6/14/2026
Badger Midget Auto Racing Association
Corson Cruises To Win In AFS Badger Midget Series At Plymouth Dirt Track
The Advanced Fastening Supply Badger Midget Auto Racing Association made their second of three trips to the Plymouth Dirt Track on Saturday, June 13. The first time it was Zach Boden over RJ Corson and Miles Doherty in the Lyco Manufacturing A-Main. This time Corson would stand highest on the podium with a different pair on either side.
When the green flag flew on the feature Derek Crane bolted from his pole position to the point. Eric Blumer was on his tail during the opening lap. Blumer caught what would become a very obvious hole in turn-two killing his momentum while Crane rolled on. By the next lap they were three wide for second with Boden getting Blumer low while Luke Wackerlin went high at the line.
Now it was time for Boden to reel in Crane who had almost a half straightway lead. On some laps Boden gained and some he lost a bit of distance depending on which driver got around the aforementioned hole best. Boden was consistently low while Crane was high in three and four and low in just one and two.
After Boden took a couple of shots at Crane, ducking underneath on either the north or south corners of the track, the two may have made the slightest bit of contact as Crane came down going into turn-one causing Boden to get on the binders hard. The end result saw Boden spin, bringing out the only caution of the night.
It was just the break Corson needed even if the crowd didn’t realize it yet. On the lap-nine restart it was Crane ahead of Wackerlin, Waelti, Blumer, Nick Kilian and Corson.
In a lap Corson had dispatched Kilian for fifth. While everyone else had a dancing partner behind him, Crane started to put some distance on the field again. A few laps later they were three-wide for second with Corson staying true to his low line while Waelti was equally dedicated to the high side in the fourth turn. Wackerlin was stuck in the middle. Corson had the power coming off the corner and took the runner up spot followed by Wackerlin and Waelti.
Corson was now some seven lengths behind Crane with no lapped traffic in sight. But Corson did catch Crane and with eight laps left they were neck and neck at the line. Between one and two Crane washed up just a bit and Corson jumped at the chance to take the lead. By the time they got to the next turn it was Corson with the seven length advantage.
From there Corson kept his line and pulled away. Despite coming upon lapped traffic with a lap to go, Corson won by a straightaway followed by Crane. Waelti, Wackerlin and Blumer put on an entertaining battle for the last podium spot with Waelti coming out on top.
PRELIMINARY ACTION
The night started with Waelti taking Rod End Supply Fast Time and later earning rights to the Schoenfeld Headers Invert Draw.
Wackerlin was patient as he started last in the field of seven in Auto Meter Heat-One. The Illinois driver allowed three-wide battles ahead of him to sort themselves out before making a move. Then he went high or low as dictated while he went through the field. On lap-five he got by Harrison Kleven for the lead and eventual win over Kleven.
Brian Peterson and Dave Collins Jr. paced the field for Hoosier Racing Tire Heat-Two. They drag raced down the backstretch and through the corner with Peterson winning the battle at the line. Waelti broke free from the back of the pack and with three laps left he was challenging Peterson. On the last lap the pair were side by side down the back chute and still that way between three and four. As the started to straighten out there was minor contact between the two and Waelti beat Peterson to the line.
NOTES
Iowa’s Doherty had issues all night and despite trying could not turn a lap in the Lyco Manufacturing A-Main. He was given both the CASM Hard Luck Award and Last Place Bonus in Loving Memory of Addison Dahlke.
Weisensel was on a similar path as Doherty as both went out early in the heats and really didn’t know what the issue was with their motors. The Weisensel team didn’t have anything figured out as they started shotgun on the field for the feature. The car behaved and Weisensel drove it to the Bob Tattersall Spankins Motorsports Hard Charger award gaining seven spots to finish tenth.
There were no rookies on hand for the Spankins Motorsports Rookie of the Race.
Mike Unger tackled the early portions of the USAC MIdget Week in Indiana making the Badger go his fifth race in five days. He must have learned some things running with the pros as he clocked his best qualifying position ever in a midget scoring the fifth fastest time at Plymouth. He exited early in the Lyco Manufacturing A-Main with a slight oil leak.
The AFS Badger Midget Series would like to thank Behling Racing Equipment, High Performance Lubricants and 1855 Saloon & Grill in Cottage Grove for their support.
UP NEXT
The stars of the AFS Badger Midget Series and the Illinois-based Midget Auto Racing Association will team up this Saturday, June 20, at Sycamore Speedway in Illinois for a co-sanctioned event. It promises to be a big night of racing. Check the Badger, MARA pages for more information as the week progresses.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
Lyco Manufacturing A - Feature (25 Laps): 1. 15C-RJ Corson[6]; 2. 31-Derek Crane[1]; 3. 3W-Brandon Waelti[8]; 4. 68-Eric Blumer[3]; 5. 73W-Luke Wackerlin[7]; 6. 17-Nick Kilian[2]; 7. 29-Harrison Kleven[9]; 8. 2-Jake Dohner[4]; 9. 29K-Mike Stroik[12]; 10. 20-Cody Weisensel[17]; 11. 40JR-Dave Collins Jr[13]; 12. 7-Brian Peterson[10]; 13. 51-Zach Boden[5]; 14. 59-Kyle Koch[14]; 15. 1W-Robby Wirth[15]; 16. 67U-Mike Unger[11]; 17. (DNS) 8D-Miles Doherty
Auto Meter Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 73W-Luke Wackerlin[8]; 2. 29-Harrison Kleven[3]; 3. 51-Zach Boden[7]; 4. 17-Nick Kilian[5]; 5. 2-Jake Dohner[6]; 6. 29K-Mike Stroik[4]; 7. 59-Kyle Koch[2]; 8. (DNS) 8D-Miles Doherty
Hoosier Tire Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 3W-Brandon Waelti[8]; 2. 7-Brian Peterson[2]; 3. 68-Eric Blumer[5]; 4. 15C-RJ Corson[7]; 5. 31-Derek Crane[4]; 6. 67U-Mike Unger[6]; 7. 40JR-Dave Collins Jr[3]; 8. 1W-Robby Wirth[1]; 9. (DNS) 20-Cody Weisensel
Rod End Supply Fast Time Qualifying (100 Laps): 1. 3W-Brandon Waelti, 13.708[16]; 2. 73W-Luke Wackerlin, 13.898[14]; 3. 15C-RJ Corson, 14.147[8]; 4. 51-Zach Boden, 14.196[9]; 5. 67U-Mike Unger, 14.234[11]; 6. 2-Jake Dohner, 14.321[5]; 7. 68-Eric Blumer, 14.360[7]; 8. 17-Nick Kilian, 14.372[1]; 9. 31-Derek Crane, 14.415[17]; 10. 29K-Mike Stroik, 14.460[4]; 11. 40JR-Dave Collins Jr, 14.568[3]; 12. 29-Harrison Kleven, 14.579[6]; 13. 7-Brian Peterson, 14.605[10]; 14. 59-Kyle Koch, 15.054[2]; 15. 1W-Robby Wirth, 15.098[13]; 16. 8D-Miles Doherty, 19.968[12]; 17. (DNS) 20-Cody Weisensel; 18. (DNS) 53A-Spyder Akright
Photo by Mandy Mobry of MJM Studio (L-R: Waelti, Crane, Corson)
Article by Bill Blumer Jr.
Submitted By: William Blumer