03/29/2024
RPM Speedway
Hays, KS
Sunflower Classic
By: Sheldon Wickwar
Night one of the 2024 Mike "Huey" Hughes Memorial Sunflower Classic was quite the show, as we saw Daniel Gottschalk claim his first modified Classic title, saw Cody Williams outduel the Olmstead brothers in the hobby stocks, Mike Nichols win his tenth Sunflower Classic title in the stock cars, Blaine Walt return to dominant fashion in the sport mod and Brandon Carmichael win the sport compact title. One hundred and twenty-eight race teams showed up to the legendary RPM Speedway to battle it out!
The sport compacts started the show, off with three heat races won by Kaytee DeVries, Kaylee Richards, and Gage Porter. Their fifteen-lap feature started with a front row of Brandon Carmichael and Brock Leibhart; Carmichael grabbed the early lead. Just two laps into the race Kaylee Richards, defending Sunflower Classic winner, found herself side by side for second place. Lap three she would gain control of second place and set her sights on Carmichael. The field singled out throughout the halfway part of the race with Richards closing in on Carmichael at halfway. With three laps to go Richards would peak underneath Carmichael for the lead but was unable to get the momentum to make the pass. Brandon Carmichael picked up the win, second was Kaylee Richards, third was Gage Porter, fourth was Connor Schwien, and fifth was Kaytee DeVries. Hard chargers in the event were Kaylee Richards, Kaishen Brack and Branston Arnder Jr who picked up six spots each.
The sport mods were second on the program with three heat races won by Brendyn Nordyke, Brianna Maughlin, and Jeff Hunter. Their twenty-lap feature started with a front row of Blaine Walt and Brianna Maughlin, Walt fired off to the early lead and Jeff Hunter quickly got to second before a caution came out. Off the restart Maughlin battled back to run side by side with Hunter for second place before Watts crossed her over on the frontstretch. Walt checked out early and set qualifying laps. Lap seven saw a caution as Maughlin spun off the top of turn two. Walt would restart the field with thirteen laps left and quickly Watts would get to his rear bumper. At the halfway point Walt held a two second lead over Tyler Watts. Walt would work quickly through lapped traffic and won by almost four seconds. Second was Tyler Watts, third was Hunter Smith, fourth was Jeff Hunter and fifth was Adam Weber. Despite the early spin Maughlin rebounded for eighth place. Hard charger was Dalton Bell who gained ten spots, other nice runs included Adam Weber charging up nine spots, and Jeff Ray grabbing eight spots.
The stock cars were third on the program with three heat races won by Troy Burkhart, Mike Nichols, and Kyle Pfeifer. Their twenty-lap feature started with a front row of Jason Rogers and Tristan Grape, Rogers gained the early advantage and quickly Tathan Burkhart got to second place, caution came out after one lap as Grape went off the top of turns one and two. Rogers brought the field back to green, after five laps Rogers still held a slim advantage over Tathan Burkhart. Off the restart, Petersillie would make it three wide, with Nichols and Burkhart. Nichols would get to third right before halfway in search of his tenth Sunflower Classic win. With four laps to go a three wide battle would break out between Burkhart, Rogers and Nichols, with Nichols grabbing the race win with a last lap pass. Second was Kyle Pfeifer, third was Tathan Burkhart, fourth was Jason Rogers, and fifth was Mike Petersillie. This was Mike Nichols’s tenth Sunflower Classic win at the legendary RPM Speedway. Hard charger was Chris Oliver who gained nine spots, other nice runs included Mike Nichols, Kyle Pfeifer, Kolby and Keith Stegman all grabbing eight spots each.
The hobby stocks were fourth on the program with four heat races won by Derick Coomes, Dylan Bell, Dillon Thompson, and Cody Williams. Their twenty-lap feature started with a front row of the Olmstead's, Morgan on the pole and brother Zach in second. Zach Olmstead grabbed the early lead and lap one saw a caution after Derick Coomes spun Andrew Burg out, Burg got his spot back on the restart and Coomes was sent to the back of the field. The red flag came out of the restart as Dillon Richards rolled down the front stretch after losing power, Richards walked away from the wreck. Zach restarted the field and quickly Cody Williams got to second passing Morgan to break up the Olmstead party. Lap five saw Williams and Zach run side by side, and it would turn into a three wide battle approaching the halfway point. At the halfway point Cody Williams held a slight lead over Morgan. Williams and Morgan traded the lead throughout laps eleven, twelve and thirteen. A three wide battle for the lead would break out with five laps to go, as the Olmsteads and Williams would not separate from each other. Caution came out with three laps to go as Williams got spun out in turn four by Zach Olmstead. Zach was sent to the back of the field and WIlliams was given his spot as race leader back. Williams controlled the restart and with two laps left would pull away. The red flag came out with two laps to go as Thompson rolled in turn one after Morgan Olmstead made heavy contact with Thompson sending him over. Thompson was okay, got out of the car and had a chat with Morgan Olmstead. The field would come to a final restart under control of race leader Cody Williams, and Williams would survive to grab the race win, second was Tyler Heath, third was Tyler Thompson, fourth was Andrew Burg and Jonathan Saliba rounded out the top five. Hard charger was Tyler Heath picking up eleven spots, other nice runs included Tanner Jones grabbing ten spots, and Jonathan Saliba picking up nine spots.
The modifieds closed out the program with four heat races won by Clay Sellard, Daniel Gottschalk, Clay Money, and Jeremy Frenier. Their twenty-lap feature started with a front row of Eddie Belec and Trevor Geist; Belec would pull away with the early race lead. After three laps a side-by-side battle for the lead would break out between Belec and Daniel Gottschalk. Meanwhile a side-by-side battle would break out between Brett Berry and Greg Gustus for third. Lap seven saw Gottschalk grab the lead from Belec as he started to find lapped traffic. At the halfway point Daniel Gottschalk led by a second and a half over Belec. Gottschalk navigated lapped traffic very well as he picked up his first Sunflower Classic victory. Second was Eddie Belec, third was Brett Berry, fourth was Greg Gustus and fifth was Dakota Sproul. Hard charger was Jake Nightingale grabbing seven spots, other nice runs included Dylan Sherfick with six spots gained, Brandon Clough and Tim Watts with five spots gained.
FULL RESULTS:
IMCA SPORT COMPACTS PRESENTED BY AUGIE'S REPAIR AND TOWING
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 12M-Brandon Carmichael[1]; 2. 24R-Kaylee Richards[8]; 3. 69G-Gage Porter[3]; 4. 16C-Connor Schwien[6]; 5. 8K-Kaytee DeVries[5]; 6. 14-Rileigh Flohrs[4]; 7. 45-Johnny Thomas[9]; 8. 77-Branston Arnder Jr[14]; 9. 03K-Kyle Mortensen[12]; 10. 17-Kiowa Higdon[11]; 11. 16-Brin McAtee[10]; 12. 6M-Madison Reed[13]; 13. 15B-Brock Leibhart[2]; 14. 9K-Kaden Murray[15]; 15. 8B-Kaishen Brack[21]; 16. 16L-Grant Logue[17]; 17. 7M-ZACK MCLAUGHLIN[18]; 18. 69-Bryan Moore[19]; 19. 273-Chase Cloe[7]; 20. 27-Chris McAtee[16]; 21. (DNF) 55K-Kevin Tremblay[20]
Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 8K-Kaytee DeVries[1]; 2. 273-Chase Cloe[3]; 3. 17-Kiowa Higdon[6]; 4. 45-Johnny Thomas[4]; 5. 6M-Madison Reed[7]; 6. 27-Chris McAtee[2]; 7. (DNS) 69-Bryan Moore
Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 24R-Kaylee Richards[1]; 2. 12M-Brandon Carmichael[2]; 3. 14-Rileigh Flohrs[4]; 4. 16C-Connor Schwien[3]; 5. 77-Branston Arnder Jr[7]; 6. 16L-Grant Logue[6]; 7. (DNS) 55K-Kevin Tremblay
Heat 3 (6 Laps): 1. 69G-Gage Porter[1]; 2. 03K-Kyle Mortensen[2]; 3. 15B-Brock Leibhart[3]; 4. 16-Brin McAtee[5]; 5. 9K-Kaden Murray[7]; 6. 7M-ZACK MCLAUGHLIN[6]; 7. (DNF) 8B-Kaishen Brack[4]
34 entries
IMCA HOBBY STOCKS PRESENTED BY GOLDEN PLAINS TRUCKING
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 77-Cody Williams[6]; 2. 187-Tyler Heath[13]; 3. 17-Tyler Thompson[4]; 4. 78B-Andrew Burg[9]; 5. 5S-Jonathan Saliba[14]; 6. 31-Dylan Bell[3]; 7. 12T-Tanner Jones[17]; 8. 98Z-Zach Olmstead[2]; 9. 70-Billy McBride[15]; 10. 11B-Blake Spear[16]; 11. 38-Brayden Hurley[7]; 12. (DNF) 03-Derick Coomes[12]; 13. (DNF) 420-Justin Yutterman[20]; 14. (DNF) 11-Dillon Thompson[10]; 15. (DNF) 88-Morgan Olmstead[1]; 16. (DNF) 2X-Trevor Schmidt[11]; 17. (DNF) 93-Jake Wharton[19]; 18. (DNF) 10-Cole Pfeifer[18]; 19. (DNF) 24R-Dillon Richards[5]; 20. (DNF) R20-Rob Durfee[8]
B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 187-Tyler Heath[6]; 2. 70-Billy McBride[10]; 3. 12T-Tanner Jones[3]; 4. 93-Jake Wharton[5]; 5. 17H-Hayden Ogorzolka[1]; 6. 6T-Taylor Croisant[11]; 7. 11X-Brendan Rich[7]; 8. 8B-Brayden Hilzer[8]; 9. 49J-Jayla Miller[9]; 10. (DNF) 37-Bingston Rogers[4]; 11. (DNF) D68-Dion Priddy[2]
B Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 5S-Jonathan Saliba[2]; 2. 11B-Blake Spear[6]; 3. 10-Cole Pfeifer[1]; 4. 420-Justin Yutterman[4]; 5. 24T-Tylan Lambertus[8]; 6. 55-Blake Holmes[5]; 7. 11A-Austin Rich[10]; 8. 12S-Cole Schulte[3]; 9. 30-Dawson Bradford[9]; 10. (DNF) 42J-Alec Jeske[11]; 11. (DNF) 17D-Calvin Davis[7]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 03-Derick Coomes[2]; 2. 38-Brayden Hurley[3]; 3. R20-Rob Durfee[5]; 4. 17H-Hayden Ogorzolka[4]; 5. 12T-Tanner Jones[6]; 6. 93-Jake Wharton[8]; 7. 11X-Brendan Rich[7]; 8. 49J-Jayla Miller[1]; 9. (DNS) 6T-Taylor Croisant
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 31-Dylan Bell[2]; 2. 17-Tyler Thompson[7]; 3. 24R-Dillon Richards[8]; 4. 10-Cole Pfeifer[3]; 5. 12S-Cole Schulte[4]; 6. 55-Blake Holmes[9]; 7. 17D-Calvin Davis[6]; 8. 30-Dawson Bradford[5]; 9. 42J-Alec Jeske[1]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 11-Dillon Thompson[1]; 2. 98Z-Zach Olmstead[3]; 3. 2X-Trevor Schmidt[5]; 4. D68-Dion Priddy[2]; 5. 37-Bingston Rogers[4]; 6. 187-Tyler Heath[8]; 7. 8B-Brayden Hilzer[7]; 8. (DNF) 70-Billy McBride[6]
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 77-Cody Williams[2]; 2. 88-Morgan Olmstead[1]; 3. 78B-Andrew Burg[6]; 4. 5S-Jonathan Saliba[5]; 5. 420-Justin Yutterman[3]; 6. 11B-Blake Spear[8]; 7. 24T-Tylan Lambertus[4]; 8. 11A-Austin Rich[7]
21 entries
IMCA SPORT MODS PRESENTED BY WALT'S REPAIR AND MACHINE
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 14W-Blaine Walt[1]; 2. 77W-Tyler Watts[7]; 3. 01S-Hunter Smith[9]; 4. 21H-Jeff Hunter[3]; 5. 3-Adam Weber[14]; 6. 28K-Ryan Kirchoff[12]; 7. 9JR-Brendyn Nordyke[6]; 8. 17M-Brianna Maughlin[2]; 9. 22B-Dalton Bell[19]; 10. 187-Blane Lujan Jr[13]; 11. 7P-Lloyd Stover[4]; 12. 91Y-Lance Yoxsimer[15]; 13. 99R-Jeff Ray[21]; 14. (DNF) 88J-Jack Kirchoff[20]; 15. (DNF) 4D-Danny Concelman[8]; 16. (DNF) 1-Riley Osantowski[17]; 17. (DNF) 2BA-Jacey Archer[16]; 18. (DNF) 711-Brady Bencken[10]; 19. (DNF) 14-Tristan Mikesell[18]; 20. (DNF) 24-Douglas Beaman[11]; 21. (DNF) 3W-Barry Halley[5]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 9JR-Brendyn Nordyke[2]; 2. 7P-Lloyd Stover[1]; 3. 01S-Hunter Smith[5]; 4. 24-Douglas Beaman[7]; 5. 187-Blane Lujan Jr[4]; 6. 2BA-Jacey Archer[3]; 7. 22B-Dalton Bell[6]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 17M-Brianna Maughlin[1]; 2. 711-Brady Bencken[2]; 3. 14W-Blaine Walt[7]; 4. 3W-Barry Halley[3]; 5. 3-Adam Weber[5]; 6. 1-Riley Osantowski[6]; 7. 88J-Jack Kirchoff[4]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 21H-Jeff Hunter[3]; 2. 4D-Danny Concelman[1]; 3. 77W-Tyler Watts[2]; 4. 28K-Ryan Kirchoff[5]; 5. 91Y-Lance Yoxsimer[6]; 6. 14-Tristan Mikesell[4]; 7. 99R-Jeff Ray[7]
22 entries
IMCA STOCK CARS PRESENTED BY ADVANTAGE GLASS PLUS
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 63-Mike Nichols[9]; 2. 250-Tathan Burkhart[4]; 3. 54P-Kyle Pfeifer[11]; 4. 37-Jason Rogers[1]; 5. 25P-Mike Petersilie[5]; 6. 19K-Kolby Stegman[14]; 7. 34H-Doug Holzmeister[7]; 8. 63C-Austin Carter[12]; 9. 3-Chris Oliver[18]; 10. 12Y-Johny Yutterman[6]; 11. 14-Tristan Grape[2]; 12. 19-Keith Stegman[20]; 13. 55R-George Ramey[17]; 14. 13-Quinton Yutterman[3]; 15. 01W-Jacob Wolsleben[19]; 16. 1X-Bo Egge[15]; 17. (DNF) 11K-Kyle Clough[22]; 18. (DNF) 11-Joseph Cooper[16]; 19. (DNF) 31K-Nate Desive[21]; 20. (DNF) 25X-Troy Burkhart[10]; 21. (DNF) 55-Tyler Frye[8]; 22. (DNF) 52T-Travis Baird[13]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 25X-Troy Burkhart[1]; 2. 37-Jason Rogers[3]; 3. 250-Tathan Burkhart[7]; 4. 55-Tyler Frye[6]; 5. 52T-Travis Baird[2]; 6. 11-Joseph Cooper[5]; 7. 01W-Jacob Wolsleben[8]; 8. (DNF) 11K-Kyle Clough[4]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 63-Mike Nichols[2]; 2. 14-Tristan Grape[1]; 3. 25P-Mike Petersilie[4]; 4. 63C-Austin Carter[6]; 5. 19K-Kolby Stegman[5]; 6. 55R-George Ramey[7]; 7. 19-Keith Stegman[3]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 54P-Kyle Pfeifer[2]; 2. 34H-Doug Holzmeister[6]; 3. 13-Quinton Yutterman[1]; 4. 12Y-Johny Yutterman[4]; 5. 1X-Bo Egge[5]; 6. 3-Chris Oliver[7]; 7. (DNF) 31K-Nate Desive[3]
30 entries
IMCA MODIFIEDS PRESENTED BY MEL HAMBELTON FORD RACING
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 3D-Daniel Gottschalk[3]; 2. 3B-Eddie Belec[1]; 3. 09B-Brett Berry[6]; 4. 14G-Greg Gustus[4]; 5. 08-Dakota Sproul[7]; 6. 7-Clay Money[8]; 7. 85C-Clay Sellard[10]; 8. 66D-Dylan Sherfick[14]; 9. 3J-Jake Nightingale[16]; 10. 17J-Jeremy Frenier[9]; 11. 10T-Trevor Geist[2]; 12. 14-Tony Acierno[5]; 13. 20-Brandon Clough[18]; 14. 10G-Don Geist[12]; 15. 11W-Tim Watts[20]; 16. 183-Chad Sterling[13]; 17. 69-Jim Beaman[15]; 18. 9D-Dalton Murphy[17]; 19. 30-Gary Bradford[19]; 20. (DNF) 26J-Jace Whitt[11]
B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 183-Chad Sterling[2]; 2. 69-Jim Beaman[4]; 3. 9D-Dalton Murphy[5]; 4. 30-Gary Bradford[8]; 5. 52-Cliff Shepard[7]; 6. 73-Daniel Nichols[1]; 7. (DNF) 26X-Shane Meeks[6]; 8. (DNF) 10-TeeJay Janousek[3]; 9. (DNS) K98-Danny Keller
B Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 66D-Dylan Sherfick[4]; 2. 3J-Jake Nightingale[2]; 3. 20-Brandon Clough[6]; 4. 11W-Tim Watts[1]; 5. 28-John Burrow[3]; 6. 8R-Jesse Richter[8]; 7. 49-Drew Miller[5]; 8. 7M-Daniel Miller[7]; 9. (DNS) 33-Jason Ward
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 85C-Clay Sellard[2]; 2. 10G-Don Geist[5]; 3. 10T-Trevor Geist[4]; 4. 73-Daniel Nichols[8]; 5. 10-TeeJay Janousek[1]; 6. (DNF) 9D-Dalton Murphy[3]; 7. (DNF) 52-Cliff Shepard[6]; 8. (DNF) K98-Danny Keller[7]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 3D-Daniel Gottschalk[6]; 2. 08-Dakota Sproul[4]; 3. 26J-Jace Whitt[1]; 4. 11W-Tim Watts[5]; 5. 28-John Burrow[8]; 6. 49-Drew Miller[7]; 7. 7M-Daniel Miller[3]; 8. (DNF) 33-Jason Ward[2]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 7-Clay Money[1]; 2. 3B-Eddie Belec[2]; 3. 14-Tony Acierno[4]; 4. 183-Chad Sterling[7]; 5. 69-Jim Beaman[3]; 6. 26X-Shane Meeks[6]; 7. 30-Gary Bradford[5]
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 17J-Jeremy Frenier[1]; 2. 09B-Brett Berry[4]; 3. 14G-Greg Gustus[2]; 4. 3J-Jake Nightingale[5]; 5. 66D-Dylan Sherfick[3]; 6. 20-Brandon Clough[7]; 7. 8R-Jesse Richter[6]
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