KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Mike Ling captured his first career BIOBASED USA/Must See Racing Xtreme Sprint Series victory at Kalamazoo Speedway on Saturday night, using a strong late-race surge to prevail in the 50-lap feature over Troy DeCaire and Travis Miniea.

            The night saw 15 of the 28 car field qualify under the existing track record, with quick time of 10.270-seconds posted by Jason Blonde in the BIOBASED sprint car.

            Ling, of Mt. Brydges, Ont., Canada, took the lead following a lap 27 red flag for an oil fire on the car of Union City, Michigan’s Jim Swain. Swain was unhurt in the blaze, and the race restarted with the field trailing leader Ryan Litt.

            Litt was immediately pressured by DeCaire, but within two laps Ling asserted himself to sweep past DeCaire, then Litt, in convincing fashion. Ling led the rest of the way to become the fifth series winner in six races.

            “I was definitely being conservative in the early going, trying to save my tires,” said Ling. “After that restart, I knew it was time to go, and that’s when I put the pedal down and gave it all I had.

            “I’ve got to hand it to (car owner) Jimmy Brown and my crew, they had the Southwestern Truck Services car hooked up perfectly. It’s good to finally get that first series win, and now we work on putting our energy toward the next race.”

            DeCaire, the series point leader, continued his strong season with another strong performance.

            “Mike was the car I figured we would have to beat tonight, and I was right about that,” said the Tampa, Florida driver. “The Jobsite Concrete/Maverick Concrete Cut & Drilling car was really good, but he was just a little bit better. I’m disappointed that we’re still chasing our first win, but I’m glad for another good finish.”

            Fourth was Jeff Bloom, trailed by Jimmy McCune. The second five consisted of Litt, Kevin Feeney, Jason Cox, Tim Cox, and Kyle Flint.

            Heat races were won by Ling, Kevin Feeney, and Dorman Snyder.

            The entire racing program will be telecast on a tape-delayed basis to nearly 90 million U.S. homes. Airdates and other information can be found at www.mustseeracing.com.

            Up next for the BIOBASED USA/Must See Racing Xtreme Sprint Series is the “Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial” at Salem Speedway on Saturday night, Aug. 14.

BIOBASED USA/Must See Racing Xtreme Sprint Series 50-lap feature:

1) Mike Ling, 2) Troy DeCaire, 3) Travis Miniea, 4) Jeff Bloom, 5) Jimmy McCune, 6) Ryan Litt, 7) Kevin Feeney, 8) Jason Cox, 9) Tim Cox, 10) Kyle Flint, 11) Hank Lower, 12) Eddie Kelley, 13) Scott O’Connor, 14) Joe Swanson, 15) Geoff Kaiser, 16) Dave Baumgartner, 17) Jim Sheets, 18) Dorman Snyder, 19) Jim Swain, 20) Jacob Wilson, 21) Mike Astrauskas.

BIOBASED USA/Xtreme Sprint Series winners in 2010

May 8 – Salem Speedway – Winged Sprint Spectacular – Aaron Pierce

May 23 – Winchester Speedway – King of the Wings Showdown – David Steele

May 26 – Anderson Speedway – MustSeeRacing 60 – Jimmy McCune

May 29 – Anderson Speedway – Little 500 – Eric Gordon

June 26 – Auto City Speedway – MustSeeRacing Twin-20s – Jimmy McCune

July 17 – Kalamazoo Speedway – MustSeeRacing 50 – Mike Ling

Making a pit stop

Race car drivers take time to visit shelter

By Brenda L. Holmes CNHI

Link to Original Article http://flyergroup.com/local/x540031571/Making-a-pit-stop

DANVILLE — Three race car drivers ranging in age from 9 to 28 visited Sheltering Wings last week to inspire its residents and have a little fun.

Sheltering Wings is a domestic violence shelter for women and their dependent children. The facility is the only one of its kind in Hendricks County.

Maria Larrison, the shelter’s executive director, is a huge race fan. Her favorite driver is Mike Larrison, her nephew, who drives sprint cars for Bob East.

“I’m his biggest fan,” she said. “I’ve only missed one of his races and that was because I had surgery. I had to have my gallbladder out.”

Mike Larrison said he’s just about as proud of his aunt who leads the staff at Sheltering Wings.

“She’s just wonderful and I’ve been out to the shelter before,” he said. “It’s an honor for me to be asked by Maria to come out. I could never turn her down.”

He’s been racing for most of his life. He’s 28 now and started when he was only 4.

“I did take a break in there,” Mike said. “Me and my dad got involved in motocross (when he was young.)”

He said his father was injured in a race, so they started racing go-carts. He’s raced quarter-midgets and midgets. Now he’s in a sprint car.

“Driving for Bob East is an opportunity of a lifetime,” Mike said.

Drivers like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Kasey Kahne have come up through the ranks and driven for East in the past.

In anticipation of the event at the shelter, Maria Larrison took a group to see a race.

“The other night I took three girls from the shelter with me to the (Indianapolis) Speedrome to watch Mike race,” she said. “They had so much fun they want to go back. They really enjoyed it.”

Midget driver Dillon Welch, 16, also came along for the visit to the shelter. He’s been racing for several years and lives in Carmel.

“I’ve always loved racing,” Welch said. “When I was little they would try to give me baseballs or footballs and all I wanted were Hot Wheels.”

Welch’s father worked for ESPN so he had some contacts in the racing world. He began by racing quarter midgets and brought his old car in for the children at Sheltering Wings to see.

“Seeing them in the quarter midget really brings back memories,” he said.

The youngest driver who came out to the shelter was Ben Mikitarian, 9. He and his two brothers, Joe and David, with help from their parents John and Celeste, make up Triple M Motorsports. Mikitarian is from the Boston area.

“My brothers were into it when I was a kid,” he said. “I started driving when I was 4. I really enjoy it.”

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Link to Original Article http://flyergroup.com/local/x540031571/Making-a-pit-stop

Announcing the 2010 Must See Racing Kalamazoo Speedway Race Fan Contest. One lucky winner at each race event will win a certificate to drive a sprint car at the Dirt Track Racing School for free.

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