GAS CITY, Ind. — Racing legend Tom Bigelow always tries to help young drivers, so it was fitting that the winner of the 25-lap non-wing sprint car feature during the Tom Bigelow Classic Friday night at Gas City I-69 Speedway was a 20-year-old civil engineering student at Indiana State University.
Harley Burns, who won a Hoosier Auto Racing Fans (HARF) award for being the most improved driver last year, led the whole way in the non-stop race and had a whopping 5.147-second advantage over runner-up Tye Mihocko at the checkered.
Both Burns, who started fourth, and Dustin Ingle, who started second, surprised defending track champion and polesitter Scotty Weir at the start of the sprint car feature. Ingle took the initial lead with a move to the outside in turn 1 at the start, and then Burns passed Ingle to the inside in turn 4 to lead the first lap while Weir was relegated to third.
Weir passed Ingle for second on lap five. Five laps later Burns had a scary moment when he almost came to a screeching halt in Turn 4 due to a lapped car. But he continued to hold the lead, and on lap 13 Weir dropped from second to fifth, giving the runner-up spot to Cole Bodine. Mihocko passed Colten Cottle for third on the following lap. The top-five got further shaken up on lap 16, as both Mihocko and Cottle passed Bodine, but Burns was long gone with no yellows to tighten up the field. At the line it was Burns, Mihocko, Cottle, Bodine and Weir as the top-five finishers.
Alex Watson took the lead on lap 18 and went on to win the 20-lap USAC SpeeD2 Midwest Thunder midget feature.Â
In the street stock division, James Headley prevailed in the 12-lap feature.
Heisman Skeens would score the Hornets victory after leading all 12 laps.Â
The Finish:
Feature (25 Laps): 1. Harley Burns (4);Â Â 2. Tye Mihocko (9); 3. Colten Cottle (10); 4. Cole Bodine (6); 5. Scotty Weir (1); 6. Zack Pretorius (3); 7. Tyler Hewitt (8); 8. Collin Grissom (11); 9. Ron Dennis (12); 10. Travis Hery (15); 11. Jack Hoyer (7); 12. Jack James (13); 13. Matt Goodnight (14); 14. Brayden Clark (16); 15. Bryar Schroeter (19); 16. Dustin Ingle (2); 17. Brady Click (18); 18. Dave Darland (5); 19. Dave Gross (17).