8/5/2018
Badger Midget Auto Racing Association
"Baran uses late race traffic to win at Sycamore"
Sycamore, Ill., Aug. 4---Tyler Baran scored an exciting victory winning the 25-lap Zimbrick Chevrolet of Sun Prairie Badger Midget Racing Series feature Saturday Night at Sycamore Speedway. The event was co-sanctioned with the POWRi Lucas Oil Regional Midget Series.
Baran had an eventful evening at the track. After qualifying second quick, he hit the Turn 1 wall in his heat race, flipping. Baran’s crew repaired the car, and he started outside of row six for the feature.
Jason Allen paced the initial lap, before tenth place starting Ryan Probst took over the top position. Scott Hatton who started next to Probst passed Allen for the runner-up position on the next lap. Hatton took the lead from Probst entering Turn 1 on the sixth lap. Before the lap was complete Baran moved into third place.
Four cautions between laps nine through thirteen kept the field tightly grouped together. Hatton held a five-car length advantage over Baran, with eight laps remaining.
Baran slowly closed in on Hatton, reaching his rear bumper, with four laps remaining. As the pair crossed the start/finish line to complete Lap 22, they approached a lapped car, entering Turn 1. Hatton chose the high groove, while Baran stayed on the bottom of the track, when the pair passed the lapped car exiting Turn 2 Baran emerged with the advantage down the backstretch.
Baran driving his Boss/Chevrolet No. 11 finished three car-lengths ahead of Hatton, former Badger champion David Budres completed a great mid-race run to finish third. Probst, and fast qualifier Chase McDermand completed the top five. Seventeen of the starting field of twenty-one cars finished the event.
"When Scott went around the lapped car on the high side, I knew my only hope was to get around the car on the bottom. When I cleared the “lapper” I saw a clear track ahead of me. I ran hard the final laps, waiting for Scott to challenge me, it never happened” commented an excited Baran.
Baran also claimed the Advance Race Suspensions Hard Charger Award. Eleventh place finishing Brian Petersen won the Howard Law Cash Draw, a bonus for a randomly selected feature finishing position.
Hatton now holds a seventy-nine point lead over Kevin Olson entering the next series event Sunday Aug. 5 at Angell Park Speedway (Sun Prairie, Wis.).
SUMMARY
25-lap Feature: 1. Tyler Baran; 2. Scott Hatton; 3. David Budres; 4. Ryan Probst; 5. Chase McDermand; 6. Kevin Olson; 7. Zach Boden; 8. Mike Stroik; 9. Kurt Mayhew; 10. Jack Routson; 11. Brian Petersen; 12. Harrison Kleven; 13. John Smith; 14. Jake Goeglein; 15. Kyle Koch; 16. Pat Hensen; 17. Denny Smith; 18. Jason Allen; 19. Shay Sassano; 20. Michael Klein; 21. Zach Orts.
8-lap Engler Machine Heat Race Winner: Kleven.
8-lap DMI Heat Race Winner: Hatton.
8-lap All-Star heating & Air Conditioning Heat Race Winner: Olson.
Fast Time: McDermond, 15.425 seconds.
Cars Present: 22 Feature Lap Leaders: Allen 1, Probst 2-4, Hatton 5-22, Baran 23-25.
Current Badger Midget Series Points: 1. Scott Hatton 867; 2. Kevin Olson 788; 3. Tyler Baran 767; 4. Ryan Probst 742; 5. Chase McDermond 634; 6. Zach Boden 6256; 7. Andrew Felker 506; 8. Kurt Mayhew 435; 9. Mike Stroik 396; 10. Jack Routson 381.
RACE NOTES
---It was Baran’s second career Badger Midget feature victory, his first coming at Sycamore, when he won the 2016 season finale on Sept. 10, 2016. Baran’s grandfather Len Baran was a regularly competitor at various tracks in Illinois and Indiana during his career and competed in the USAC, ARCA, and IRA Stock Car Series in the early 1980’s.
---Rookie driver Harrison Kleven’s victory in heat race one was his first career victory in a midget.
---Zach Orts made his midget racing debut in the event, driving the Saso No. 3L. Orts regularly competes in the tracks Hornet division, and finished fifth in the Hornet feature which was run immediately before the midget feature.
---The final two events for Badger at Sycamore, this season are: Aug. 18, and Sep. 1.
Article Credit: Bryan Gapinski