2/1/2021
KC Sparks
Minnesota Missile Monday: Back to Back Feature Wins for the Missile
Minnesota Missile Monday: Back to Back Feature Wins for the Missile
Emma, MO
February 1 2021
A wet and rainy day greeted the competitors to the fifth point event at Emma Indoor Raceway this past Saturday. The weather didn’t keep drivers away though as over a hundred entries signed in at the back gate, including eight box stock entries from four states.
Box Stock (8 karts)
Heat (10 laps):
The ten lap heat race saw the fourth place driver in points draw the pole position as Sierra Rose Gary paced the field to the green in turn four with point leader Haylie Allen to her outside. The girls picked up the pace in turn four with Gary taking the lead but Allen making contact with the inside row two starter, Kaden Rice and bunching up the field forcing a complete restart.
On the restart, Gary got a good jump into turn one but Allen and KC Sparks were on her tail. Allen moved under Gary out of turn two with Sparks following past into second. Rice moved into third out of turn four to finish the first lap.
Lap two saw Allen get high out of turn two allowing Sparks to drive under and into the top spot down the backstretch.
The third run out of the second turn was not what Allen was hoping for as she again went high but clipped the outside barrier and came back across the track making contact with Jaden Alexander who ended up on his side with some bent parts. Both drivers were knocked out of the event but would later return for feature competition.
The restart had Sparks pacing Rice, Gary, and rookie Micah Haugan. The remainder of the heat saw the drivers making fast laps spread around the Emma Indoor Raceway arena without exchanging positions. Sparks took the checkers and earned the pole for the upcoming feature.
Heat Finish 1. Sparks (4) 2. Rice(5) 3. Gary(1) 4. Haugan(6) 5. Guessford (8) 6. DNF Allen (2) 7. DNF Alexander (7) 8. DNS Ayden Erickson (3)
Feature (20 laps)
The twenty lap feature opened with Sparks and Rice pulling ahead of the field while Allen crossed under the row two starters and ahead of an ailing Guessford kart to move into third by the first set of turns. It was all for not as Guessford brought out the caution and Haugan came to a stop with a safety issue.
On the complete restart, Sparks opened up a 3 kart length lead over Rice as the lead duo pulled ahead of the field. With nearly a half lap on third place Haugan, Sparks was opening up his lead over Rice when the caution flew.
With the field bunched up, RIce pushed Sparks to the restart zone but was unable to make a pass. Haugan was holding third with Erickson just behind. The caution flew once again when Erickson made contact trying to move into the top three causing his kart to spin.
Sparks had a more controlled pace to the next restart, but was not able to pull away from Rice as the leaders again pulled away from Haugan and the field. It wasn’t until three laps into the run that Sparks’ was able to get a good rhythm that opened up a nice cushion over Rice.
One final caution flew at the halfway point setting up a long green run to the checkers. Sparks held the lead while Allen was not in third and not letting the leaders get out too far ahead of her. The lead trio ran single file within a second of each other for the next several laps.
On the white flag lap, Rice made one final run at Sparks but cut too low into turn three clipping a disc, upsetting his kart and breaking his momentum earning Sparks his second feature win in a row at Emma.
Finish: 1 Sparks (1) 2. Rice(2) 3. Allen ( 6) 4. Haugan (4) 5. Erickson (8) 6. Alexander (7) 7. Gary (5) 8. DNF Guessford (3)
Upcoming Schedule:
2/13: Emma Indoor; Emma, MO
2021 Partner/Sponsor Appreciation
Autoland; Sioux Falls, SD
Furby’s Auto Repair; Sioux Falls, SD
GRP Motorsports; Stillwater, MN
Last Deck LLC; Jackson, MN
Heser Auto and Detailing; Jackson, MN
DRE Horsepower; Boyden, IA
Jared Bailey Photography; Carlisle, IA
MyRacePass; #TeamMRP #GetTheApp
TL Racing; Jackson, MN
YTD Stats:
Features: 4
Wins: 2
Top 3: 3
Top 10: 4
Heat Wins: 2 out of 2
Quick Times: 0 out of 2
Article Credit: Stephanie Sparks
