BURKS WINS WILD SHOOTOUT AT U.S. 36
By: Ray Cunningham
Osborn, Missouri (September 1, 2023)………“The Sheriff” Wyatt Burks survived a wild shootout with rival Kory Schudy on Friday night as the USAC Wholesale Batteries Midwest Wingless Racing Association Sprint Cars took on Osbron, Missouri’s U.S. 36 Raceway.
This was the third time the series raced at the northwest Missouri speed plant in 2023 and again, the battle came down this year’s two previous U.S. 36 winners. Capital city racer Burks (Topeka, Kan.) drove his Wyatt Burks Racing No. 11w to victory in May. Schudy (Battlefield, Mo.) took the win at U.S. 36 in July behind the wheel of the Jon Sawyer Racing (JSR) No. 28.
For the third round on Friday night, Schudy won the first heat race from his fifth starting spot to earn honors as the highest points driver of the evening. Burks countered as he drove his way to victory in heat race two to lock down second place in points following heat race action.
After Schudy rolled a zero for the invert, both drivers were slated to start on the front row for the 25-lap main event, and the stage was set for an epic showdown.
During the first half of the race, Schudy set the pace in the feature followed by Burks, Wesley Smith (Nixa, Mo.) in the John Helm No. 12, Luke Howard (Overland Park, Kan.) aboard the LHR No. 2H and Chris Parkinson (Gladstone, Mo.) turning the wheel of the CHR 65 inside the top-five.
Burks eventually caught Schudy in traffic to take the lead for the first time. Shortly after, third running Smith lost the right-side panel on his car between turns three and four, bringing out the only yellow flag of the race.
On the restart, and over the final laps of the race, Burks and Schudy exchanged the lead several times, racing high and low on the high banks of U.S. 36. Finally, on the 24th lap, Burks had just enough breathing room to get the win over Schudy, followed by Smith in third and Parkinson in fourth after passing Howard who ended up fifth.
Positions sixth through 10 at U.S. 36 included “Birthday Boy” Dakota Earls of Independence, Mo. coming home sixth with Zach Clark (Raymore, Mo.) taking seventh. Chad Tye (Independence, Mo.) returned to action after a layoff to place eighth. Chad Winfrey (Gladstone, Mo.) advanced six spots in the feature to finish ninth and also collected the Hard Charger award. Brad Wyatt (Kearney, Mo.) came home in the 10th spot.
Ottumwa, Iowa racer Lance Silvers was the recipient of the the Xtreme Color Hard Luck award.
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USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION RACE RESULTS: September 1, 2023 – U.S. 36 Raceway – Osborn, Missouri
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 28-Kory Schudy (5), 2. 26-Zach Clark (2), 3. 11x-Tom Curran (3), 4. 15E-Dakota Earls (1), 5. 65-Chris Parkinson (7), 6. 2L-Warren Johnson (4), 7. 27J-Justin Johnson (6), 8. 65w-Chad Winfrey (8). NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. 11w-Wyatt Burks (2), 2. 12-Wesley Smith (1), 3. 2H-Luke Howard (4), 4. 88-Chad Tye (6), 5. 41-Brad Wyatt (3), 6. 93-Buddy Parker (5), 7. 7x-Lance Silvers (7). NT
FEATURE: (25 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Wyatt Burks (2), 2. Kory Schudy (1), 3. Wesley Smith (4), 4. Chris Parkinson (8), 5. Luke Howard (5), 6. Dakota Earls (9), 7. Zach Clark (3), 8. Chad Tye (6), 9. Chad Winfrey (15), 10. Brad Wyatt (10), 11. Warren Johnson (12), 12. Justin Johnson (14), 13. Buddy Parker (11), 14. Lance Silvers (13), 15. Tom Curran (7). NT
USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION POINTS: 1-Wyatt Burks-2105, 2-Chris Parkinson-1830, 3-Chad Winfrey-1805, 4-Brad Wyatt-1775, 5-Kory Schudy-1580, 6-Dakota Earls-1470, 7-Justin Johnson-1470, 8-Zach Clark-1440, 9-Buddy Parker-1390, 10-Luke Howard-1255.
NEXT USAC WHOLESALE BATTERIES MIDWEST WINGLESS RACING ASSOCIATION RACE: September 2, 2023 – I-35 Speedway – Winston, Missouri