Keith Powell Claims First Ever SUPRS Topless! 200 Pole
Oswego, NY – August 15, 2016…Keith Powell keeps on rolling towards his first ever Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), championship and moved one step closer Monday night when he secured the pole position for the 12th Annual Topless! 200.
Keith Powell and Joe Achzet will lead the field to the green flag for the 12th Annual SUPRS Topless! 200.
Powell’s lap time of 16.681 was tenth of a second faster than what he recorded last year and made him the only driver to dip in the 16.6 second bracket. Not only is it the Carrollton, Ohio driver’s first pole position for the non-wing supermodified sim racing event, but when the green flag drops, Powell will be seeing turn one from the front row of the grid for the first time as well.
“Aww man, it feels awesome, I’m shocked. I just can’t believe it, its unreal,” said Powell with much elation. Alluding to the fact that he had worked hard to find the sweet spot for qualifying, the current SUPRS Gold Crest Non-Wing Championship points leader explained that he had help from his father and former supermodified racer and car owner Jim Mayfield. “There was probably only one person that was expecting that and that is Jim Mayfield. I was consulting with him the last few days on a qualifying set up and he said “It should go if the driver can do it,” and he was right. This is just awesome, it’s really a big deal and it’s a huge race and we are off to a pretty good start. ” stated the driver of the Icings on Top sponsored “Mayfield Missile”.
When asked how much of a relief it was that his main nemesis in the battle for the points championship, Rob Warren, will not be sitting on the front row with him is, Powell stated, “It’s a pretty big relief, but he’s still going to be starting third right behind me. I’m not really looking to go out and set the pace in the first part of the race, but I know when I have a guy behind me like Rob he’ll give me a lot of respect, but I’m sure he’ll be right up on my bumper or looking to go set the pace up front.”
Joe Achzet of Yorkville, NY will start on the outside row one for the third time in his SUPRS career, but the first time since 2011. The notoriously fast driver of the GraphX “Black Bandit” stopped the clocks at 16.704 seconds and has his sights set on his first Topless! 200 win.
Achzet was happy to be on the front row saying, “It feels real good. It was one of my goals coming in tonight to get it up there on the front row. Like Keith said just to try to stay out of trouble early, so goal number one accomplished.”
During testing, it was no surprise that Achzet was one of the fastest cars, but his mindset going into the 200 lap show may surprise some. “I’m going to play it by ear,” Achzet said. “If I beat Keith to turn one, I guess I’m the rabbit they’re all chasing, if not I will just try to settle in and run my pace.”
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In a situation that is very similar to the last three seasons, the points chase has come right down to the last race of the year, and while not as close as the 13 points that separated Rob Warren, Ray Sand, Jr. and Keith Powell last year, the 33 points that 2015 SUPRS Gold Crest Non-Wing Champion, Rob Warren trails Keith Powell by this season is not insurmountable.
Warren will have his work cut out for him but after taking his Guaranteed Starter spot, will fill in behind the front row after qualifying third quick, giving him the prefered line into turn one behind the pole sitter, Powell.
Veteran SUPRS racer Domenic Gioia will start on the pole for the heat race after one of his best Topless! 200 qualifying efforts ever. Gioia was just a tick behind Warren in fourth overall with a time of 16.825, with Bob Gangwer rounding out the top five qualifiers.
Action for the 12th Annual Topless! 200 continues on Tuesday August 18 with practice at 7:00 pm. Qualifying heats are set to hit the Oswego Speedway pavement at 8:00 pm and then the green flag for the 12th Annual Topless! 200 at 9:00 pm.
Supermodified and sim racing fans alike can view timing and scoring as well as track telemetry of the 12th Annual Topless! 200 with SUPRS LIVE! You’ll be able to keep up with your favorite SUPRS racer in an instant by going to www.SUPRS.net/site/live which now includes live and recorded video of select events via the SUPRS Twitch.TV channel.
Learn more about the original and online supermodified sim racing sanction when you visit www.SUPRS.net. Join SUPRS active and vibrant Social Media channels by “Liking” SUPRS on Facebook, Circling SUPRS on Google+, Following @SUPRSOnline on Twitter, and viewing SUPRS videos on YouTube.
12th Annual SUPRS Topless! 200 laps sponsorships are still available for just $1 per lap. All proceeds go toward the Dion Parish Memorial Benevolent Fund for Supermodifieds. More details can be found on the SUPRS website.
12th Annual Topless! 200 Time Trials (showing car number, driver name, hometown, car owner, sponsors, lap 1, lap 2-best lap underlined-®Denotes Topless! 200 Race Rookie)
- 41-Keith Powell; Geneva, OH; CPR Motorsports, Icings on Top: 16.969, 16.681
- 14-Joe Achzet; Yorkville, NY; GraphX: 16.965, 16.704
- 35-Rob Warren; Pulaski, NY; 1st to Finish Race Servers, Syracuse Time and Alarm: 16.832, 16.886
- 9-Domenic Gioia; Oswego, NY; Team Domination Motorsports, Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer: 17.030, 16.875
- 25-Bob Gangwer; Goshen, IN; Wing Side Up Enterprises, B&G Racing Photos: 17.736, 16.961
- ®38-Kyle Clark; Mexico, NY; Disturbed Motorsports, Coors’ Light: 17.254, 16.989
- ®61-Derrick Backus; Mexico, NY; Disturbed Motorsports: 17.160, 16.998
- ®77-Kevin Timmins; Baldwinsville, NY; Wesley Motorsports, BreezeGraphics.com: 17.528, 17.343
