A tradition will be continued this Friday and Saturday as the UMRA TQ Midgets will celebrate Independence Day weekend in style with races at the Rush County Fairgrounds in Rushville.
Generation after generation in the Rushville area have only known one way to spend the Fourth of July and that has been watching the cars and stars of the UMRA challenge the famed fairgrounds track in a rough and tumble battle that features just as many fireworks as there will be in the sky later that night.
A name that is synonymous with the Rushville track is Tony Stewart. Rushville was the site of Stewart’s first UMRA feature win on July 14, 1989 and the 11th (and to date final) victory of his UMRA career on July 4, 1996 which was just over a month after he started from the pole position at the Indianapolis 500! Today connection between Rushville and Stewart can be seen in the street that leads into the track, Tony Stewart Drive.
While it was not as a driver, Tony Stewart was involved in the most recent Fourth of July UMRA race at Rushville in 2005. On that night Ron Combs, driving a car owned by Stewart, drove to a victory that would eventually help springboard the Greensburg driver to his second career UMRA championship.
It will be a great weekend of racing as on both Friday and Saturday the UMRA TQ Midgets will be joined on the card by the mini sprints. Last Saturday in their second Rushville appearance of 2009, Sara Elrod won in winged mini sprint competition for her second Rushville win of the year and veteran racer Stephanie Mockler took the checkered flag in non-winged mini sprint action.
As always the UMRA drivers will be going for some additional prizes. The trophy dash and feature winners will receive certificates from the Dutch Mill Buffet in Milroy. There will also be a “battle within the battle” in the feature as everyone will be going for the G&G; Oil “Hard Charger of the Race” which will see five gallons of fuel go to the driver that advances the most positions in the feature. Last weekend at Rushville, Terry Goff took Friday honors by moving from 18th to 11th while on Saturday night Michael Koontz got the fuel by coming from 20th to 15th.
Can another UMRA weekend sweep be achieved like Patrick Wolf did last weekend at Rushville? Come to the track this weekend to find out! The gates open at 3 p.m. with practice is at 5:30 p.m., qualifying at 6:15 p.m. and the races at 7 p.m.
Sports
UMRA Tradition Continues at Rushville July 3 and 4
- Sports
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Lady Knights eliminate Lady Lions
Behind just one earned run, the Lady Knights of South Dearborn eliminated the Lady Lions from the Batesville softball sectional by the final of 2-0.
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Nick Speidel wins at Columbus
Muncie's Nick Speidel continued his hot streak Saturday night when the Midwest TQ Racing League presented by Jenmarco.com opened the season at the Bartholomew County Fairgrounds in Columbus.
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LJ Lines entered in 5-0 event
LJ Lines of Lewisville has indicated that his new Late Model will be ready for this Saturday night's running of the May 5-0 at Mt. Lawn Speedway located west of New Castle.
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Bulldogs edge Lion golfers by five
On the road at Hillcrest Country Club, the Lion golfers fell to the Bulldogs of Batesville by five strokes, 165-170.
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Lions finish regular season with win
The Lions capped the regular season with a 10-8 victory over Richmond at McBride Stadium.
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Lions roll Chargers on Senior Night
The Lions honored three players (Matt St. John, Mitch Gosnell and Jeff Rennekamp) for Senior Night and then dismantled the North Decatur Chargers 29-1.
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Lions claim sectional title
For a second year in a row, the Lion track team brought home the hardware from the track sectional at Connersville. The Lions tallied 101 points to earn the championship.
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Summer season starting
Hello bowling fans! This is Jim Ephlin, at the Rushville Bowl, where all the action is.
So many things have happened since my last column that it might take the whole newspaper to catch up. -
Lions down Dragons
The Lions capped Senior Night with a 179-205 victory over conference rival New Palestine in golf action at Antler Pointe.
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Lady Lions take fifth in sectional
The Lady Lions competed in the Connersville track sectional Tuesday and finished fifth as a team and qualified three individuals to the regional.
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