May 17, 2024 | By Ray Cunningham

Wesley Smith tops MWRA weekend opener at Missouri's Electric City Speedway

BUTLER, Mo. — Saturday night the Wholesale Batteries USAC MWRA Sprints raced for the second night in a row at Electric City Speedway with (Topeka, Kan) racer Wyatt Burks taking the checkered flag first over (KCMO’s) Tom Curran, and (Bonham, Tex) wheelman Kobe Simpson rounding out the podium.

For all three drivers this represented their best finish of the season with the MWRA, while Burks hustled back to ECS after being in a wedding in Topeka Saturday afternoon. Before screaming back to the Butler short track located (two hours) from the Kansas State Capital.

Burks didn’t skip a beat after returning to ECS, winning his heat race, and seizing the lead early from pole setter Chad Winfrey in the twenty-five lapper. Burks would later survive multiple red flag stoppages, to win his series leading 17th feature event, after finishing 2nd place last night at ECS during Friday nights program.

Tom Curran, previously had suffered many hard luck situations over the last two seasons racing his 11x. With the only highlight of 2024 coming at Valley earlier this season when he won the B Feature. Saturday, Currans luck changed in a big way when he first went from last to second in his heat race to win high point honors for the feature. And then solidifying his great night by finishing a career best with the MWRA running second. While Texas’s Simpson, who has made the tow from the Lone Star state for all of the MWRA shows in 2024, would finish in third. This would be his first podium of the year with the MWRA, and only bested by his second place finish at 81 Speedway last year with the MWRA.

Wesley Smith of (Nixa, Mo) would come home in 4th place after winning last night at ECS in the Brent Lewis Racing machine, with (Raymore, Mo’s) Zach Clark taking home (5th), Dakota Earls from (Independence, Mo) running (6th), heat winner earlier in the program (Gladstone, Mo’s) Chad Winfrey, finishing 7th, and Justin Johnson of (KCK), Junior Parkinson (Wichita Falls, Tex), as well as (Overland Park, Kan) driver Luke Howard rounding out the top 10 respectively. While Howard would also take the Hard Charger award from Country Kids Day Care of Olathe.

Unfortunately wrecks in the feature caused multiple (DNF’s) with cars involved in accidents that would include Bryson Smith and Michael Moore. As well as Tyler Burton in another, whose mount hit the wall after making contact with Earls, and then the throttle stuck wide open as the machine bucked like a bull before ending up in the infield coming to a stop. All drivers were okay, but shaken.

The Wholesale Batteries USAC MWRA Sprint Cars are next in competition on Saturday night June 22nd for the Bill Lawson Memorial at Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Missouri.

USAC Racing
Wholesale Batteries, Inc.
John Lee High Fly'N Photos www.highfly-nphotos.com
Midwest Wingless Racing Association
Electric City Speedway
Valley Speedway
Rod End Supply
Valor Racing
Creationsby Ravyn
Daytona 1
Lies Trash Service
Pit Stop Catering
Contingency Connection
Country Kids Day Care of Olathe
Xtreme Color


RESULTS

A Feature 1: 1. 2-Wesley Smith[10]; 2. 11W-Wyatt Burks[5]; 3. 21M-Michael Moore[4]; 4. 21K-Kobe Simpson[6]; 5. 26-Zachary Clark[7]; 6. 65W-Chad Winfrey[12]; 7. 33L-Mark Lane[14]; 8. 93-Ralph Parkinson Jr[13]; 9. 2H-Luke Howard[1]; 10. 93W-Taylor Walton[8]; 11. 03-Tyler Burton[11]; 12. 9M-Matt Fox[15]; 13. 15E-Dakota Earls[2]; 14. 27J-Justin Johnson[9]; 15. 28-Kory Schudy[3]

Heat 1: 1. 21M-Michael Moore[1]; 2. 11W-Wyatt Burks[5]; 3. 15E-Dakota Earls[4]; 4. 26-Zachary Clark[6]; 5. 03-Tyler Burton[3]; 6. 27J-Justin Johnson[8]; 7. 33L-Mark Lane[2]; 8. 9M-Matt Fox[7]

Heat 2: 1. 21K-Kobe Simpson[2]; 2. 2H-Luke Howard[1]; 3. 28-Kory Schudy[6]; 4. 93W-Taylor Walton[3]; 5. 2-Wesley Smith[4]; 6. 65W-Chad Winfrey[5]; 7. 93-Ralph Parkinson Jr[7]