By: Greg Parent
The third race of the season for the UMSS sprint cars proved to be the charm for Forest Lake, Minnesota's Jerry Richert, Jr. on Friday night May 8 at the Kopellah Speedway. The upstart UMSS series for 360 sprint cars was making their second appearance of the 2009 season at Kopellah, and the veteran experience of Richert showed on the wind-swept 1/4 mile oval. Richert passed Joseph Kouba on lap 7 enroute to the win in the 15 lap feature which was reduced five laps due to strong winds and dry track conditions. Stated Richert afterwards, "I was glad to see the checkered flag. It was kind of tricky out there."

With the threat of rain staying south of the track, the full Friday night program was completed with the UMSS sprint car feature highlighting the evening as the final event. Rookie Cody Hahn and Joseph Kouba brought the fourteen car field to the green, as windy conditions created a dry, dusty track for feature race action. Kouba narrowly edged out fourth starter Brad Barickman for the lead at the completion of the opening lap. Barickman blasted by on lap two and looked strong up front. A complete 360 spin by Barickman in turn two on lap 6 dropped him to fourth behind Kouba, Richert and Jason Tostenson. A lap later the first caution waved when Rik Sandberg and Kevin Nickel made contact entering turn one. Both cars required wrecker assistance to the pits. When the green replaced the yellow, Richert drove around race leader Kouba exiting turn two and took the top spot. As the field began to spread out just a bit, it looked like the race might run green to the finish. A spin by rookie Mike Luks with 13 laps scored set up a two lap dash to the checkers, as track officials decided to shorten the race to 15 laps given the dry, dusty track. Richert was able to hold off Kouba for the win, as the yellow appeared just as Richert was taking the checkered flag for a spin by Sye Anderson in turn one. Completing the top five finishers were Kouba, Tostenson, Barickman, and John Nelson. Rounding out the top ten was Gene Kelly, Cody Hahn, Leigh Thomas, Dave Becker, and Kenny Melanson. Thomas and Becker were able to make repairs following a crash in the first Ultimate Sprint Race in time to run the feature.

Preliminary action for the UMSS sprint cars saw Richert and Barickman top the Ultimate Sprint Races while Nelson and Tostenson scored wins in the Ultimate Challenge Races. The UMSS uses a double round of races with drivers earning points to determine the starting lineup for the feature event. High point driver Jerry Richert, Jr. drew a six invert for the feature race, but Richert wasted little time in moving forward. It was Richert's first win of the season, as he became the third different driver to post a UMSS feature victory in as many races. Tony Norem and Lou Kennedy Jr. were opening weekend winners.

The UMSS returns to the Kopellah Speedway for their fourth race of the 2009 season, the third at Kopellah, on Friday evening May 22. Sprint car fans can follow all of the UMSS action on their website at www.umsprints.com or through numerous racing publications. When you're at the track, be sure and pick up a free copy of The UMSS Report which details previous race action along with the upcoming schedule and driver roster.

May 8, 2009 Kopellah Speedway UMSS Results;

Feature (15 laps): Richert, Kouba, Tostenson, Barickman, Nelson, Kelly, Hahn, Thomas, Becker, Melanson, Luks, Anderson, Nickel, Sandberg.

Lap Leaders: Kouba 1, Barickman 2-5, Kouba 6, Richert 7-15

Ultimate Sprint Race #1: Richert, Kouba, Hahn, Kelly, Anderson, Becker, Thomas.
Ultimate Sprint Race #2: Barickman, Nelson, Melanson, Tostenson, Sandberg, Luks, Nickel.
Ultimate Challenge Race #1: Nelson, Richert, Sandberg, Melanson, Kelly. DNS: Becker, Thomas
Ultimate Challenge Race #2: Tostenson, Barickman, Kouba, Hahn, Anderson, Nickel, Luks