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Well the heat is on both in the weather department and in the USTS highpoint championships for 2016. As we head to Constantine for the 4th round of USTS series the Hi Point championships continue to tighten as we approach the two most critical weeks of the racing season in speedweek 2016. We look forward to some real barn burning action in the next two weeks and then will take a month off for everyone to catch their breath and then finish off the season with the NCM Shootout at what is a very good place to race in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.
Again we remind the Midwest and West Coast drivers headed to Hinton, that we will run the K-Pro’s and the OSY 400 classes on Friday, which gives you plenty of time to get to Hinton for entry into the pits there on Sunday. Remember the 321 is not eligible for use in the USTS OSY 400 class.
In K0-Pro, Rex Bayer of Wisconsin has taken a 25 point lead over last years High Point and National Champion Mackenzie Hellsten. Last year she had a perfect season winning all races including the Nationals. Rex has won two of the three rounds so far with Mac finishing out front in Florida and 2nd in the next two rounds. Brianna Payn a former champ is in the mix just 275 points back in third. The next two rounds will be fun to watch.
KPRO Hydro
Driver Total
Rex Bayer 1025
Mackenzie Hellsten 1000
Brianna Payn 750
125cc Hydro
A graduating high school senior Brandon Mills finds himself out front in that beautiful orange and black Thompson Bros. Hydro with a small lead over a gaggle of other drivers, which either is going to be mixed up like cement after the next two, but it also offers a chance for any number of drivers to separate themselves with 2 good finishes in the next 2 weeks. David Tenney, Bob Cronin, and David Jones have taken the wins in the rounds run so far while Brandon driving steady races has accumulated points in all 3 rounds. David Tenney, our 2015 champion has some work to do to take the crown again as he sits with 495 points and has 3 more races to make up the ground.
Driver Total
Brandon Mills 750
Raymond Hammond 652
Jon Wienandt 596
David Tenney 495
Bob Cronin 400
David Jones 400
What a class this 125R is turning out to be as well. Young Brad Dygert in his second season with the USTS, finds himself out front having won at Lake Alfred and Springfield, while taking a 3rd at Pleasant Prairie and two other youngsters, Jackson Hall and Brianna Payn are trying to track him down. Brad is driving the equipment that JJ Walls took to the High Point and National Championships in 2015 and is hoping to have the equipment take a repeat. Jackson won up at Pleasant Prairie and another driver has entered the fray driving her Grand Father Tim Chance’s 125 and that is Lyndsay McGrath who took a strong 3rd at Springfield and really came into her own there. She has been in Florida testing for the last couple of weeks, so look out folks. Good class to watch the battle here.
125cc Runabout
Driver Total
Bradley Dygert 1025
Jackson Hall 700
Brianna Payn 652
Jon Wienandt, the 2015 High point as well as National Champion has a very tenuous lead on Baylee Burkland who missed the round in Florida, but won at both Wisconsin and Springfield and has that thing flying. Raymond Hammond has had some engine issues this year and finds himself in third.
175cc Hydro
Driver Total
Jon Wienandt 825
Baylee Burklund 800
Raymond Hammond 423
This 250H class has had surprises as well as some of the old hands raising up to grab points. Some issues with equipment, some gun jumping has put this one up for grabs as Pete Kelly in that brand new Bud Gann Aero Hydro making a mark for himself. He won at Pleasant Prairie and has parlayed good finishes into t a lead. We will crown a new champion in the Nationals as Michael Schmidt has retired, while Amy Nydahl, in the 3rd spot in points hurrying along to try to repeat for the High Point repeat. Chris Hellsten took the win at Springfield after driving to Springfield all night after win in Kingston to take it at Thunder on Lake Springfield. This is going to be fun to watch as I think we will have more than 12 at Depue.
250cc Hydro
Driver Total
Peter Kelly 752
Chris Hellsten 700
Amy Nydahl 696
Paul Bosnich has a lead in the 250R class with the 2015 National and High Point Champ lurking just a scant 94 points in arrears with JJ Walls just 142 points back as well. This has become very competitive this year and should be a donnybrook the next couple of weeks.
250cc Runabout
Driver Total
Paul Bosnich III 794
Tim Small 700
Jay Walls, Jr 652
In the 350H class, Jamie Nilsen and Amy Nydahl, shared top honors as Jamie took the Nationals and Amy the High Point Championships. We hear that Jamie is headed East and hopes to repeat. Amy’s brother Kurtis, a student in engineering at the U of Minnesota finds himself out front with a win at Lake Alfred and two seconds, while sister Amy winning at Springfield and Gary Buskirk at Pleasant Prairie, whew what a terrific race for the high points this will be as well as the Nationals at Depue.
350cc Hydro
Driver Total
Kurtis Nydahl 1000
Gary Buskirk Jr 827
Amy Nydahl 794
Well if Tim Small is going to repeat as High Point from the 2015 season to the 2016 season, he has work to do, as the 2015 National Champ has a lead over he and JJ Walls. Brian has the trifecta with a 1st, 2nd, and a 3rd in the first 3 rounds of racing. Tim has a first and second, while JJ Walls also a win during the season. Brian is very tough and is going to be trying for a threepeat coming up in Depue for a national title there.
350cc Runabout
Driver Total
Brian Payn 925
Tim Small 700
Jay Walls, Jr 696
In the 500H class the venerable Ike Yoder driving to a win and a second at Lake Alfred and Pleasant Prairie, but unable to garner any points at Springfield 75 point lead over David Hooten, and a 131 points over Doug Hall who also each have a win as well. Doug Hall, who won both the Nationals and the High Point last year finds himself in that 3rd slot this year and has work to do in the last 3 races of the year to catch up.
500cc Hydro
Driver Total
Ike Yoder 700
David Hooten 625
Doug Hall 569
In what has become my favorite class, shh, don’t tell anyone, the 100mph rockets known as 500R have one heck of a race going with 4 drivers just separated by 169 points. We have had full fields in just about every round, and at Depue I am thinking that a 5 heat format is going to be needed. Last year Derek Gesler took the Nationals and Kurtis Nydahl the High Point Championships, and they are certainly in the mix again this year. Kurtis has one win under his belt, with Tim Small is that super powerful GRM, Rex Hall prepared 2 cylinder 440 did its job, while Jared Gryskiewicz won at his first race in quite some time at Lake Springfield, you might remember that Jared won both the 500 and 700 Runabout Championships a couple of years in a row as did our point leader Andrew Thirlby who has found himself leading the wolfpack.
500cc Runabout
Driver Total
Andrew Thirlby 694
RC Hawie 620
Kurtis Nydahl 527
Derek Gesler 525
