Henry Kelleher, Dave Ohh Split Wins in NASCAR Heat Supermodified-Modified Double Header at Madera
April 26, 2020 – Madera, CA…Henry “The Bandit” Kelleher kicked off the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), 16th Annual Summit Classic Week at Madera Speedway with his first winged supermodified sim racing checkered flag in the Cherry Breaker 63 besting Kyle Pery, Jeff Bivens and Danny Ray in the special invitation only race for drivers that had never won before. Then Dave “SpeedyMan” Ohh put an end to the “Monday Madera Madness” with a win in the Ground Pounder Modified 75. Kelleher finished second and LT Mason was third.
A Breather for Bandit
Kelleher, AKA “The Bandit,” had been chomping at the bit to get his first SUPRS winged feature win. He took two heat races early in the year, and had been close to victory on several other occassions only to have the win wiped away with small mistakes and bad luck. So to get his first SUPRS was a relief. “It was a real tough workout there, but it feels great to finally get my first SUPRS win,” he said. “Thanks to all the sponsors, BreezeGraphics.com, 1st to Finish Race Servers, Icings on Top, and ModSquad.info, Heatfinder.net for all they do over there.”
The likable racer led all but one lap and also had the fastest lap of the race.
All About the Fun
Towards the end of the race, Kelleher, of Wilmington, DE, had a little bit of fun with his compatriat at HeatFinder.net, Jeff “Grumpy” Bivens. Running several laps behind him and unable to pass him cleanly, Kelleher finally decided that it was time to let the driver of the NHAutosport #24 know I was there. “I had fun with Grumpy at the end letting him know I was there,” said the winner. “Grumpy are great friends, I wanted to give him a little notice and was just having fun.”
Modified Mayhem
Dave “Ohh” has already had plenty of experience this week dodging errant race cars on the sim racing trail, so it was no surprise that he was able to steer clear of most of the wrecks in the headline event-The Ground Pounder Modified 75. Ohh wasn’t happy about how the race went, but he was happy to win the race.
“It certainly not the type of race I expected it to be,” he noted. “I expeceted there to be a lot more green flag laps, but I guess we did have a pretty good stretch of green there towards the end. All in all, I can’t complain. It was a a great collaboration between HeatFinder, The Mod Squad, and SUPRS. It’s always fun.”
Ohh set fast time and took off right away when the green flag dropped, but the race didn’t make it a lap before the first caution flew.
It may have been the first caution, but it certainly would be the last, including one for the winner that came as a result of him snagging the inside curb and spinning around, then going backwards down the backstretch. “I was just being too agressive, hit the curb and looped it. Then I did some backwards driving on the backstretch,” said the winner.
He may not have thought it was funny, but he nearly proved he’s as fast going backwards as he is going forward and at one point it looked like he was actually passing cars going in reverse. “Oh, I don’t know about that,” he mused. “I was on the limiter trying not to blow it up and get it straightened out. It was definitely the most entertaining part of the race.”
Other Notables
Danny Ray of Goshen, IN made his first SUPRS start when he took the green flag in the Cherry Breaker 63 and joins Carl Becker in the “on the southside of 70” sim racers club. Afterwards Ray was grateful to those that got him going saying, “Thanks to everyone that helped me tonight and thanks for just letting me race. I had a good time.”
The two races put the wraps on a great season of co-sanctioned events by SUPRS, HeatFinder and The Mod Squad. Final results of the SUPRS/HeatFinder supermodified challenge that began back in October of 2019 with the Harvest of Speed will be up after Summit Classic Week draws to a close Wednesday.
Go Fast Night on Tuesday
On Tuesday, all focus switches to going as fast as possible at the 16th Summit Classic Pole Night. Drivers will be fighting for the best seat in the house when the field takes the green flag for the 125 lap feature on Wednesday because only the top two qualifiers are locked into the Summit Classic. If they don’t make the front row, they’ll be headed for the qualifying Heat Races.
Practice for the pole starts on Tuesday 4/28 at 8:00pm. The drivers take to the track at 9:05pm for single car time-trials and the run for the Summit Classic 125 pole. The qualifying heat races will follow at approximately 9:15pm.
Socially Acceptable
Fans can learn more about the original supermodified sim sanction, the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, by visiting www.SUPRS.net. Join SUPRS active and vibrant Social Media channels by “Liking” SUPRS on Facebook, Following @SUPRSOnline on Twitter, and viewing SUPRS videos on YouTube. See us live and join our chat on Twitch.
SUPRS RACE RESULTS:
- SUPRS Cherry Breaker 63
- Monday April 27, 2020
- Madera Speedway
- SUPRS NASCAR Heat W v6 mod
- 63 Laps
Supermodified (wing) Time Trials (showing car number, driver name, hometown, sponsors, lap 1, lap 2-best highlighted)
- 43-Henry Kelleher; Wilmington, DE; U.Racing, HeatFinder.net: 12.062, 12.027
- 02-Kyle Perry; Fulton, NY; Bellinger’s Auto Service, Orange Crate Brewing Company: 12.201, 12.241
- 24-Jeff Bivens; Fort Mill, SC; US Foods, NHAutosport: 13.106, 12.425
- 08-Danny Ray; Goshen, IN; Masterbrand, Smokey Bone’s Down Home Kitchen: NT
Supermodified (wing) Feature 63 Laps (showing car number, driver name, bonus, starting place, fastest lap, distance behind winner)
- 43-Henry Kelleher: P3 | * | ** | ! | 11.988
- 02-Kyle Perry: P3 | 12.029 | +7.650
- 24-Jeff Bivens: P1 | 12.242 | +9 Laps
- 08-Danny Ray: P4 | 13.111 | +11 Laps
Time of Race: 14:21.490
- * Denotes Lap Led
- ** Denotes Most Laps Led
- ! Denotes Fastest Lap of Race
SUPRS RACE RESULTS:
- SUPRS Ground Pounder Modified 75 hosted by The Mod Squad, presented by Heat Finder
- April 27, 2020
- TMS Super HEAT Modifieds Tour mod
- SUPRS Madera Speedway
- 75 Laps
Modified Time Trials (showing place, car number, driver name, hometown, best lap)
- 2-Dave Ohh; Union, CT: 14.081
- 1-Henry Kelleher; Wilmington, DE: 14.349
- 75-Bob Gangwer; Goshen, IN: 14.642
- 20-Kyle Perry; Fulton, NY: 14.873
- 8-LT Mason; Anytown, USA: 14.857
- 38-Brad Keysor; Liverpool, NY: 14.979
- 64-Rob Warren; Pulaski, NY: 15.083
- 88-Danny Ray; Goshen, IN: 15.672
- 99-Carl Becker: Lansing, MI: 153695
- 24-Jeff Bivens; Fort Mill, SC: NT
Modified Feature 75 Laps (showing place, car number, driver name, starting place, bonuses, distance behind leader)
- 2-Dave Ohh; P1 | ! | * | ** | 13.983
- 1-Henry Kelleher; P2 | * | 14.202 | +0.781
- 8-LT Mason; P5 | 14.361 |+4.334
- 75-Bob Gangwer; P3 | * | 14.357 | +4.987
- 64-Rob Warren; P7 | 14.523 | +5.814
- 38-Brad Keysor; P6 | 14.397 | +6.346
- 24-Jeff Bivens; P10 | ^ | 14.348 | +7.153
- 99-Carl Becker; P9 | 15.154| + 2 Laps
- 88-Danny Ray; P8 | 14.922 | + 5 Laps
- 20-Kyle Perry; P4 | ~ | 14.459 | DNF
Time of Race: 26:31.766
Key:
- * denotes lap led
- ** denotes most laps led
- ! denotes fastest lap of race
- ^ denotes hard charger
- ~ denotes headache award
