From Midwest Legends Dirt Series PR (written by Zack Krueger) –
Francis Creek, WI (September 15th, 2024) – With only two races remaining this season, the Midwest Legends Dirt Series Presented by Legends.Direct made their final trip northeast, out to the famed 141 Speedway. After a grueling fifteen-lap feature, Michael Weber took home the honors with the win after a dramatic finish to the night.
After the first date at the track rained out earlier in the season, the MLDS made their long-awaited debut with a season high 33 cars in the pits. The previous night’s winner and championship leader Jackson Lewis headlined a star-studded lineup of drivers. New to the series was Jacob Loof and Chris Vandermeuse, who both were ready to open their account with the series.
Two joint hotlap and qualifying sessions started the night off, with Jackson Lewis taking the top time with a time of 15.559 seconds, with Glenn Mitchell second and Nick Panitzke third. Ryan Braseth and Ryan Sullivan rounded out the top five spots.
The four heat races for the series saw Ryan Sullivan, Adam Zellmer, Nick Panitzke, and Scott Richardson take home the head race victories.
Ryan Sullivan surged through from third to pick up the win in heat one by about a car length over Jackson Lewis and Jordan Miklas.
Adam Zellmer and Glenn Mitchell duked it out for the win of heat two with Griffin McGrath joining them in the podium in third.
Nick Panitzke brought home heat three after starting in fourth. Charlie Spoonmore and Dallas Ross went at it for the second and third place spots and fought all the way to the finish.
Scott Richardson was the best of heat four and picked up the win with Dave Eberle and Michael Weber finishing second and third.
The B-Main locked in four drivers into the A-Main, with Hayden Schmuhl picking up the win and Cam Panitzke, Connor Carey, and Faith Zellmer all making it into the show.
The fifteen-lap A-Main was next. With only two features remaining in the season, all attention turned to the front and maximum points. Griffin McGrath started from the pole while Michael Weber started alongside in second. Weber got the jump on the outside with third starting Glenn Mitchell moving into the second spot. McGrath fell down the order early, getting passed by Charlie Spoonmore on the second lap and moving back to fourth. Mitchell made it to the back of Weber and the fight for the lead was on. Mitchell looked low on the #8W but couldn’t find a way through. Meanwhile back behind, McGrath found some speed and went to work making his way back upfront. McGrath worked the high side past Spoonmore for third but had to be careful as he was bringing a hungry Jackson Lewis with him. The first caution flew on lap four after a car found themselves turned around in turn four. Weber led the field back to green and McGrath went back to work. He set his sights on second and Glenn Mitchell, passing him on lap six. Weber came under pressure on lap seven from McGrath, who tiptoed the top shelf and moved back into the lead. McGrath made the move at the best time possible as shortly after the yellow flew for a melee in turn four. Three driver’s nights were over early after the wreck as the field began to form back up. McGrath once again led the field to green with seven laps remaining. Attention turned further back to Lewis and Ryan Sullivan, who both moved up into fourth and fifth and closed in on the third-place spot. Calamity and heartbreak struck McGrath in the lead with just four-laps to go as he lost control in turns one and two, going for a 360-spin, bringing out the yellow, and ending his run at the front. Weber inherited the lead with four laps to go with Mitchell, Lewis, Jordan Miklas, and Sullivan behind him in the top five. Weber got the jump while Miklas and Lewis went at it for third. The championship battle hung in the balance and Miklas made the most of it, capitalizing on Lewis picking the wrong line, and moved his way into third. Michael Weber out front loved all the fighting and ran away to pick up his second feature win of the season and a good helping of points to help in his battle for fourth in the points. Mitchell came home second after a strong weekend with the MLDS. Miklas finished a close third and made sure the championship battle will continue to the final race of the season.
A 25% off a full suit fit from Rush RaceGear and a buy-one-get-one wheel rim from Aero Race Wheel went Michael Weber’s way after the win. Ryan Braseth got $100 off any Rush RaceGear purchase and $25 from SunSet Auto for the hard charger spot. The HMS Motorsport Raceceiver device went to Cohen Henze after a strong run for the #88.
The series will mark its final race of the season this coming Saturday at Beaver Dam Raceway. September 21st will decide a champion with the pits set to open at 3:30pm and grandstand gates at 4:00pm. Racing is set to start at 6:30pm.
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