Defending Champ Back On Top

Night number 4 on the Malvern Bank SLMR Season took the series to the title sponsors’ home track, the Adams County Speedway; Corning, Iowa’s fast half-mile. 18 cars were in attendance as the Series got ready for another showdown.

Tyler Bruening set overall quick time in time trials beating defending Series champ, Kyle Berck by a tenth of a second. Bruening posted a 21.008 to Kyle Berck’s 21.101. Ben Schaller was third, Nick Deal fourth, and Bill Leighton was fifth in the time trials. The two heat races were won by Bill Leighton Jr and Brian Kosiski.

Josh Leonard and Kyle Berck led the field to green for the 25-lap shootout in Corning. Leonard would get the jump and led the field through turns one and two. Berck came back around the outside and was able to steal the lead down the backstretch. The field would slow for the first of two yellow flags during the feature on lap 2 as Brian and Andrew Kosiski both spun in turn 4. During the yellow Series’ points leader Bill Leighton Jr was forced to retired his Mark Wright owned number 24 from the race with a broken shock.

Berck led the field back to green, Ben Schaller robbed Josh Leonard of the second spot on the restart and set his sights on Berck for the lead. Meanwhile, Nick Deal dropped the fifth spot to Corey Zeitner on lap 4 and on lap six Bruening moved passed Josh Leonard for the third spot. Farther back in the pack Brian and Andrew Kosiski struggled to make their way back to the front after their spin. A lap 8 yellow for Tyler Smith’s spin in turn 3 would bunch the field up one more time.

The Marquette Missile, Kyle Berck, led the field back to green one more time. Tyler Bruening jumped passed Ben Schaller for second while Josh Leonard surrendered fourth and fifth to Corey Zeitner and Nick Deal. The field strung out over the course of the 17-lap green flag run while Berck set sail looking for his first win of the season with Bruening doing all he could to run down the 6-time champ. After working his way through a few lap cars, the 25-lap feature had gone checkered with Kyle Berck picking up his 84^th career Malvern Bank SLMR Series victory. Berck was followed to the line by Tyler Bruening, Ben Schaller in third, Corey Zeitner fourth, and Nick Deal rounding out the top 5. Not only did Berck find victory lane but he now finds himself atop the Series point standings yet again.

Results:

Qualifying Group A: 1. Tyler Bruening, 2. Kyle Berck, 3. Ben Schaller, 4. Nick Deal, 5. Bill Leighton Jr, 6. Josh Leonard, 7. Corey Zeitner, 8. Jason O’Brien, 9. Andrew Kosiski, 10. Brian Kosiski, 11. Zach Zeitner, 12. Jason Wallace, 13. Curt Schroeder, 14. JC Wyman, 15. Robbie Andersen, 16. Brad Perdue, 17. Paul Conrad, 18. Tyler Smith

Speedway Motors Heat Race #1: 1. Bill Leighton Jr, 2. Andrew Kosiski, 3. Tyler Bruening, 4. Ben Schaller, 5. Corey Zeitner, 6. Zach Zeitner, 7. Robbie Andersen, 8. Curt Schroeder, 9. Paul Conrad

Keyser Manufacturing Heat Race #2: 1. Brian Kosiski, 2. Josh Leonard, 3. Nick Deal, 4. Jason O’Brien, 5. Kyle Berck, 6. JC Wyman, 7. Jason Wallace, 8. Brad Perdue, 9. Tyler Smith

A-Feature: 1. Kyle Berck, 2. Tyler Bruening, 3. Ben Schaller, 4. Corey Zeitner, 5. Nick Deal, 6. Josh Leonard, 7. Jason O’Brien, 8. JC Wyman, 9. Andrew Kosiski, 10. Brian Kosiski, 11. Jason Wallace, 12. Brad Perdue, 13. Robbie Andersen, 14. Zach Zeitner, 15. Curt Schroeder, 16. Tyler Smith, 17. Paul Conrad, DNF. Bill Leighton Jr

Contingency Awards:

Speedway Motors Heat Race #1: Bill Leighton Jr

Keyser Manufacturing Heat Race #2: Brian Kosiski

Roth Racing Heat Race #3:

Kosiski Auto Parts Heat Race #4:

Hoosier Tire Hard Charger: Corey Zeitner

VP Fuels Top Qualifier: Bill Leighton Jr

Dynamic Drivelines Hard Luck Award: Bill Leighton Jr

Sardeson Racing Worst Draw: Tyler Smith

Speedway Motors Back-Up Award: Josh Leonard

Keizer Wheels Last Man In: Tyler Smith

Wehrs Machine A Feature Pole Sitter: Josh Leonard

Predator Trailers B Feature King: –

Hooker Harness 5^th Place: Nick Deal

Out Pace Products 7^th Place: Jason O’Brien

Simpson Performance Products 8^th Place: JC Wyman

Braswell Carburetion 10^th Place: Brian Kosiski

Brinn Transmission 12^th Place: Brad Perdue

Penske Top 3 Finishers: Kyle Berck, Ben Schaller, Corey Zeitner

Rod End Supply Lap Leaders: Kyle Berck

Top 10 in Series Standings following Adams County Speedway on May 4^th:

Series Sponsors: Beyea Headers, Braswell Carburetion, Brinn Transmissions, Dynamic Drivelines, Helmet Head Design, Hooker Harness, Hoosier Tire, JE Pistons, Keizer Wheels, Keyser Manufacturing, Kosiski Auto Parts, Malvern Bank, My Race Pass, N&W Transfer, Out-Pace Products, Penske Racing Shocks, Performance Bodies, Predator Trailers, Real Wheels, Rod End Supply, Roth Racing, Sardeson Racing, Simpson Performance Products, Speedway Motors, Storm Solution Specialists, Swartz Chassis, VP Fuels, Wehrs Machine, and Zeitner and Sons Trucking.