PLOVER, WI – Gabe Sommers Racing followed the ASA Midwest Tour to the famed high banks of Madison International Speedway this past Friday night. The August 23 trip would be a chance for GSR to continue building momentum heading into the fall special swing that dominates September and October. As defending Midwest Tour champion and the current points leader, all eyes would be on the No. 15 to produce a strong showing in the Howie Lettow Classic 100.
Gabe and the crew would unload with a bullet, going to the top of the charts in the opening round of practice after running just five laps. Happy with the feel of the car, Sommers elected to stay in the pits and make some small adjustments to keep up with the changing track state. Once the second and final practice rolled off, it would be clear that GSR was a contender, repeating his performance in the first practice, going to the top of the charts by 0.076 seconds after turning fourteen laps.
Heading into qualifying, confidence was high in the GSR pits, and the hot streak was still ablaze after winning at Hawkeye Downs the week prior. Sommers would lay down a lap time of 17.963 seconds in time trials, good enough to slide into the fifth spot of 25 cars. A tight field of front runners made for an impressive showcase of the stars and cars of the ASA Midwest Tour, with the top nine drivers all within 0.091 of quick time. Per usual, the No. 15 would use their heat race to tune on their platform, and be extra careful in keeping the nose clean for the feature race.
GSR would roll off from the seventh spot for the 100 lap main event, but drop one spot at the drop of the green before settling in as the field strung out. Gabe would remain tucked in line until a caution for a spinner off of turn two on Lap 15/100 would slow the field to a crawl. Door to door on the restart, Sommers would methodically pick his way up to the sixth position within the first ten laps back green. Like clockwork, another ten laps had dropped off of the count as Sommers moved up into the top five and to the back bumper of the next pair in front of him. Quickly working his way to the fourth spot by Lap 40/100, he would settle back in and focus on tracking down the lead trio. Another spin off of turn two would be a lucky get for Sommers with just 42 laps left on the ticker, and would set the field up for a battle to the end.
The leader on the resulting restart would cut a right front tire as the field would power up off of turn four, stacking up a gaggle of cars. Gabe would manage to make it through unscathed as the caution flew yet again and bunched the field up for another try. Slipping into a podium spot on the restart, the No. 15 would lie in wait for the leaders to connect or burn off their tires on the final run to the checkered. On Lap 77/100 the two leaders would touch, allowing Sommers to slip into second and only 0.750 off of the leader’s back bumper. Working through lap traffic, Sommers would be unable to get close enough to make a move, Gabe would bring his Ford Mustang home in second place, just 0.465 seconds off of the race winner.
Overall pleased with their ability to move up in the field at Madison, GSR will look to finish one spot better at Dells Raceway Park this Saturday in the Jim Sauter Classic 200, and pick up his third win of the year at DRP. Can Gabe claim the $10,005 winner’s prize? Find out at 4:30 PM CST on August 31 by heading to the track or tuning in on TrackTV.com!