Tri-County Speedway 04/16/23

Tri-County Speedway 04/15/23
Race Results

Mooresville N.C. - This past Saturday the cars and stars of The Grand National Super Series Presented by Engineered Components Company invaded Tri-County Speedway. The series had their largest field to date with fourteen cars entered. Among them names like Henriksen, Kromer, Wilder, and Mayfield. Drivers came from near and far to run on the 4/10th mile oval.

An early test session began at noon. Several drivers took to the track in order to fine tune their machines. The 38 car of Wesley Scott was very fast but quickly had a few minor issues. Jody Cash's Mopar Mafia crew immediately went to work and were able to resolve the issue in time for regularly scheduled practice. Kevin Kromer, A.J. Henriksen, Joe Wilder and Jason Kitzmiller also partook in the early test session.

The first round of regular practice kicked off shortly after 3 p.m. All cars took to the track. Jason Kitzmiller would set the fast time for round one of practice. The second round was an hour later and once again it would be Kitzmiller at the top of the board. He was followed closely by Jason McDowell and Jeremy Mayfield. Next on the schedule was qualifying, where Kitzmiller would earn his first career Chalew Pole Award. The top six cars would be inverted for the start of race one putting Mike Kurkowski and Joe Wilder on the front row.

Kurkowski would lead the field to green and retain the lead for several laps before Joe Wilder in his yellow 42 hot rod would pass him. Wilder knew he had to dig hard as the 79 of Henriksen was in his rearview mirror. The battles were waging through the field. Kitzmiller was also on the move. It would not be long before the 30 Dallas Metal, Glenco Insulation, Raymond Henry Trucking, Hawkins Ins car of Jason McDowell would have a mechanical issue forcing him to the pits for the remainder of race one. Wilder fought off Henriksen for several laps

before Henriksen made the pass. Henriksen would establish a good lead ahead of the pack and it almost appeared as if he had the race wrapped up. However, this would not be. Mayfield was biding his time. he began picking cars off one by one, letting the field shake out. Before Henriksen knew it Mayfield was on his bumper. Henriksen did not make it easy on the NASCAR veteran holding him off for several laps battling door to door. Mayfield would finally complete the pass with few laps remaining taking the victory.

For the start of race two the field would once again invert the top six cars, basing the starting order off the race one finish. The 57 car of Donnie Doster would be leading the field to green but elected to drop back for various reasons. This put Marc Jones and Kevin Kromer on the front row. Kromer would quickly take the lead and retain it for several laps before the blue and white 79 ECC hot rod of Henriksen was knocking on the door. Henriksen would take the lead and begin to pull away while the battle raged behind him. Mayfield and Kitzmiller were on a mission to win. Kitzmiller and Mayfield battled door to door for several laps with Mayfield being the victor. From there Mayfield would hunt down Henriksen navigating his way through lapped traffic. After going three wide in turns three and four Mayfield would take the lead with few laps remaining. Mayfield would go on to win his second race of the night. Jason McDowell who had issues in race one was able to repair his machine in time for race two. Mike Kurkowski, Larry Wilcox, and Cody Dennison would not be so lucky. They all suffered mechanical failures in race one that ended their evening.

We want to thank Tri-County Speedway for their hospitality towards GNSS and the gentlemen from the Pit Wall Podcast who were on hand for the night. We would also like to thank the sponsors who make all of this possible; Engineered Components Company, Chalew Performance, Howe Enterprises, Circle Track Warehouse, Dave Jensen Enterprises, and Versalift East. We would like to thank our dear friend Jimmy Fallon for all of his love and support over the years. We would not be the people we are today if he had never entered our lives. Rest in peace dear friend.

The next Grand National Super Series presented by Engineered Components Company will be at Dominion Raceway on April 29th.

Race 1 Results

51 Jeremy Mayfield

79 A.J. Henriksen

42 Joe Wilder

9 Marc Jones

77 Kevin Kromer

57 Donnie Doster

38 Wesley Scott

66 Larry Wilcox

97 Jason Kitzmiller

54s Mike Kurkowski

12 Cody Dennison

30 Jason McDowell

83 Eric Barber

Race 2 Results