Maxon Leads Most Laps to Take First Harvest Win Since 2008
LaPorte, IN – October 7, 2014…Myles Maxon cut through the field of fellow competitors and brought the Harvest of Speed to the barn to register a win Tuesday night at LaPorte Speedway. Chris Meyers and Bob Gangwer followed Maxon across the line some distance back to round out the podium as the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series kicked off their 11th season of online supermodified racing.
Myles Maxon mastered LaPorte Speedway to win the Harvest of Speed season opener for SUPRS
Maxon had masterfully sown the seeds of a good Gold Crest Wing Championship Season by wrapping up the Non-Wing season back in August with a win and the overall points championship. While he is now the first four-time winner of this race, it’s notable that “Mighty” Myles hasn’t won the Harvest since 2008 so even he was surprised when he pulled the Ed Riley owned US Air Force sponsored supermodified into victory lane after 75 laps.
“It’s tough getting’ around here whether you’re in first, fifth, 20th, it doesn’t matter, so to get a win is always an accomplishment,” said the Oswego, NY native.
With Sand, Jr. leading and Meyers holding second, Myles Maxon(88) begins to move forward. Here he goes by the 55 of Steve Callahan for P3 with Bob Gangwer close behind in the 25.
Starting from fourth place on the line up grid, Maxon methodically worked his way past Steve Callahan and Chris Meyers to put himself in second place by the time the race was a third of the way complete. He then set Ray Sand, Jr. up low going into turn one, pouncing when Sand, Jr. scrubbed the inside wall and bounced up the track allowing Maxon to motor by coming out of turn two. Sand, Jr. quickly fell by the wayside and eventually went down 24 laps to finish a dismal eighth in the final standings.
The winner noted how fortunate he was to catch a break when he took the lead saying, “You just have to be patient and catch someone’s mistakes, I was lucky and that’s what happened but it’s always in the back of my mind, going back to season one, don’t get caught in the pit lane, don’t go so low out of four and it kinda messes with your rhythm and you just never know,” Maxon explained then added, “I want to say thanks to Ed Riley for letting me run his car again this year until I can get mine done.”
SEE PICTURES OF THE 2014 HARVEST OF SPEED
Maxon not only led the most laps of the feature but also gained a point for running the fastest lap of the feature of 12.576 which is under the current track record of 12.604 held by Sand, Jr. Maxon also received 10 bonus points by advancing the most positions from his feature starting place, (3), to be deemed SUPRSCharger for the night.
Earlier in the evening, Maxon set fast time and finished fourth in a very competitive Fast Four Dash which Chris Meyers won.
Meyers Fast Four Dash win put him on the pole for the 75 lap feature and he promptly jumped out to an early lead at the drop of the green flag. He was just settling into a rhythm when his teammate and defending race winner Ray Sand, Jr. made a bold move to the inside of Meyers on lap six in turn one.
Meyers was none too happy with the reigning SUPRS Gold Crest Wing Champion’s aggressive move saying, “First off congrats to Myles on the win, he’s a true champion,” said Meyers. He then expressed his displeasure for the way Sand, Jr. made the pass for the lead on lap six. He stated, “Let’s clarify things a little here and let’s just say Ray got by me with his front bumper, not by passing me clean. I’m not sure what he was thinking because he didn’t have a wheel under me, he didn’t give me any warning, he just moved me out-of-the-way and I’m very disappointed in my teammate.”
Even so, Meyers was able to hold on for second and looked at the finish philosophically saying, “Finishing second was OK, it’s probably where we would have ended up anyway based on the level of competition here, but we’ll take this and build on it for next week.”
After watching the battle for the top three positions while running in fifth place for most of the race, Bob Gangwer moved to fourth on lap 51 as Ray Sand, Jr. struggled then was able to capitalize on a slight miscue by third place running Steve Callahan with less than ten to go to gain a podium finish.
“That was a very competitive race,” began Gangwer. “I knew Myles was going and I could see Ray and Chris up ahead, and that left Steve and me to battle just a bit behind them. Then Ray had problems and I got lucky when Steve got behind Carl. I just got a great bite off of the corner and edged under them both enough. Kudos to Steve he ran me clean into the corner and gave me just enough room to make the pass stick and congratulations to Myles on a great night here at LaPorte.”
This year’s Harvest of Speed is part of the extended Indyana Supermod Challenge and with his win, Maxon takes an early point lead into the regional series that next runs at Salem Speedway in April 2015.
SUPRS is back in action next week with a special two-day New York visit as part of the continuing 2013-14 Empire State Super Series regional championship. Elba Speedway will be the scene of the Columbus Day Special on Monday October 13 followed the next night with a stop at Bryon2 Speedway. Practice gets underway at 8:00pm each night, while racing starts at 9:00pm.
Fans of supermodified racing and online sim racers alike are encouraged to learn more about the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series by visiting www.SUPRS.net, “Liking” SUPRS on Facebook, Circling SUPRS on Google+, Following @SUPRSOnline on Twitter, and Viewing SUPRS videos on YouTube.
SUPRS RACE RESULTS:
Harvest of Speed
11th Annual Season Opener
LaPorte Speedway
Time Trials (showing car number, driver name, hometown, sponsors, lap 1, lap 2-best lap underlined)
- 88-Myles Maxon; Oswego, NY; Tamarack Golf Club, The Swamp: 12.643, 12.762
- 55-Steve Callahan; Cayuhoga Falls, OH; Ice Oil, CPR Motorsports: 12.805, 12.678
- 18-Ray Sand, Jr.; Rochester, NY; SandmanRacing.com: 12.894, 12.746
- 23-Chris Meyers; Amherst, OH; Burch’s Full Throttle Soda Blasting, Oswego Sub Shop: 12.788, 12.983
- 25-Bob Gangwer; Goshen, IN; Wing Side Up Enterprises, Ricky’s Sideline Shots: 13.063, 12.799
- 35-Rob Warren; Pulaski, NY; 1st to Finish Docks & Hoists, Designs of Elegance: 12.833, 12.843
- 42-Carl Becker; Lansing, MI; Wholesale Diamond Exchange, Michigan Hill Gang: 12.875, 12.870
- 02-Kyle Perry; Fulton, NY; 21 Tequilla, Bellinger Auto Sales: 12.904, 12.961
- 9-Domenic Gioia; Oswego, NY; Lizard Lick Towing, Genesee Beer: 12.978, 12.934
- 52-Dave Brigandi; Syracuse, NY; Pizza Hut, Terry: 13.228, 13.229
Fast Four Dash-4 Laps (showing finish, car number, driver name)
- 23-Chris Meyers
- 18-Ray Sand, Jr.
- 55-Steve Callahan
- 88-Myles Maxon
Feature-75 Laps (showing car number, driver, name, bonus, fastest lap, distance behind winner)
- 88-Myles Maxon; * ** ! ^ 12.576
- 23-Chris Meyers; * 12.671 | +3.971
- 25-Bob Gangwer; 12.622 | +4.117
- 55-Steve Callahan; 12.688 | +6.729
- 35-Rob Warren; 12.725 | +1 Lap
- 42-Carl Becker; 12.718 | +1 Lap
- 9-Domenic Gioia; 12.729 | +2 Laps
- 18-Ray Sand, Jr.; 12.612 | +24 Laps
- 02-Kyle Perry; 12.915 | DNF
- 52-Dave Brigandi; 12.978 | DNF
Time of Race: 17:34.086
- * Denotes Lap Led
- ** Denotes Most Laps Led
- ! Denotes Fastest Lap of Race
- ^ Denotes SUPRSCharger
