RACINBOYS EXCLUSIVE by Ray Cunningham (Grain Valley, MO) -- The POWRi National Midgets and the POWRI National WAR Sprints will invade Valley Speedway this Friday night for a Open Wheel Showdown. The National tour racers will also be facing off against the POWRi West Midget chauffeurs, and the local drivers who run at the Missouri dirt track in the POWRi Valley Outlaw Midget and Sprint Series.
PHOTO CREDIT: John Lee of High-Fly'n Photos -- http://www.highfly-nphotos.com
Leading the way for this program that in the past has brought over 50 midgets, and 35 Sprint Cars, will be a couple of KC area race teams that are off to great starts in 2019, Chad Shields Racing in the Midgets and Helm Racing in the Sprints.
This season Chad Shields, who won as both a car owner and driver at Valley in 2018, has started a new team to run in POWRi National, West and Valley Midgets with Overland Park, Kansas, driver Luke Howard, and Carl Junction, Missouri racer Andrew Felker.
“Cool Hand Luke” has raced several times at Valley over the last 3 seasons, and two years ago became the youngest winner in the POWRi Valley midgets at age 13 driving for his father Trevor. Earlier this winter the Howard’s joined forces to run with CSR Racing in new concept cars built by Mini Sprint Guru Mike Dicely of Hyper Racing. And last month further bolstered their roster by bringing on board 2012 POWRi National Midget Champ Felker.
The team struggled somewhat in their debut at the Turnpike Challenge in March, but in April have caught fire with Howard getting a second place finish behind Wesley Smith in POWRi Valley Midgets. While Andrew Felker took the new teams first win at Port City last Saturday in POWRi West Competition.
Shields, a veteran of over 20 years of racing competition stated that the veteran Felker, along with his father Danny, and Michael Schure of Schure Built suspensions have been a big help in getting the right balance for the new Hyper machines which feature a shorter wheel basis than the average midget. Other contenders from the region competing Friday night will include the before-mentioned Smith of Nixa, Mo. who picked up his 17th victory in the KC area based Midget Club two weeks ago at Grain Valley along with two-time Valley Champ and last Friday nights victor Pat Schudy of Springfield, Mo.
Kansas racers, including Valley point leader A.J. Gilbert, 2017 Champ Dustin Gilbert, 2016 runner-up Merril Lamb , and 2018 POWRi National Midget Champ Tucker Klaasmeyer, will bring a local feel to this national racing program.
In the POWRi National and Valley Sprint Series, Wesley Smith of Nixa has been the class of the field so far in 2019 driving the Helm Racing #12. Smith, in his second full season of sprint car competition, has been fast from the start. Early in April he won the lid lifter in the POWRi Valley Sprints, and followed it up with a 2nd place run two weeks ago at Valley featuring a wild drive to the finish narrowly losing to Zach Daum at the end of the 25 lapper.
Those top results have him in first place in points at the Grain Valley oval. And after one official POWRi WAR race in 2019 Smith is also the point leader in the WAR Series. Wesley accomplished these results driving a 2013 Eagl Chassis for brothers, John and Garry Helm. The Racing Helm’s, a no frills, no nonsense, team out of the KC area, can trace their roots in racing back to their father, the late John E. Helm, affectionately known as “The Colonel”, who drove at old school KC speed plants including, Olympic, Riverside, and the old Lakeside on Leavenworth RD.
John Helm attributes their fast start in 2019 to the extremely talented Smith and the hard work of his brother Garry among others. While stating, “ No tricks or secrets, just stick to basics, and Wesley does the rest.” Other drivers from the area that will give the Helm #12 a run for their money on Friday will be defending WAR Champ Riley Kreisel of Warsaw driving the Smith and Kreisel #90. In 2018, Kreisel won three times on the WAR circuit on his way to his first sprint title after being the midget track champ at Valley in 2016.
With Wyatt Burks of Topeka driving the Rumsey #11w, Burks was the 2017 WAR runner up and the inaugural winner in the Iowa Sprint League last weekend. While former WAR champs Christopher Parkinson of Gladstone and Mitchell Moore, formerly of Edgerton, along with 2018 Valley Sprint Champ Chad Goff of Spring Hill among others will make this a program you don’t want to miss.