Story By: DAN KAPUSCINSKI / JASON SIMMONS RACING – ALLENTOWN, PA – Michael Barnes made his Indoor Auto Racing Championship debut over the weekend for Jason Simmons Racing, landing a pair of top ten finishes in TQ Midget action inside the PPL Center in Allentown, PA.
Driving the JSR No. 97 as a teammate to Tyler Thompson, Barnes impressed mightily by scoring main event finishes of ninth and tenth in a field of more than 40 racers.
On Friday night, Barnes qualified into the main event through the night’s B-Main and proceeded to charge from 21st to tenth behind veterans Briggs Danner and Matt Roselli.
On Saturday night, Barnes time trialed tenth fastest and finished second in his heat race to earn a re-draw starting position for the A-Main. Prior to main event time, Barnes pulled No. 9 for a starting position, which is exactly where he would finish after surviving several crash scares in the 40-lap weekend finale.
Two top ten finishes have Barnes ranked 11th overall in the current Indoor Auto Racing Championship standings heading to Atlantic City, NJ on January 31.
Teammate Thompson is currently 15th in the standings after taking 12th in Friday night’s main, with a DNF on Saturday.
Tyler Brown Continues Champ Kart Hot Streak with Allentown Indoor Victory
Tyler Brown continued his winning ways over the weekend for Jason Simmons Racing, topping a stout field of 34 entries in the opening round of the Indoor Auto Racing Championship inside the PPL Center in Allentown, PA.
The victory, worth $1,000, was Brown’s third career Indoor Auto Racing win for JSR and second consecutive, dating back to last year’s season finale in Syracuse.
Brown started from the fourth position on Friday night, after winning his qualifying heat race, and dueled to the checkered flag with karting veteran Jeremy Tuttle to claim the win.
The victory continues a stretch of five consecutive wins for Brown this indoor season after starting with four wins at the New York State Fairgrounds in December driving the JSR No. 98.
Brown’s JSR teammate, Dan Kapuscinski, also qualified for the Allentown opener through his heat race, starting the 20-kart, 20-lap main from the 14th position.
Kapuscinski rallied from 14th to 8th before being caught in an accident with under 5-laps remaining. The No. 97 restarted in 17th position and charged to 12th in the final order.
Following Allentown, JSR will now prepare for the annual Gamblers Classic inside the famous Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ on January 31 and February 1.
The TQ Midgets will run a series of qualifying events on January 31 before coming back on February 1 for more heats, B-Mains and the $4,000 to win weekend finale. The Champ Karts will time trial on Friday afternoon with the Top 14 in speed being locked into Saturday night’s 25-lap, $1,500 to win A-Main.
The winter series will conclude on March 13-14 at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, NY.