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Reithmeyer & Sanders Claim Titles

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Story by: Corey Latham

Concord, NC ~ The Carolina Ford Focus Midget Series concluded their season and their summer affair called "Mid-Week Mayhem last Sunday on the quarter-mile at Concord Motorsport Park. Although it wasn't "mid-week", it was still "mayhem", and after the dust settled Bradley Reithmeyer had claimed his second consecutive National Championship. AJ Sanders also took home the championship for the Stadium-Stocks, but they both had to get through the day watching others go to victory lane.

In the 40 lap feature for the Ford Focus Midgets, Michael Mohelski from Frederick Md. took the top spot in qualifying with a

Photos by: Corey Latham/RACE22.com
 The Mini Stocks put on a great show at every "Midweek Mayhem" show for the USAC Ford Focus Midgets, Mini Stocks and Go-Karts on the 1/4 mile at Concord Motorsport Park in Concord, North Carolina.

blistering time of 12.747. At the green Mohelski checked out, showing everyone that after the inversion, he was going to the front. Michael grabbed the lead from Matt Supan on lap 11 and the rest of the racing was behind him. And boy did they race.

Bradley Reithmeyer had secured the National Championship by simply starting the race, but he wanted much more.....he wanted to win. After rolling off from the 5th spot, he made quick work of the field in front of him, going high and low for spots, smoking the right rear tire the entire time. As he got to Bryce Burden running in second, he set him up and made his move

Michael Mohelski winner of the Sunday finale for the USAC "Midweek Mayhem" at Concord Motorsport Park.

coming off of turn 4 to take the spot. As the pair entered turn 2, Burden gets into the back of Reithmeyer sending the #11 machine around. Both drivers had to go to the back during the caution, Burden for causing it, and Reithmeyer for doing the spin. A win looked out of the question for either driver, only 16 laps remaining and both at the tail end of the 14 car field. Reithmeyer was on a mission though.

As the field gets going again, the #50 of Supan gets kicked to the outside and goes from 3rd to 6th in one lap, as Rick Fedrizzi, Brad Noffsinger and Eric Coomes come by on the bottom. The racing was intense up front, but all eyes were on Rethmeyer, as he was putting on a show. Only 9 laps after being at the back of the field, the National Champion had made his way back up to the 7th spot. He would be helped by a red flag and a caution, and with 4 to go he found himself in the 4th spot on a restart. The flag waves and Reithmeyer goes directly to the outside, disposing of Coomes for 4th and setting his sights on the open-wheel veteran Noffsinger. Bradley gives the #44 a shot in the back coming to the white flag, moves to the outside gong into turn 3 for the final time, makes contact but Noffsinger holds him off. The two then proceed to beat and bang after the checkered flag falls, Noffsinger obviously not happy with the way Reithmeyer raced him. In front of it all was Michael Mohelski, taking his 4th win of the season.

Ford Focus Midgets 1.Mohelski 2. Fedrizzi 3.Noffsinger

As the Stadium-Stocks (mini-stocks) rolled onto the track, A.J Sanders had already wrapped up
the championship, but just like Reithmeyer he was there for another trophy. The field was set after a heat race and an inversion, and Kenny Dixon was on the point. As the cars take the flag, Chuck wall dives into second under Andrew Sanders who been experiencing engine problems all day. Steven Truell and A.J sanders move quickly into 3rd and 4th, ready to go after Dixon for the lead. But Dixon was having no part of that.

Steven Truell had been the only car to contend with Sanders for the 7 race series, and the two found each other once again on Sunday. As the two exited turn 2 on lap 4, Sanders gets into the back of Truell sending both cars up the track. They would race hard into turn 3 with Truell holding Sanders off. Both would have bad luck as the race continued.

At lap ten the ailing car of Andrew Sanders finally goes boom in a thick cloud of smoke as he exits the track, a broken crank cutting his day short. Up front it was all Dixon, until Bobby Yontz spins off turn 2 bring out the caution, and more importantly "the cone". In the Stadium-Stock features, cars can go to the outside line around a cone to advance their position on the restart, but the drawback is starting up in the high groove. Truell goes to the outside and takes the lead on the restart, but it would

Kenny Dixon took home the trophy for winning the Stadium Stock race.

be short lived. 2 laps later the #64 ride cuts off going down the frontstretch and the field scrambles bringing out another caution. "It just died, I have no idea what it was, hopefully it just blew a head gasket", said Truell after the race.

Getting to the end, Glenn Hamilton and Chuck Wall go to the outside for the restart after the Truell caution. Hamilton gets by A.J. for second, but once again Dixon is driving off into the sunset. With 5 to go sanders gets the second spot back, bringing wall with him, but on the last lap the #24 of Sanders slows with the same fate of his son, a broken crank. Kenny Dixon would cruise home to take the last win for the Stadium-Stocks in the 7 race summer series.

Stadium-Stocks 1.Dixon 2.Wall 3.Hamilton

That concludes the 2008 "Midweek Mayhem" for the USAC sanctioned races at Concord Motorsports Park. I'd like to thank Rick Fedrizzi, Ralph Lamb, USAC announcer Wesley Outland and all the staff at USAC for making race days so enjoyable. Other series and tracks could learn a lot from the way they run their program. We'll be back in 2009, and do it all over again, hope you all join us.

Bradley Reithmeyer took home the championship in the USAC Ford Focus Midgets "Midweek Mayhem" at Concord.

AJ Sanders, who has already won titles at Bowman Gray and Ace Speedway, secured the title for the Stadium Stocks.