Kirchner Has His Cake and Eats It Too! (click here)
Romar Transportation UMP Pro Late Model Feature 20 laps, $800 to win
Kankakee's Ben Kirchner wasted no time moving to the head of the table Friday night from his inside row two starting spot and rode the high side to victory lane, while holding off the advances of Matt Hammond on several occasions, primarily after cautions came out prompting a race restart.
On lap 14, there was heavy contact down the front-stretch heading into turn one between Axle Wicker and Amber Crouch. Wicker appeared to try to squeeze his car into a hole that wasn't quite there and suffered significant rear end damage but was otherwise lucky to be towed off.
Chasing Kirchner to the finish line was Hammond followed by Gary Schalmo, Austin McCarty and Dan Kuhn.
Kirchner, celebrating his 40th birthday picked up his second win of the year and his career.
In the 3 Sons Auto Salvage UMP Stock Car feature presented by Taylor Cars, Valparaiso's Austen Hubbard returned to his winning ways after a month long hiatus picking up his ninth victory of the season and the $600 check to go along with it.
Hubbard was able to distance himself from runner-up Jerrad Krick, while Don Hilleary, Ryan Arnett, and newcomer Kraig Hughes rounded out the top five.
Hubbard was so fast throughout the night that he actually turned laps of 16.585 in his heat race and 16.676 during the feature. Both were below the track record of 16.711 set by Megan Erwin earlier this year.
The CR Towing UMP Modified 20-lap feature saw Plainfield, IL ace Mike McKinney soar off to yet another win, the 34th of his career, while doing battle with Derek Losh throughout much of the event. McKinney grabbed the lead exiting turn 2 using the high side momentum to nudge his way out front of polesitter Losh.
A couple laps in the car of Braiden Bohlmann got loose entering turn three and caught a rut, sending his machine hard into the turn 3 wall and rolling over once before landing on all fours ending his promising run after starting sixth.
Following McKinney and Losh to the line were Frank Marshall, Brad Deyoung and Jamie Lomax.
Other feature winners on the evening included Nathan Arterberry of Fowler, IN, winning the Express Powersports UMP Factory Stock 15-lap feature.
Completing the top five were Kiran Roundtree, Trevor Bitterling, Lee Joseph Hall and Hayden Lomax.
The win was Arterberry's fifth of the season and sixth all time.
The 15-lap Miller Hydraulic UMP Pro Modified feature saw Deece Schwartz of Ashmore, IL winning for the 10th time this season, putting the youngster into an elite group of drivers to have won ten or more features in a season. It was also Schwartz's 24th triumph of his career.
Giving chase were Pete Argianas, Ryan Kohler, Curtis Caldwell and Drew Schwartz.
Our 15-lap First Place Oils UMP Sport Compact feature saw first time winner Joshua Wright of Danville, IL and Stock 4 Cyl winner Scott Glassford of Kankakee grab top honors.
The rest of the top five finishers were Jake Momper, Jimmy Dutlinger, David Lauritson and Matt Minor.
Finally, there was a pair of Crown Victoria feature races run on the night. The first was a makeup feature from July 14th that saw Adam Thibo of Peotone, IL grab another checkered flag ahead of Porter Waskosky, Larry Anderaon, Phil Bloch and Scott Beishuizen.
In the nightcap event, it was Justis Marshall of Valparaiso, IN scoring the win ahead of Frank Marshall, Larry Anderaon, Phil Bloch and Adam Thibo.
Kankakee County Speedway
August 18th Summary of Results
Romar Transportation
UMP Pro Late Models (20-laps)
1. Ben Kirchner, Kankakee, IL
2. Matt Hammond, Bourbonnais, IL
3. Gary Schalmo, Nashville, TN
4. Austin McCarty, Bourbonnais, IL
5. Dan Kuhn, Dyer, IN
CR Towing
UMP Modifieds (20-laps)
1. Mike McKinney, Plainfield, IL
2. Derek Losh, Rensselear, IN
3. Frank Marshall, Valparaiso, IN
4. Steven Brooks, Bourbonnais, IL
5. Jamie Lomax, Lake Village, IN
3 Sons Auto Salvage
UMP Stock Cars (15-laps)
1. Austen Hubbard, Valparaiso, IN
2. Jerrad Krick, Earl Park, IN
3. Don Hilleary, Kankakee, IL
4. Ryan Arnett, Demotte, IN
5. Kraig Hughes, Ottawa, IL
Express Powersports
UMP Factory Stocks (15-laps)
1. Nathan Arterberry, Fowler, IN
2. Kiran Roundtree, Lafayette, IN
3. Trevor Bitterling, Star City, IN
4. Lee Joseph Hall, Fowler, IN
5. Hayden Lomax, Lake Village, IN
Miller Hydraulic
Pro Modifieds (15-laps)
1. Deece Schwartz, Ashmore, IL
2. Pete Argianas, Lockport, IL
3. Ryan Kohler, Chebanse, IL
4. Curtis Caldwell, Hobart, IN
5. Drew Schwartz, Ashmore, IL
First Place Oils
UMP Sport Compacts (15-laps)
1. Joshua Wright, Danville, IL
2. Jake Momper, Wilmington, IL
3. Jimmy Dutlinger, Peoria, IL
4. David Lauritson, Normal, IL
5. Matt Minor, Bonfield, IL
Stock 4 Cylinders (15-laps)
1. Scott Glassford, Kankakee, IL
Crown Victoria's (15-laps)
makeup from July 14th
1. Adam Thibo, Peotone, IL
2. Porter Waskosky, Bourbonnais, IL
3. Larry Anderson, Crown Point, IN
4. Phil Bloch, Joliet, IL
5. Scott Beishuizen, Valparaiso, IN
Crown Victoria's (15-laps)
1. Justis Marshall, Valparaiso, IN
2. Frank Marshall, Valparaiso, IN
3. Larry Anderson, Crown Point, IN
4. Phil Bloch, Joliet, IL
5. Adam Thibo, Peotone, IL
complied by Paul Bayne
Website/Media Relations