SCHUDY STAYS HOT WITH 3RD STRAIGHT USAC MWRA WIN
By: Ray Cunningham
Butler, Missouri (July 28, 2023)……… Kory Schudy picked up his third victory in a row with the USAC Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Racing Association on Friday night at Electric City Speedway in Butler, Mo.
The victory for Schudy and his Jon Sawyer Racing No. 28 wasn’t without its challenges. First, after winning his heat race to earn high point honors, the Battlefield, Missouri racer rolled a (3), sending him to the third row instead of the first.
From there, a problem with the motor was also a concern as Kory told his brother and chief mechanic, Kris Schudy, “We better hook it up then.”
They did, leading to another great performance by the racers from southern Missouri who won their seventh all-time feature with MWRA.
Raymore, Mo. chauffeur Zach Clark in the ZCR No. 26, Chad Winfrey (Gladstone, Mo) in the Chris Parkinson Racing No. 65w, Wesley Smith (Nixa, Mo), wheeling the Lewis Racing No. 2 and Chris Parkinson (Gladstone, Mo) in the his own straight No. 65 rounded out the top-five.
The top-five on this night survived a day of sweltering heat and wind that pummeled the heartland but left a racing surface for most of the feature that allowed racing in multiple grooves.
Schudy utilized this situation to his full advantage, passing cars both high and low before a crossover move on leader Winfrey gave him the lead, and subsequently, the win.
For second place Zach Clark, his night was also mired by issues going into the 25-lap feature after his car suffered mechanical problems with the steering in his heat race. Clark and the team got that issue fixed, and then meticulously worked his way from his eighth starting spot to second place, earning his best finish ever with the series in addition to the MWRA Hard Charger Award.
2022 MWRA Rookie of the Year Chad Winfrey drove a masterful race for the first half of the main event, and looked like he might pick up his first win with the series before being passed by first Schudy, and then Clark to finish third. His podium finish also represented his best result in 2023 so far.
Wesley Smith appeared to be destined for at least his fifth straight podium finish with the series this season before hitting the wall while running third. This incident severely damaged the Jacob’s Ladder on the Lewis Deuce, relegating Smith to fourth place after winning the second heat race earlier.
Fifth place Chris Parkinson sustained damage to the front end of his race car while trying to avoid another competitor who spun at the start of the first heat race, sending him to the pits. Trey Biggs and crew were able to fix the damage in time for the A-Main.
The second half of the top-10 at ECS also included drivers and teams fighting through adversity on Friday night. Point leader Wyatt Burks had an engine problem after hot laps and missed his heat race while his father, Jeff Burks, and the crew on the WBR No. 11w thrashed to change engines before Burks came from the last row to finish a respectable sixth place.
Dakota Earls took home seventh, while Buddy Parker, in the Weld-Parkinson sprinter, tied his best run of 2023 with another eighth-place result. Luke Howard ran ninth and Brad Wyatt survived both a flat tire, and later, a spin to round out the top-10.
A great show of sportsmanship from the Lewis team and others was also on display Friday as they banded together to help Iowa’s Lance Silvers (traveling alone) into the A feature to finish 11th after he made contact with the front stretch wall during the first heat race.
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USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION RACE RESULTS: July 28, 2023 – Electric City Speedway – Butler, Missouri
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 28-Kory Schudy (4), 2. 15E-Dakota Earls (1), 3. 93-Buddy Parker (5), 4. 26-Zach Clark (2), 5. 65-Chris Parkinson (3), 6. 7x-Lance Silvers (6). NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 2-Wesley Smith (2), 2. 65w-Chad Winfrey (1), 3. 41-Brad Wyatt (3), 4. 2H-Luke Howard (4), 5. 27J-Justin Johnson (5).
FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Kory Schudy (5), 2. Zach Clark (8), 3. Chad Winfrey (4), 4. Wesley Smith (6), 5. Chris Parkinson (10), 6. 11w-Wyatt Burks (11), 7. Dakota Earls (1), 8. Buddy Parker (3), 9. Luke Howard (7), 10. Brad Wyatt (2), 11. Lance Silvers (12), 12. Justin Johnson (9). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-14 Chad Winfrey, Laps 15-25 Kory Schudy.
USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION POINTS: 1-Wyatt Burks-1525, 2-Brad Wyatt-1375, 3-Chris Parkinson-1355, 4-Chad Winfrey-1345, 5-Braydon Cromwell-1125, 6-Justin Johnson-1075, 7-Kory Schudy-1045, 8-Zach Clark-1000, 9-Dakota Earls-990, 10-Buddy Parker-985.
NEXT USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION RACE: July 29, 2023 – Nevada Speedway – Nevada, Missouri