A scorcher in Week #10 at Mid-State Raceway Story by Chris Shearburn SPRINGFIELD, IL - The tenth week of racing at Mid-State on July 27 marked one of the hottest days for racing yet this year. Temperatures reached the upper nineties and the humidity was near one hundred percent. However, by the time the racing began, the heat was made tolerable by the setting sun, something all drivers and crews couldn't wait to see. The first class up was again the Kadet class. The five to eight year old kids put on a great show in all three races gaining that much needed experience. This week went much better for the youngsters. The mistakes were kept minimal which made the flag man and corner worker's jobs much easier. It also may have kept the blood pressure of the dad's down some. The 4-Cycle Rookie class rolled onto the track next. This time Jack Miller took Jeff Green's place at the front while Green was off at camp. Miller took his fifth win of the season over Nick Scaduto who has run the last five straight races. Scaduto is getting quite a bit of experience each week and could be a force in next year's championship hunt. The 4-Cycle Junior class headed out onto the track next along side the rookies. Poor Greg Colwell has been running by himself most of the season while turning some record-breaking laps for this class. Rumor has it no one wants to compete against him because of his fast pace each week. The term NO FEAR doesn't apply to any of his competition it appears. Next up was 2-Cycle Rookie class. The field was thinned out fairly quickly with a few early lap shunts. Cole McCormick has really turned up the heat the last few races and was able to pull out to an early lead over Samantha Miles. Tim Sykes, who had started from the outside pole, was making a charge towards the end after climbing back to third from a bad start. With just four laps to go, Sykes was able to run down Miles and make the move on the long straight. Sykes then set his sights on the leader McCormick, but just ran out of time as McCormick was able to hold onto the win by 2.9 seconds over Tim Sykes. Samantha Miles brought home third, Cale McCormick finished fourth, and Gino Gianetti rounded out the top five. The 2-Cycle Junior class was combined with the Rookie Class while Katie Lord has also run by herself most of the season. It seems the Midwest is afraid of the Juniors at Mid-State this year. Lord has picked up some speed the last few weeks as well, and may be tough to beat once some competition decides to come through the front gate. The 4-Cycle Light Class came out onto the track next. This may have been the best classes of the day for racing as in the second heat both Jennifer Best and Bryan Vought put on one of the best shows all year by dicing back and forth until Vought was able to pull out the win. In the feature, the field had to do a restart as on the first try Vought tried to squeeze under Best heading into the concrete turn but just like everyone else who has tried it in the past, he managed to get sideways taking out everyone but the leader. The flagman called for a restart allowing Vought and the rest of the field another shot. The second try went much better as everyone went single file heading through the concrete turn. Vought and Best pulled away from the field to settle it amongst themselves. Vought tucked in behind Best all race and looked to be waiting for the last lap. However, when the last lap came around, Best was able to pull out a few kart lengths which was enough to pull off the win. Vought took home second, and Jess McKee rounded out the top three. The final class of the day rolled onto the track next. Yamaha Sr. Supercan, which usually is the biggest class of the day only managed six drivers this week. Chris Shearburn returned to Mid-State for the first time since the first few weeks of the season. Shearburn led the field from the pole with Ross Johnson on the outside. As the green flew Shearburn, unlike the first heat with the same front row, took the lead into turn one with Johnson slipping into second. Shearburn pulled out slightly over a second lead in the first few laps, and stayed there most of the race. Johnson was able to hold station for many laps, even gaining a little ground. However, the last few laps proved fatal as he lost another few tenths of a second while Shearburn held on for his third win of the season. Johnson continues his string of top threes with a second place finish and Laukaitis, who has suffered mechanical failures the last few weeks, wasn't up to his usual speed this week, but did manage to finish the race in the third position. That concluded yet another great day for racing. Mid-State Raceway will resume racing again on August 24th for what will hopefully be a true night race with the full light system expected to be completed by then. Practice is scheduled for 5:30 with racing at 7:00. For more information, see www.midstatekartclub.com. RESULTS (July 27, 2002): 4-Cycle Rookie: 1. Jack Miller, 2. Nick Scaduto 4-Cycle Junior: 1. Greg Colwell 4-Cycle Lite: 1. Jennifer Best, 2. Bryan Vought, 3. Jess McKee, 4. Mike Colwell, 5. Mike Nesbitt Kadet Participants: 1. Bradley Brittin, 2. Kirsten Mosley, 3. Davey Steen, 4. Austin Mylott, 5. Brayton Gibbs, 6. Trevor Boblitt, 7. Andrew Hughes 2-Cycle Rookie: 1. Cole McCormick, 2. Tim Sykes, 3. Samantha Miles, 4. Cale McCormick, 5. Gino Giannetti, 6. Chance Holder, 7. Matthew Laukaitis 2-Cycle Junior: 1. Katie Lord Yamaha Super Can: 1. Chris Shearburn, 2. Ross Johnson, 3. Kent Laukaitis, 4. David Kreis, 5. Flynn McCormick, 6. Greg Grafton Visit Mid-State Kart Club's website Here!