MARTZ MARCHES TO FIRST USAC MIDWEST THUNDER WIN
Gas City, Indiana (August 18, 2023)………Tate Martz’s most recent victory in USAC’s developmental midget series came all the way back in 2010.
More than 13 years later, the Rushville, Ind. native earned his first career victory under the USAC Midwest Thunder SpeeD2 Midget banner on Friday night at Indiana’s Gas City I-69 Speedway.
Martz, whose 2010 Indianapolis Speedrome victory came when the series was named the USAC Midwest Ford Focus series, is a three-time USAC champion during his reign with the Focus series in 2004-05-06.
At Gas City, Martz wasted no time getting to the front, charging from sixth to first by the end of lap one. From that point forward, Martz was never headed as he became the third veteran racer to earn his first career Midwest Thunder feature triumph this season, all of whom are over the age of 40 (Matt Lux & Luke Hall).
Tyler Nelson (Olathe, Kan.) notched his best finish of the series season with a runner-up result. Cale Coons (Greencastle, Ind.) performed likewise, picking up his best career finish with the series in third. Matt Lux (Manilla, Ind.) grabbed fourth while Abby Hohlbein (Cloverdale, Ohio) rounded out the top-five.
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USAC MIDWEST THUNDER SPEED2 MIDGET RACE RESULTS: August 18, 2023 – Gas City I-69 Speedway – Gas City, Indiana
VMS MOTORSPORTS QUICK TIME DASH: (3 laps) 1. Tate Martz, 2. Luke Hall, 3. Matt Lux. NT
FEATURE: (20 laps) 1. Tate Martz (#34 GMB), 2. Tyler Nelson (#10N Nelson), 3. Cale Coons (#11T Taylor), 4. Matt Lux (#5KB Wells), 5. Abby Hohlbein (#11H Hohlbein), 6. Ian Creager (#36 Creager), 7. Stratton Briggs (#21 Fedorczyk), 8. Zach Wigal (#18 Wigal), 9. Jakeb Boxell (#44JB Boxell-Merkler), 10. Alex Watson (#16y Yenser), 11. Logan Prickett (#37 Prickett), 12. Chett Gehrke (#10 Moore), 13. Ryan Moran (#01 Moran), 14. Cole Morgan (#7m Morgan), 15. Carl Peterson (#49p Peterson), 16. Scott Albrecht (#74x Albrecht), 17. Page Perrine (#55 Perrine), 18. Gunnar Lucius (#22 Lucius), 19. Bryce Massingill (#35 Massingill), 20. Luke Hall (#74 Heitmeyer). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-20 Tate Martz.
ALSO AT THE TRACK: Brayden Schwartz (#55s Schwartz), Jimmie Guidry (#21 Guidry), Keith Ousley (#14 Ousley), Blake Adams (#44 Adams), Michael Magic (#5m Magic), Thomas Bigelow (#2B Bigelow) & Casey Meyer (#9 Meyer).
USAC MIDWEST THUNDER SPEED2 MIDGET POINTS: 1-Zach Wigal-926, 2-Bryce Massingill-914, 3-Stratton Briggs-874, 4-Ian Creager-865, 5-Matt Lux-842, 6-Gunnar Lucius-805, 7-Abby Hohlbein-727, 8-Jakeb Boxell-686, 9-Josh Yenser-581, 10-Alex Watson-530.
NEXT USAC MIDWEST THUNDER SPEED2 MIDGET RACE: August 12, 2023 – Montpelier Motor Speedway – Montpelier, Ohio
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
VMS Motorsports Fast Qualifier: Tate Martz
Performance Electronics First Heat Winner: Cale Coons
U.S. Lawns Second Heat Winner: Tate Martz
Stiefel’s Home & Auto Third Heat: Matt Lux
Performance Powder Coating Hard Charger: Stratton Briggs (18th to 7th)
Rosewood Machine & Tool Precision Move of the Race: Tyler Nelson
Semi Winner: Zach Wigal