. 9-Cody Baker (5), 3. 46m-Dusty Murray (2), 4. 03-Tyler Burton (3), 5. 7x-Lance Silvers (1), 6. 27-Justin Johnson (6). NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 15E-Dakota Earls (1), 2. 65w-Chad Winfrey (2), 3. 65-Chris Parkinson (3), 4. 93-Junior Parkinson (4), 5. 66m-Max Grogan (5), 6. 44-Jared McCarty (6).
FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Chris Parkinson (5), 2. Dakota Earls (1), 3. Zach Clark (3), 4. Junior Parkinson (7), 5. Tyler Burton (8), 6. Justin Johnson (10), 7. Dusty Murray (6), 8. Max Grogan (9), 9. Chad Winfrey (2), 10. Cody Baker (4), 11. Jared McCarty (11), 12. Lance Silvers (12). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Dakota Earls, Laps 2-18 Zach Clark, Laps 19-25 Chris Parkinson.
USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT CAR POINTS: 1-Wyatt Burks-1825, 2-Dakota Earls-1680, 3-Chad Winfrey-1660, 4-Zach Clark-1620, 5-Junior Parkinson-1590, 6-Luke Howard-1460, 7-Kobe Simpson-1455, 8-Tyler Burton-1350, 9-Justin Johnson-1345, 10-Michael Moore-1230.
NEXT USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION SPRINT CAR RACE: September 28, 2024 – Valley Speedway – Grain Valley, Missouri
