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Writer's pictureSheldon Wickwar

Nichols Sweeps the Sunflower Classic

03/30/2024 

RPM Speedway 

Hays, KS 

Sunflower Classic 

By: Sheldon Wickwar 

Mike Nichols in the stock car pulled off a weekend sweep at the Sunflower Classic, as he won both features on Friday and Saturday, tallying tenth and eleventh Sunflower Classic titles. Joining Nichols in victory lane were Kaylee Richards in the compacts, Danny Concelman in the sport mods, Dillon Richards in the hobby stocks and Dakota Sproul in the modifieds. 


The sport compacts started the evening off with three heat races, with Madison Reed, Branston Arnder Jr and Brandon Carmichael all picking up wins. Their fifteen-lap feature started with a front row of Kaytee DeVries and Gage Porter; DeVries got the early lead and quickly pulled away from the field. A side-by-side battle broke out for third between Johnny Thomas and Gage Porter after a couple laps, with Thomas prevailing on lap three. Caution came out on lap five as Bryan Moore lost a wheel and slowed to a stop. DeVries restarted the field with ten laps to go and quickly Kaylee Richards would grab the lead in turn four. Madison Reed got to third place on lap seven. Side-by-side battle for the lead would break out after lap eight but caution came out for a Zack McLaughlin spin in turn three on lap nine. Richards would bring the field to a restart with six laps to go, and chaos ensued as DeVries rolled after spinning out down the backstretch, meanwhile Chase Cloe, Grant Logue and Brock Leibhart all were involved in an incident and rolled together, all drivers were okay and able to safely leave their cars. The remaining field would come to another restart with six laps to go, and Richards would continue to lead, as Madison Reed got to second. Reed would fall back to third with four laps to go as Johnny Thomas and Kiowa Higdon got by. A debris caution came out with three laps to go, Thomas would dive low on the restart and try to get by for the lead, at the white flag Thomas would run side-by-side with Richards and out of turn four Richards held on to pick up the win. Second was Johnny Thomas, third was Rileigh Flohrs, fourth was Madison Reed and fifth was Gage Porter. Hard chargers were Jakob Schwien and Chris McAtee who both gained nine spots each. 



A picture of Kaylee and Dillon Richards in victory lane.
Kaylee Richards (Right) and Dillon Richards (Left) celebrate their Hobby (Dillon) and Sport Compact (Kaylee) Sunflower Classic wins. Photo courtesy of Photo's by Red-Carl Red Larson

 


The sport mods were second on the program with three heat races, with Blaine Walt, Brianna Maughlin and Barry Halley all picking up wins. Their twenty-lap feature started with a front row of Blaine Walt and Danny Concelman; Concelman grabbed the early lead and would try to pull away from Walt. After five laps Concelman held a one and a half second lead over Blaine Walt. At the halfway point Walt would close in on race leader Concelman and would look to the inside and make a pass for the lead. Lloyd Stover went for a spin in turn one on lap fourteen to bring out a caution. Walt brought the field back to a restart with six laps to go, Concelman threw a slider off the restart to regain the lead with four laps to go, Concelman would hang on to pick up the race win. Second was Blaine Walt, third was Hunter Smith, fourth was Tyler Watts, and Jeff Hunter finished fifth. Hard chargers were Hunter Smith, Tyler Watts, and Dalton Bell who all gained nine spots each. 



A picture of Danny Concelman in victory lane.
Danny Concelman celebrates his Sport Mod Sunflower Classic win! Photo courtesy of Photo's by Red-Carl Red Larson

 


The stock cars were third on the program with three heat races, with Kyle Pfeifer, Kyle Clough, and Mike Nichols all picking up wins. Their twenty-lap feature started with a front row of Tathan Burkhart and Austin Carter; and a side-by-side battle would break out right away, Tathan Burkhart and Austin Carter would make contact and spun collecting Jason Rogers and Doug Holzmeister. Bo Egge would lead the field from the restart, meanwhile Kyle Clough and Mike Nichols would get by to gain control of the top two spots. Caution came out on lap three as Troy Burkhart and Joseph Cooper tangled in turn four and got stuck together. Clough led the field to a restart, four laps in and Mike Nichols would start to close in for the lead. Nichols gained the lead on lap six after Clough bobbled through three and four. Nichols started to pull away at the halfway point of the race. Kyle Pfiefer got to second place towards the end of the race, caution came out on lap eighteen as Mike Petersillie had an issue in turns three and four. Nichols brought the field to a final restart and led the remaining two laps to pick up the weekend sweep. Second was Kyle Pfeifer, third was Tristan Grape, fourth was Bo Egge and fifth was Kyle Clough. Hard charger was George Ramey who gained fifteen spots, other nice runs included Kolby Stegman up eleven spots, and Mike Petersillie up seven spots. 


A picture of Mike Nichols in victory lane.
Mike Nichols celebrates his eleventh Stock Car Sunflower Classic win! Photo courtesy of Photo's by Red-Carl Red Larson!

 

The hobby stocks were fourth on the program with four heat races, with Tanner Jones, Cody Williams, Jonathan Saliba and Tylan Lambertus picking up wins. Their twenty-lap feature started with a front row of Brayden Hurley and Cody Williams; Williams grabbed the early advantage and started pulling away. Tylan Lambertus would spin after contact from Derick Coomes on lap two to bring out the caution. Caution came out right away as Brayden Hilzer spun himself out. Williams led over Richards after the restart, and started clicking laps off. The advantage was a full second for Williams at the halfway point of the race. Williams slid off the top of one and two and gave the lead to Dillon Richards, caution came out for Burg spinning in three and four. Richards would bring the field to a restart with eight laps to go, and caution came out in turn two as Zach Olmstead spun his brother Morgan out. Zach took his car off the track, and Morgan got his spot back. Richards led the field to a restart with seven laps to go, as Dillon Thompson would start a side-by-side battle for the lead a lap later. With five laps to go Richards was still under control of the race lead, but Thompson was not going to give up, allowing Brayden Hurley and Morgan Olmstead to close in. Dillon Richards would hold off Dillon Thompson at the line to win the race. Second was Dillon Thompson, third was Brayden Hurley, fourth was Morgan Olmstead and fifth was Tylan Lambertus. Hard charger was Tyler Thompson who gained eight spots. 



The modifieds ended the program with four heat races, with Tim Watts, Daniel Gottschalk, Jace Whitt and Jeremy Frenier winning their heats. Their twenty-lap feature started with a front row of Jace Whitt and Dakota Sproul; Whitt grabbed the early lead by several car lengths. Sproul would close in after a lap, trying to find the lead. Five laps in Whitt would still lead over a hard charging Dakota Sproul. Frenier would start closing in during the next couple of laps, meanwhile Dylan Sherfick had made his way up to sixth place right before halfway. A side-by-side battle for the lead would break out on lap twelve between Whitt and Sproul. Lap fourteen saw a caution as John Burrow spun in turn two in front of the leaders, everyone was able to avoid. Off the restart Gottschalk would get to second place but would spin in turn two, caution would come out with five laps to go. Sproul led the field to a restart with five laps to go and would hold the lead as Frenier threw himself into third place and gave the top two a bit of a cushion. With three laps to go Dylan Sherfick and Jeremy Frenier would battle side-by-side for second with Frenier prevailing. Meanwhile, Sproul would scoot away for the race win, second was Jeremy Frenier, third was Dylan Sherfick, fourth was Eddie Belec and fifth was Clay Sellard. Hard charger was Jim Beaman who gained ten spots, other nice runs included Clay Sellard up nine spots, Jake Nightingale and Tony Acierno up seven spots. Along with Dylan Sherfick and Greg Gustus gaining five spots each.


A picture of Dakota Sproul in victory lane with friends and family!
Dakota Sproul celebrates his Modified Sunflower Classic win! Photo courtesy of Photo's by Red-Carl Red Larson!

 

FULL RESULTS: 

IMCA SPORT COMPACTS PRESENTED BY AUGIE'S REPAIR AND TOWING

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 24R-Kaylee Richards[3]; 2. 45-Johnny Thomas[4]; 3. 14-Rileigh Flohrs[5]; 4. 6M-Madison Reed[6]; 5. 69G-Gage Porter[2]; 6. 16C-Connor Schwien[7]; 7. 03K-Kyle Mortensen[9]; 8. 16J-Jakob Schwien[17]; 9. 32X-Nathan Wahlstrom[10]; 10. 16-Brin McAtee[14]; 11. 77-Branston Arnder Jr[11]; 12. 27-Chris McAtee[21]; 13. (DNF) 17-Kiowa Higdon[12]; 14. (DNF) 8K-Kaytee DeVries[1]; 15. (DNF) 273-Chase Cloe[13]; 16. (DNF) 15B-Brock Leibhart[18]; 17. (DNF) 8B-Kaishen Brack[15]; 18. (DNF) 16L-Grant Logue[16]; 19. (DNF) 12M-Brandon Carmichael[8]; 20. (DNF) 7M-ZACK MCLAUGHLIN[20]; 21. (DNF) 69-Bryan Moore[19]

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 6M-Madison Reed[1]; 2. 14-Rileigh Flohrs[6]; 3. 69G-Gage Porter[2]; 4. 24R-Kaylee Richards[5]; 5. 273-Chase Cloe[3]; 6. 16L-Grant Logue[4]; 7. 69-Bryan Moore[7]

Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 77-Branston Arnder Jr[2]; 2. 16C-Connor Schwien[5]; 3. 32X-Nathan Wahlstrom[4]; 4. 03K-Kyle Mortensen[3]; 5. 16-Brin McAtee[6]; 6. 16J-Jakob Schwien[1]; 7. 7M-ZACK MCLAUGHLIN[7]

Heat 3 (6 Laps): 1. 12M-Brandon Carmichael[2]; 2. 8K-Kaytee DeVries[1]; 3. 45-Johnny Thomas[4]; 4. 17-Kiowa Higdon[6]; 5. 8B-Kaishen Brack[3]; 6. 15B-Brock Leibhart[7]; 7. 27-Chris McAtee[5]

35 entries

IMCA HOBBY STOCKS PRESENTED BY GOLDEN PLAINS TRUCKING

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 24R-Dillon Richards[4]; 2. 11-Dillon Thompson[3]; 3. 38-Brayden Hurley[1]; 4. 88-Morgan Olmstead[7]; 5. 24T-Tylan Lambertus[5]; 6. 12T-Tanner Jones[6]; 7. 187-Tyler Heath[12]; 8. 31-Dylan Bell[13]; 9. 41-Adam Wasserman[11]; 10. 17-Tyler Thompson[18]; 11. 5S-Jonathan Saliba[9]; 12. 70-Billy McBride[16]; 13. 8B-Brayden Hilzer[14]; 14. 55-Blake Holmes[19]; 15. 03-Derick Coomes[8]; 16. D68-Dion Priddy[17]; 17. (DNF) 98Z-Zach Olmstead[15]; 18. (DNF) 2X-Trevor Schmidt[20]; 19. (DNF) 78B-Andrew Burg[10]; 20. (DNF) 77-Cody Williams[2]

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 31-Dylan Bell[4]; 2. 98Z-Zach Olmstead[12]; 3. D68-Dion Priddy[6]; 4. 55-Blake Holmes[7]; 5. 17H-Hayden Ogorzolka[5]; 6. 93-Jake Wharton[3]; 7. 11B-Blake Spear[8]; 8. 49J-Jayla Miller[9]; 9. 37-Bingston Rogers[2]; 10. 6T-Taylor Croisant[10]; 11. (DNF) 12S-Cole Schulte[1]; 12. (DNS) 17D-Calvin Davis

B Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 8B-Brayden Hilzer[2]; 2. 70-Billy McBride[3]; 3. 17-Tyler Thompson[5]; 4. 2X-Trevor Schmidt[1]; 5. 10-Cole Pfeifer[4]; 6. R20-Rob Durfee[9]; 7. 420-Justin Yutterman[7]; 8. 11X-Brendan Rich[8]; 9. 11A-Austin Rich[6]; 10. 42J-Alec Jeske[11]; 11. 30-Dawson Bradford[10]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 12T-Tanner Jones[3]; 2. 03-Derick Coomes[2]; 3. 187-Tyler Heath[9]; 4. 12S-Cole Schulte[1]; 5. 93-Jake Wharton[8]; 6. 17H-Hayden Ogorzolka[5]; 7. 55-Blake Holmes[4]; 8. 49J-Jayla Miller[7]; 9. (DNS) 17D-Calvin Davis

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 77-Cody Williams[4]; 2. 24R-Dillon Richards[2]; 3. 11-Dillon Thompson[6]; 4. 2X-Trevor Schmidt[7]; 5. 70-Billy McBride[1]; 6. 17-Tyler Thompson[9]; 7. 420-Justin Yutterman[3]; 8. R20-Rob Durfee[8]; 9. 42J-Alec Jeske[5]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 5S-Jonathan Saliba[4]; 2. 38-Brayden Hurley[6]; 3. 78B-Andrew Burg[8]; 4. 37-Bingston Rogers[3]; 5. 31-Dylan Bell[9]; 6. D68-Dion Priddy[5]; 7. 11B-Blake Spear[2]; 8. 6T-Taylor Croisant[7]; 9. (DQ) 98Z-Zach Olmstead[1]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 24T-Tylan Lambertus[2]; 2. 88-Morgan Olmstead[5]; 3. 41-Adam Wasserman[3]; 4. 8B-Brayden Hilzer[8]; 5. 10-Cole Pfeifer[7]; 6. 11A-Austin Rich[4]; 7. 11X-Brendan Rich[1]; 8. 30-Dawson Bradford[6]

20 entries

IMCA SPORT MODS PRESENTED BY WALT'S REPAIR AND MACHINE

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 4D-Danny Concelman[2]; 2. 14W-Blaine Walt[1]; 3. 01S-Hunter Smith[12]; 4. 77W-Tyler Watts[13]; 5. 21H-Jeff Hunter[4]; 6. 17M-Brianna Maughlin[8]; 7. 28K-Ryan Kirchoff[6]; 8. 3W-Barry Halley[3]; 9. 22B-Dalton Bell[18]; 10. 1-Riley Osantowski[10]; 11. 3-Adam Weber[9]; 12. 24-Douglas Beaman[15]; 13. 9JR-Brendyn Nordyke[7]; 14. 88J-Jack Kirchoff[11]; 15. 91Y-Lance Yoxsimer[5]; 16. 7P-Lloyd Stover[16]; 17. 187-Blane Lujan Jr[17]; 18. 64-Jimmy Brozek[14]; 19. (DNF) 2BA-Jacey Archer[19]; 20. (DNS) 99R-Jeff Ray

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 14W-Blaine Walt[1]; 2. 3-Adam Weber[7]; 3. 91Y-Lance Yoxsimer[2]; 4. 21H-Jeff Hunter[4]; 5. 77W-Tyler Watts[6]; 6. 7P-Lloyd Stover[3]; 7. 2BA-Jacey Archer[5]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 17M-Brianna Maughlin[4]; 2. 1-Riley Osantowski[2]; 3. 88J-Jack Kirchoff[6]; 4. 9JR-Brendyn Nordyke[1]; 5. 64-Jimmy Brozek[3]; 6. 187-Blane Lujan Jr[5]; 7. 99R-Jeff Ray[7]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 3W-Barry Halley[1]; 2. 4D-Danny Concelman[6]; 3. 28K-Ryan Kirchoff[4]; 4. 01S-Hunter Smith[3]; 5. 24-Douglas Beaman[5]; 6. 22B-Dalton Bell[2]

22 entries

IMCA STOCK CARS PRESENTED BY ADVANTAGE GLASS PLUS

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 63-Mike Nichols[7]; 2. 54P-Kyle Pfeifer[11]; 3. 14-Tristan Grape[9]; 4. 1X-Bo Egge[5]; 5. 11K-Kyle Clough[6]; 6. 55R-George Ramey[21]; 7. 19K-Kolby Stegman[18]; 8. 01W-Jacob Wolsleben[17]; 9. 11-Joseph Cooper[8]; 10. 52T-Travis Baird[14]; 11. 12Y-Johny Yutterman[13]; 12. 3-Chris Oliver[15]; 13. 19-Keith Stegman[16]; 14. (DNF) 55-Tyler Frye[12]; 15. (DNF) 25P-Mike Petersilie[22]; 16. (DNF) 31K-Nate Desive[19]; 17. (DNF) 25X-Troy Burkhart[10]; 18. (DNF) 250-Tathan Burkhart[1]; 19. (DNF) 63C-Austin Carter[2]; 20. (DNF) 37-Jason Rogers[3]; 21. (DNF) 34H-Doug Holzmeister[4]; 22. (DNS) 13-Quinton Yutterman

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 54P-Kyle Pfeifer[1]; 2. 37-Jason Rogers[3]; 3. 14-Tristan Grape[2]; 4. 34H-Doug Holzmeister[6]; 5. 12Y-Johny Yutterman[4]; 6. 19-Keith Stegman[5]; 7. 31K-Nate Desive[8]; 8. 25P-Mike Petersilie[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 11K-Kyle Clough[1]; 2. 1X-Bo Egge[2]; 3. 25X-Troy Burkhart[6]; 4. 11-Joseph Cooper[7]; 5. 52T-Travis Baird[3]; 6. 01W-Jacob Wolsleben[4]; 7. (DNF) 13-Quinton Yutterman[5]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 63-Mike Nichols[2]; 2. 55-Tyler Frye[6]; 3. 63C-Austin Carter[4]; 4. 250-Tathan Burkhart[5]; 5. 3-Chris Oliver[3]; 6. 19K-Kolby Stegman[7]; 7. 55R-George Ramey[1]

29 entries

IMCA MODIFIEDS PRESENTED BY MEL HAMBELTON FORD RACING

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 08-Dakota Sproul[2]; 2. 17J-Jeremy Frenier[3]; 3. 66D-Dylan Sherfick[8]; 4. 3B-Eddie Belec[5]; 5. 85C-Clay Sellard[14]; 6. 14G-Greg Gustus[11]; 7. 09B-Brett Berry[9]; 8. 3J-Jake Nightingale[15]; 9. 26J-Jace Whitt[1]; 10. 69-Jim Beaman[20]; 11. 10T-Trevor Geist[4]; 12. 14-Tony Acierno[19]; 13. 10G-Don Geist[10]; 14. 28-John Burrow[18]; 15. 73-Daniel Nichols[16]; 16. 9D-Dalton Murphy[6]; 17. 20-Brandon Clough[13]; 18. (DNF) 3D-Daniel Gottschalk[7]; 19. (DNF) 8R-Jesse Richter[17]; 20. (DNF) 11W-Tim Watts[12]

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 20-Brandon Clough[2]; 2. 85C-Clay Sellard[1]; 3. 3J-Jake Nightingale[4]; 4. 73-Daniel Nichols[5]; 5. 8R-Jesse Richter[10]; 6. 28-John Burrow[8]; 7. 14-Tony Acierno[12]; 8. 69-Jim Beaman[14]; 9. 49-Drew Miller[6]; 10. 26X-Shane Meeks[11]; 11. 52-Cliff Shepard[13]; 12. (DNF) 10-TeeJay Janousek[9]; 13. (DNF) 43-Kaid Calhoon[3]; 14. (DNF) 30-Gary Bradford[7]; 15. (DNF) 183-Chad Sterling[16]; 16. (DNS) 7M-Daniel Miller; 17. (DNS) 33-Jason Ward

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 11W-Tim Watts[3]; 2. 10T-Trevor Geist[7]; 3. 10G-Don Geist[2]; 4. 85C-Clay Sellard[8]; 5. 73-Daniel Nichols[1]; 6. 10-TeeJay Janousek[5]; 7. 52-Cliff Shepard[6]; 8. 33-Jason Ward[4]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 3D-Daniel Gottschalk[1]; 2. 14G-Greg Gustus[2]; 3. 09B-Brett Berry[4]; 4. 20-Brandon Clough[5]; 5. 49-Drew Miller[3]; 6. 8R-Jesse Richter[6]; 7. 69-Jim Beaman[7]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 26J-Jace Whitt[1]; 2. 66D-Dylan Sherfick[7]; 3. 9D-Dalton Murphy[2]; 4. 43-Kaid Calhoon[4]; 5. 30-Gary Bradford[5]; 6. (DNF) 26X-Shane Meeks[6]; 7. (DNS) 7M-Daniel Miller

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 17J-Jeremy Frenier[1]; 2. 08-Dakota Sproul[2]; 3. 3B-Eddie Belec[6]; 4. 3J-Jake Nightingale[7]; 5. 28-John Burrow[4]; 6. 14-Tony Acierno[5]; 7. (DNF) 183-Chad Sterling[3]

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