Bruening Scores in Mo’Town
Friday night, April 19th, the Malvern Bank SLMR Series made the drive to the Marshalltown, Iowa for the inaugural race on the high banks of the Marshalltown Speedway. 39 drivers checked in for battle. To get things started Andy Eckrich posted quick time in qualifying group A and Kyle Berck would lead the way in qualifying group B. Overall Berck had the quickest time in time trials, timing in with a 15.044 around the quarter mile. 2017 MBSLMR Champion, Tad Pospisil’s night ended early after a nasty roll over in time trials. Tad climbed from his car under his own power and was ok.
The four heat races were swept by Iowa natives, Richie Gustin, Ryan Griffith, Curtis Glover, and Tyler Bruening. Andrew Kosiski and Corey Zeitner picked up the B-Feature wins ensuring their spot in the A-Feature.
Kyle Berck and Nick Deal led the field to the green flag for the 25 lap Showdown in Mo’Town. Berck would get the jump and lead the opening 3/4 of a lap but Deal would fight back on the low side to take the lead and lead lap 1. Berck would quickly be under fire from Tyler Bruening and Andy Eckrich. Bruening was able to move passed Berck on lap 4 and jump to second, setting his sights on race leader Nick Deal. While Bruening began to slowly close in on Deal, Berck surrendered third and fourth to Andy Eckrich and Richie Gustin. Bruening and Deal would battle hard until contact between the two resulted in Nick Deal spinning and bringing out the yellow on lap 9.
As the field reset for the restart it was Bruening, Eckrich, Gustin, Berck, and Ryan Dolan showing the way. In the opening 9 laps, Bill Leighton Jr had worked his way from 13th to 7th, Leighton would power past Josh Leonard and Ryan Dolan on the restart moving into the top 5. Kyle Berck would move to 3rd on the restart getting around Andy Eckrich as he dropped to 4th. But up front the battle was on for the lead between Tyler Bruening and Richie Gustin. Gustin utilized a strong run off the high side to rocket passed Bruening and take the lead and lead lap 14 and 15. Bruening retook the lead and was able to withstand the challenge from ‘G Money’ Richie Gustin for the following laps. Bruening worked his way through lap traffic and pulled away from the field late in the race claiming his first career Malvern Bank SLMR Series victory. Bruening was followed to the line by Gustin, Bill Leighton Jr., Kyle Berck, and Andy Eckrich.
Results:
Qualifying Group A: 1. Andy Eckrich, 2. Ryan Dolan, 3. Jason O’Brien, 4. Bill Leighton Jr., 5. Richie Gustin, 6. Brian Kosiski, 7. Darrel DeFrance, 8. Andrew Kosiski, 9. Jason Hahne, 10. Ryan Griffith, 11. Dave Wada, 12. Curt Schroeder, 13. Luke Pestka, 14. Tim Simpson, 15. Brad Perdue, 16. Paul Conrad, 17. Zach Zeitner, 18. Shawn Cooney, 19. Kale Kosiski, 20. Tyler Smith
Qualifying Group B: 1. Kyle Berck, 2. Ben Schaller, 3. Josh Leonard, 4. Tyler Bruening, 5. Nick Deal, 6. Joel Callahan, 7. Todd Cooney, 8. Corey Zeitner, 9. Curtis Glover, 10. Eric Vanosdall, 11. Troy Daly, 12. Blair Nothdurft, 13. Greg Kastli, 14. Dan Battaglia, 15. Jason Wallace, 16. Andy Claiborne, 17. Curt Drake, 18. Tegan Evans, DNF. Tad Pospisil
Speedway Motors Heat Race #1: 1. Richie Gustin, 2. Jason Hahne, 3. Andy Eckrich, 4. Dave Wada, 5. Darrel DeFrance, 6. Luke Pestka, 7. Jason O’Brien, 8. Kale Kosiski, 9. Brad Perdue, DNF. Zach Zeitner
Keyser Manufacturing Heat Race #2: 1. Ryan Griffith, 2. Brian Kosiski, 3. Andrew Kosiski, 4. Ryan Dolan, 5. Bill Leighton Jr., 6. Tim Simpson, 7. Curt Schroeder, 8. Shawn Cooney, 9. Tyler Smith, 10. Paul Conrad
Roth Racing Heat Race #3: 1. Curtis Glover, 2. Nick Deal, 3. Kyle Berck, 4. Josh Leonard, 5. Troy Daly, 6. Jason Wallace, 7. Curt Drake, 8. Todd Cooney, 9. Greg Kastli, DNS. Tad Pospisil
Kosiski Auto Parts Heat Race #4: 1. Tyler Bruening, 2. Eric Vanosdall, 3. Corey Zeitner, 4. Joel Callahan, 5. Ben Schaller, 6. Blair Nothdurft, 7. Andy Claiborne, 8. Dan Battaglia, 9. Tegan Evans
B-Feature #1: 1. Andrew Kosiski, 2. Darrel DeFrance, 3. Paul Conrad, 4. Curt Schroeder, 5. Curt Drake, 6. Zach Zeitner, 7. Jason Wallace, 8. Eric Vanosdall, 9. Andy Claiborne, (DNF)- 10. Troy Daly, 11. Shawn Cooney, 12. Blair Nothdurft, DNS. Tad Pospisil
B-Feature #2: 1. Corey Zeitner, 2. Todd Cooney, 3. Jason O’Brien, 4. Tim Simpson, 5. Dave Wada, 6. Kale Kosiski, 7. Tyler Smith, 8. Luke Pestka, 9. Dan Battaglia, 10. Tegan Evans, (DNF)- 11. Greg Kastli, DNS. Brad Perdue
A-Feature: 1. Tyler Bruening, 2. Richie Gustin, 3. Bill Leighton Jr., 4. Kyle Berck, 5. Andy Eckrich, 6. Ryan Dolan, 7. Josh Leonard, 8. Joel Callahan, 9. Andrew Kosiski, 10. Darrel DeFrance, 11. Corey Zeitner, 12. Brian Kosiski, 13. Todd Cooney, 14. Jason Hahne, 15. Ben Schaller, 16. Nick Deal, 17. Jason O’Brien, 18. Paul Conrad, 19. Jason Wallace, 20. Dan Battaglia, (DNF)- 21. Curtis Glover, 22. Ryan Griffith
Contingency Awards:
Speedway Motors Heat Race #1: Jason Hahne
Keyser Manufacturing Heat Race #2: Brian Kosiski
Roth Racing Heat Race #3: Nick Deal
Kosiski Auto Parts Heat Race #4: Eric Vanosdall
Hoosier Tire Hard Charger: Bill Leighton Jr
VP Fuels Top Qualifier: Kyle Berck
Dynamic Drivelines Hard Luck Award: Nick Deal
Sardeson Racing Worst Draw: Curt Drake
Speedway Motors Back-Up Award: Nick Deal
Keizer Wheels Last Man In: Joel Callahan
Wehrs Machine A Feature Pole Sitter: Kyle Berck
Predator Trailers B Feature King: Andrew Kosiski
Hooker Harness 5th Place: Kyle Berck
Out Pace Products 7th Place: Josh Leonard
Simpson Performance Products 8th Place: Joel Callahan
Braswell Carburetion 10th Place: Corey Zeitner
Brinn Transmission 12th Place: Brian Kosiski
Penske Top 3 Finishers: Bill Leighton Jr, Kyle Berck, Josh Leonard
Rod End Supply Lap Leaders: Nick Deal
Series Sponsors: Beyea Headers, Braswell Carburetion, Brinn Transmissions, Dynamic Drivelines, Helmet Head Design, Hooker Harness, Hoosier Tire, JE Pistons, Keizer Wheels, Keyser Manufacturing, Kosiski Auto Parts, Malvern Bank, My Race Pass, N&W Transfer, Out-Pace Products, Penske Racing Shocks, Performance Bodies, Predator Trailers, Real Wheels, Rod End Supply, Roth Racing, Sardeson Racing, Simpson Performance Products, Speedway Motors, Storm Solution Specialists, Swartz Chassis, VP Fuels, Wehrs Machine, and Zeitner and Sons Trucking.
