(PEDAL DOWN PROMOTIONS) July 16, 2023 – After coming close on several occasions during his five-year career in the seat of a 360 Sprint Car, Brandon Berth of Cascade finally found the previously elusive combination to the victory lane lock, charging from the eighth starting spot to secure his first career Akright Auto Midwest Sprint Car Association 360 Sprint Car Series A-main victory in the 20-lap Bryan Gapinski Tribute Night main event at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis.
The 14th MSA event of the 2023 campaign featured an eventful 20-lap main event, which included three caution flags, two red flag stoppages and a slew of spirited position swapping throughout the field, while culminating with a jubilant first-time winner celebration.
Outside front row starter Kevin Karnitz of West Bend, who was coming off of first MSA A-main victory of the 2023 campaign one night earlier at The Plymouth Dirt Track, jumped into the lead in turn two of the opening lap with MSA 360 Sprint Car rookie polesitter T.J. Smith of Greenville trailing close behind in second. The first of five caution-red flag periods came on lap 2 when rookie T.J. Haddy of Waupun spun exiting turn four.
On the restart, four-time MSA champion Brandon McMullen of Oshkosh, who started sixth, moved into second in turn two. Karnitz caught lapped traffic on lap 7 before the second caution flag of the race appeared later in the lap when Clayton Rossmann of Wadsworth, Ill., who was in the seat of Nick Daywalt’s No. 66 car, spun in turn two.
Following the restart, Smith battled back to slip past McMullen into second on lap 8 before the third caution flag of the race was displayed when Tommy Colburn of New Berlin made contact with the turn two wall.
Smith used another strong restart to pressure Karnitz for the top spot on lap 9. However, Karnitz fended off the challenge before a red flag was displayed on lap 10 when Bill Taylor of Boltonville flipped along the front stretch.
Berth, who started the race on the outside of the fourth row, flexed his car’s muscles on the ensuing restart to blast past McMullen and Smith into second on lap 12. The 2019 MSA Rookie of Year Award winner quickly moved in to challenge Karnitz for the lead along the low groove of the slick and tricky traffic surface starting on lap 15.
The race was halted for the fifth and final time on lap 17 when rookie Logan Julien of Oconomowoc jumped the thick cushion and flipped in turn two to bring out the red flag.
The final restart saw Berth hold tight behind Karnitz to set up a race-win-securing slide job entering turn three on lap 18. Berth maintained the top spot over the final two laps to earn his first career MSA 360 Sprint Car Series A-main victory.
“I’ve been dreaming about this for way too long,” Berth said. “There were times I thought it was never going to happen. It feels great to finally get to victory lane in a Sprint Car. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication and support to get here. I have to give credit to Kevin [Karnitz], Brandon [McMullen], Ben [Schmidt] and Kurt [Davis]. Those guys are tough to beat and I’m proud that we were able to do it tonight.
“I saw Kevin was getting tight in turns one and two, so I ducked low there and then drove it in hard entering three with kind of a ‘wreckers or checkers' mindset. I took his line away a bit, but I hope I left enough room,” he said. “Luckily, it worked out. I have to thank our sponsors and everyone that helps this race team. What they do is greatly appreciated and it’s the reason we are where we are tonight.”
Karnitz placed second, McMullen wound up third, Schmidt moved up from his 11th starting spot to take fourth and five-time MSA champion Kurt Davis of South Milwaukee, who started ninth, wound up fifth.
MSA heat race victories went to Tommy Colburn, Clayton Rossmann and Brandon McMullen.
The 14th MSA event of the 2023 season drew a field of 21 MSA 360 Sprint Cars to the historic 87-year-old Angell Park Speedway facility for the series’ second and final visit of the year.
The next race for the MSA 360 Sprint Cars is this Saturday, July 22 at The Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wis., which will also include the fifth race of the 2023 PDTR Super Six Late Model Series, along with the PDTR Grand Nationals and B Mods.
Grandstand gates open at 4:30 p.m. with Late Model and 360 Sprint Car qualifying set at 5:30 p.m. and racing scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
For more information on the 2023 Midwest Sprint Car Association season, visit www.msasprints.com or check out the Midwest Sprint Car Association Facebook page.
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Akright Auto Midwest Sprint Car Association
Angell Park Speedway
Sun Prairie, Wis.
July 16, 2023
A Main (20 Laps): 1. Brandon Berth 2. Kevin Karnitz 3. Brandon McMullen 4. Ben Schmidt 5. Kurt Davis 6. Alex Pokorski 7. T.J. Smith 8. Lance Fassbender 9. Tony Wondra 10. Josh Bilicki 11. Eric Wilke 12. Clayton Rossmann 13. Katelyn Krebsbach 14. J.J. Pagel 15. Jeff Neubert 16. T.J. Haddy 17. Logan Julien 18. Bill Taylor 19. Tommy Colburn 20. Kevin Seidler 21. Tristan Koenings (DNS)
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. Tommy Colburn 2. Kurt Davis 3. Ben Schmidt 4. Brandon Berth 5. Katelyn Krebsbach 6. Alex Pokorski 7. Eric Wilke
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. Clayton Rossmann 2. Kevin Karnitz 3. T.J. Haddy 4. Lance Fassbender 5. J.J. Pagel 6. Tony Wondra 7. Tristan Koenings
Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. Brandon McMullen 2. T.J. Smith 3. Logan Julien 4. Josh Bilicki 5. Jeff Neubert 6. Kevin Seidler 7. Bill Taylor