I drove over to Saturday evening to photograph motorcycles and Quad Ice racing at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington, IL. The main attractions for this event was 5-time I.C.E. Outlaw Quad World Cup Champion Mandy “Wild Child” Brodil from Grandy, NC and 2012 AMA – Pro Grand National Flat Track Champion Jared Mees of Clio, MI. Jared led from the start to win the motorcycle main event, while Mandy led the Unlimited Pro Quad main event for the first six laps, until she crashed into a barrier and she had to settle for second place as Dusty Crouch from Topeka, KS passed her to capture a hard fought victory.
-Bob
Jerrod Hull (#12) from Sikeston, MO. edged Don Droud Jr. (#71) by four hundredths of a second to win Saturday’s 28th Annual Tom Knowles Memorial at Spoon River Speedway. It was the second year in a row that the defending MOWA champion and current point leader has won the event. Hull led at the outset from the pole position he earned by winning the Dash from row three. Geoff Dodge (#66) settled into second ahead of Droud. By the halfway mark, the leaders were in heavy traffic and Dodge closed on Hull. On lap 16, the lapped machine of Bret Tripplett slowed and Hull made heavy contact with him causing nose wing damage. Dodge made contact as well, as Droud avoided the incident. All would continue on a restart that saw Hull ahead of Dodge, Droud, AJ Bruns (#44) and Ben Wagoner (#84).
MOWA Sprint Series Main Event - 25 laps: 1. 12, Jerrod Hull, Sikeston, MO (1) 2. 71, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (6) 3. 66, Geoff Dodge, Colorado Springs, CO (2) 4. 65, Jordan Goldesberry, Springfield, IL (13) 5. 22, Robbie Standridge, Springfield, IL (9) 6. 99w, Korey Weyant, Springfield, IL (10) 7. 3Y, Scott Young, Union Grove, WI (12) 8. 44, AJ Bruns, Athens, IL (8) 9. 23, Jimmy Light, West Springfield, PA (19) 10. 10s, Jeremy Standridge, Springfield, IL (7) 11. 84, Ben Wagoner, Emden, IL (4) 12. 35, Jimmy Hurley, Springfield, IL (15) 13. 7, Critter Malone, Speedway, IN (5) 14. 77u, Chris Urish, Elkhart, IL (18) 15. 53H, Matt Harms, Lacon, IL (3) 16. 2K, Ryan Kempin, House Springs, MO (11) 17. 96, Nathan Charron, Lincoln, IL (14) 18. 9, Paul Nienhiser, Chapin, IL (17) 19. 22T, Bret Tripplett, Lincoln, IL (16) 20. 6R, Ryan Bunton, Morton, IL (20). Lap Leaders: Hull 1-25.
Brad Kuhn (#57) of Avon, Ind., found a fast outside line and drove to victory, the 21st of his career in the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series. Kuhn started fourth in the 30-lap feature on the three-eighths mile high-banked track and led the final 17 for his second POWRi win of the season. He finished three car lengths in front of Zach Daum, Davey Ray finished third, Tyler Robbins was fourth and local favorite Jake Blackhurst finished fifth. Evan Fink from Glasford, IL (#1F) dominated and won the late model feature.
-Bob
Winn, Michigan Expert Pro TT rider Henry Wiles has become the new fan favorite in Peoria, Illinois, as he’s been the clear-cut winner for eight straight years (tying Chris Carr) as he continues his dominance at historic PMC Race Park. Second and third place finishers, Jared Mees and Jake Johnson made several attempts at closing the gap during the race, but unfortunately for them, Wiles never gave an inch and diminished any hope they might have had in catching him. JD Beach and last week’s winner Sammy Halbert rounded out the top five in the Expert Pro main event. Pole sitter Dominic Colindres got off to an incredible start in the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles main event, but it was erased as a four-bike pile-up on lap two forced the red flags to come out and demand a restart. However, the restart had no effect on Collindres as he got the holeshot for the second time and never looked back on his way to victory. There was no denying Collindres as he was won by more than a full second over second-place finisher Stephen Vanderkuur. Justin Reed claimed third place with a solid performance on the KTM 450 SX-F.
-Bob
The premier bicycle race in the Peoria area turns 25 this year. The Peoria Bicycle Club hosted the Morton Community Bank Cycling Classic on Saturday through the streets of Morton, IL. Nicolai Broechner from Denmark out-sprinted the field to win the day’s main event, run in triple-digit temperatures through the downtown course. Nine of the 42 riders in the field dropped out before the race ended, despite a “feed zone” that was added to this year’s event. High area finisher in the main event was Brett Bohanan of Washington, IL, who placed sixth. A junior rider from East Peoria, IL, Mitchell Gray, won the junior men’s 15-18 race. In the Masters 50+/60+ race, Gary Dyer, 54, from Eureka, IL placed second, behind Jeannie Kuhajek, 39, of Crystal Lake, IL.
-Bob
Jared Mees won his third Expert 450 title in the last four years the June race was run at the Peoria Motorcycle Club. It was rained out in 2010. JD Beach from Philpot, KY finished strong to get second. Henry Wiles, who has won seven August Grand National TTs in a row, dominated his heat but had a horrible start in the main and finished third. Matthew Weidman was fourth and Morton rider Rob Pearson finished in fifth place. Adam Bushman took the lead on Lap 5 of the Pro Singles race and hung on to beat Walnut rider Dustin Cassidy and Nick Mataya from Blaine, MN. Alex Felland of Danville, Iowa, won the 450 Amateur race over 15-year-old Galesburg rider Blake Claeys and Molly Terry of Creve Coeur.
-Bob
