WISE TURNS IT ON LATE AT SOUTH BOSTON
SOUTH BOSTON, Va. – Though Friday’s USAC Eastern SpeeD2 Midgets feature at South Boston Speedway was never in doubt, Saturday’s contest at the Virginia short track came down to the final moments.
After NEMA regular Avery Stoehr commanded the first 27 laps of the caution-free 30-lap feature, a late pass by Hunter Wise in turn four with three circuits remaining was enough to give the 16-year-old Wise his fifth career EMA triumph and first of the season.
Wise ducked underneath Stoehr coming out of the corner, completing the winning move down the frontstretch before holding off Stoehr’s teammate – Friday night winner Neal Allison – over the closing moments of the race.
It was a stark turnaround for the Allentown, Pa., native after he battled mechanical gremlins all day Friday.
“I didn’t really know who was behind me, but I could hear someone close to me so I knew that we weren’t out of the woods,” noted Wise in victory lane. “I saw Caleb (Edington) in front of me, so I just dove to the bottom and tried to protect as best I could. After all the fuel issues we had with my primary car this weekend, I can’t thank (car owner) Butch (Lamb) enough for bringing a backup car and letting us run it.
“It feels good to get the job done.”
Allison (Greensboro, N.C.) finished second by .316 seconds and came within one position of sweeping the weekend.
“I just made some mistakes while I was getting by Avery, and Hunter got away from me,” lamented Allison. “The car tightened up enough that we couldn’t get back to him in the few laps we had left.”
Stoehr (Assonet, Mass.) faded to third at the checkered flag, followed by incoming point leader Logan Sulyi (Raleigh, N.C.) and Brady Allum (Salisbury, N.C.).
No qualifying was held for the Eastern Midgets Saturday due to rain showers which delayed the program by more than an hour before racing action began. The lineup was set by the previous night’s feature finish, with an inversion of the top six.
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USAC EASTERN SPEED2 MIDGET RACE RESULTS: April 30, 2022 – South Boston Speedway – South Boston, Virginia
QUALIFYING: None held due to rain
FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Hunter Wise (#1 Radical), 2. Neal Allison (#10 Parker), 3. Avery Stoehr (#20 Parker), 4. Logan Sulyi (#19 Sulyi), 5. Brady Allum (#87JR Allum), 6. Eric Lewis (#4 Radical), 7. Dillon Thomas (#4x Thomas), 8. Caleb Edington (#74x Edington), 9. Mike Ward (#80 Ward), 10. Chris Lamb (#9 Radical). 7:53.176
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-27 Avery Stoehr, Laps 28-30 Hunter Wise.
USAC EASTERN SPEED2 MIDGET POINTS: 1-Hunter Wise-194, 2-Logan Sulyi-188, 3-Brady Allum-182, 4-Eric Lewis-171, 5-Chris Lamb-169, 6-Dillon Thomas-165, 7-Neal Allison-143, 8-Avery Stoehr-122, 9-Caleb Edington-101, 10-A.J. Sanders-68.
NEXT USAC EASTERN SPEED2 MIDGET RACE: May 21, 2022 – Ona Speedway – Ona, West Virginia
