Igo is Fast and Fortunate
At Whip City Speedway

BY MARK McKEON

WESTFIELD, MA – With two wins in only six previous starts, it’s a given that Brandon Igo is a very talented driver, but he also needed a double shot of luck to pick up his third 600cc win at the Whip.

His first good fortune came at the expense of Chris Lennox, who was looking for his first win of the season. Igo passed Lennox on lap seven, but the pass was negated by a yellow flag. Whether Igo could have raced by Lennox again at the end will be fuel for the hot stove league this winter, because Lennox’s car was sidelined by a minor electrical issue with only two laps remaining. Igo’s second piece of luck came when his engine temperature climbed alarmingly to 245 degrees, but then leveled off after the caution flag for Lennox’s disabled mount.

“Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s tough, but it’s always good to be lucky,” Igo said. “Chris was running really strong.”

In the 270 Mini Sprints, Seth Carlson started fourth, grabbed the lead on the first lap and set the cruise control, motoring to his third win, finishing ten car lengths ahead of Grant Sabo, and extending his points lead.

The non-stop 750cc feature saw Nikki Ouellette score her second victory of the year. Tyler Jackson and John Casazza waged a torrid battle for second and were closing in, but it was Ouellette’s night.

Kyle Smith started fourth and took the lead for keeps at the halfway mark of the 750 Sportsman feature. It was his sixth win of the season.

In the 1200cc feature, Jon Moore played the role of locomotive engineer; his car was on rails. After John Virgilio blew an engine, Moore was unchallenged.

The Scott and Joe Show continued in the Quad 4 Midgets. When the night began, Scott Viets and Joe Krawiec each had four feature wins and when the night ended, Viets had number five. He did it the hard way, coming from the back after spinning early in the race. Denny Zimmerman, who was in the thick of the battle in both the heat and the feature, and who definitely has his mojo working, finished third.

This may be Ryan Nicewicz’s last year at The Whip and he’s making it count. If he can find sponsorship, he’d like to run a Stock Car at Lebanon Valley next year, so this year he’s running flat out in the Modified Lites in hopes of gaining recognition. He picked up his seventh win, after holding off a hard charging Brett Crowther.

Racing continues on Labor Day weekend at the Whip with double points for the 750cc Mini Sprints, a T-USA Regional Points race for the Modified Lites and the return to competition of USAC, ARDC and ATQMRA star Jimmy Maguire in a Quad 4 Midget.

270cc: 1. Seth Carlson, 2. Grant Sabo, 3. Wayne Ibitz, 4. Kurt Conklin, 5. Mark Irving, 6. Kendall Segar, 7. Tara Galko, 8. Brian Boudreau, 9. Glen Clark, 10. Jake Sapowsky, 11. Derek Robbie, 12. B.K. Rizzo, 13. Tony Massaro.
600cc: 1. Brandon Igo, 2. Ricci Hirth, 3. Jim DeCambra, 4. Dylan Campbell, 5. Brian Cunningham, 6. Rich Crooker, 7. Barry Coolen, 8. Kevin Stolte, 9. Chris Lennox, 10. Luke Greenwood, 11. Jay Coppo.
750cc: 1. Nikki Ouellette, 2. Tyler Jackson, 3. John Casazza, 4. Richard Stone, 5. Mike King, 6. Phil Bessette, 7. Don Masciadrelli, 8. Dan Schaubert, 9. David Williamson, 10. Mark Taylor.
750 Sportsman: 1.Kyle Smith, 2. Timothy Stick, 3. Cori Tufano, 4. Shelby Klekotka, 5. Kendall Segar, 6. Wayne Bush, 7. Makayla Lucia, 8. Casey Ouellette, 9. Brandon Michael.
1200cc: 1. Jon Moore, 2. Mark Taylor, 3. Jamie Beaudry, 4. Joseph Szczapa, 5. Jerry Sehn, 6. Paul Rose, 7. Kristen Phillips, 8. John Virgilio, 9. Peter Dance.
Quad 4 Midget: 1. Scott Viets, 2. Joe Krawiec, 3. Denny Zimmerman, 4. Dana Shaw, 5. Greg Olson, 6. Jamie Spalding, 7. Tim Gallant, 8. Vince Jacobs.
Modified Lite: 1. Ryan Nicewicz, 2. Brett Crowther, 3. Robert Poloski, 4. Roger Angers Jr., 5. Bob LaForge, 6. Rick Ashlaw, 7. David Deskis, 8. Casey Ouellette, 9. Dale Shallow.
250 Youth Sprints: 1. Alex Adamsky, 2. Cullen Pike.
4 Cyl Street Stock 1. Steven Banach, 2. Brian Hohenstein, 3. Michael Pierce, 4. Stephanie Banach, 5. Wade LaFogg, 6. Darren Sallee, 7. Keith Holtman.
Karts: Novice: 1. Jake Ellis, 2. Tanner Correia, 3. Aidan Pike, 4. Kerrian Adamsky
Turquoise: 1. Corey Lemelin, 2. Spencer Brockman, 3. Dylan Irish, 4. Matthew McCuin.
Junior: 1. Ryan Irish, 2. Nora Lemelin, 3. Jeff Champagne, 4. Connor Leighton, 4. Travis Snow, 5. Robert Stone.
Lite: 1. Kate Lafreniere, 2. Mike Hauser, 3. Stephanie Banach, 4. Steven Banach, 4. Josh Rutola.
Heavy: 1. David Comeau, 2. Bill Tack, 3. Bruce Dodge, 4. Jake Sapowsky, 5. R.J. Currey, 6. Kevin Heath, 7. Steve Rockwood, 8. Bob Byron.
Modified: 1. Scott Kalber, 2. Roger Fujimoto, 3. Frank L’Etoile, 4. Rick Ashlaw, 5. Jim Close, 6. Craig Hublard, 7. Frank L’Etoile, Jr., 8. Eric Jorgenson, 9. Paul Luntta, 10. Gary Hublard.
2 Stroke: 1. Ernie Whidden, 2. Bruce Dodge, 3. Roger Angers Jr., 4. Eric Snow.