7/4/2025
Midget Auto Racing Association
"The Missile" Masters Lincoln with Third MARA Win
The Midget Auto Racing Association helped fans kick off their Independence Day weekend with a Thursday night race at Lincoln Speedway. A good field of midgets signed in with drivers from five states qualifying. Cody Weisensel and Miles Doherty made the Illinois speedplant a stopping point on their way home after competing in the BC39 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was Alex Midkiff and his self-made Missile Chassis that topped them all in the end.
The evening started with Mitchell Davis scoring Rod End Supply Fast Time. It was nearly a month prior that MARA last raced, also at Lincoln and it was then that Davis scored his first win of the year. His time was just .047 seconds faster than that of runner-up Dominic Bruns.
Fusion Engineering Heat One saw Mark McMahill lead every lap, but it wasn't easy. With fellow former 2025 MARA winner Adam Taylor on his tail, McMahill road the cushion the entire race. This allowed Taylor several opportunities for slide jobs during the closing laps, allowing the Indiana driver to get even with McMahill. The last effort brought the pair nose to nose coming out of turn-four to the checkers. McMahill nipped Taylor by about a foot.
Horizon Carpentry Inc. Heat Two didn't get a lap in before Davis flipped in turn-four. He was alright and done for this race but would return for the feature. The complete restart, minus Davis, saw Doherty and Tyler Roth go side by side for the first four laps both running a lower grove than McMahill. They swapped the lead several times in this period.
Roth got the advantage on Doherty with three laps to go and then Doherty was under attack from Weisensel. Jace Sparks then made it a three way battle for third with three laps left. Weisensel was using McMahill's line on the cushion with great success. A slid job in the first corners failed and as they charged down the backstretch on the last lap. This time Weisensel got just a little lower than Roth in the last corner and pulled away for the win.
The line-up for Ag Venture/ Wehmeyer Seed A-Main had Doherty on the pole with former MARA Champion Daltyn England on his outside. Doherty got the jump and after the first lap had five lengths on Sparks who was next to Charles Kunz at the line. It seamed at this early stage Doherty was the only one without a dancing partner.
At the line on lap-two Midkiff caught Doherty who was running the bottom. Things quickly sorted out with Taylor taking the runner-up spot, Doherty in third, now running the top like the two ahead of him.
By lap-eight of the 20 lap event Taylor caught Midkiff and took the lead briefly, only to be rebuffed by the leader. The next lap the yellow flew and the field was bunched with Midkiff leading Taylor, Doherty, Sparks and Davis. At the drop of the green Doherty quickly learned the bottom may not be the place to be tonight as he lost spots while Midkiff powered forward.
With eight to go, Midkiff enjoyed a straightaway lead on Taylor who's brakes were sparking badly. Jace Sparks was about a straight from Taylor in third. With five to go Midkiff and Taylor caught lapped traffic, with Taylor cutting the lead in half. On the last lap Taylor tangled with a lapped and flipped coming out of turn-two.
The one lap shoot-out had Midkiff leading Sparks, Davis, Doherty and Bruns to the green/white. Midkiff took off again and the top four did not change positions in the end. The fifth spot was shaken up on the last corner with McMahill and England getting by Bruns.
TAYLOR OK
Adam Taylor reported Friday morning that he's a bit sore from his crash near the end of the race but he would be fine and was looking forward to getting back in the cockpit of a midget and sprint car next weekend.
UP NEXT PLEASE READ
The next MARA race is slated for July 18 at Lincoln Speedway. The July 12 date at Coles County Speedway is postponed.
Contingency awards from July 3 will be listed mid-week with the points update report.
COMPLETE RESULTS
Ag Venture / Wehmeyer Seed A - Feature (20 Laps): 1. 05-Alex Midkiff[6]; 2. 40-Jace Sparks[7]; 3. 7X-Mitchell Davis[13]; 4. 8D-Miles Doherty[1]; 5. 11K-Mark McMahill[9]; 6. 19E-Daltyn England[2]; 7. 12C-Dominic Bruns[8]; 8. 20-Cody Weisensel[5]; 9. 4K-Charles Kunz[3]; 10. 11J-Todd Jackson[14]; 11. (DNF) 7T-Adam Taylor[4]; 12. (DNF) 5-Jacob Sollenberger[11]; 13. (DNF) 51R-Thomas Harris[12]; 14. (DNF) 18-Tyler Roth[10]; 15. (DNS) 51-Zach Boden
Fusion Engineering Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 11K-Mark McMahill[2]; 2. 7T-Adam Taylor[4]; 3. 19E-Daltyn England[3]; 4. 05-Alex Midkiff[5]; 5. 12C-Dominic Bruns[6]; 6. 51R-Thomas Harris[1]; 7. 11J-Todd Jackson[7]
Horizon Carpentry Inc Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 20-Cody Weisensel[5]; 2. 18-Tyler Roth[2]; 3. 40-Jace Sparks[6]; 4. 8D-Miles Doherty[3]; 5. 4K-Charles Kunz[4]; 6. 5-Jacob Sollenberger[1]; 7. 7X-Mitchell Davis[7]
Rod End Supply Fast Time Qualifying (100 Laps): 1. 7X-Mitchell Davis, 00:14.103[9]; 2. 12C-Dominic Bruns, 00:14.156[10]; 3. 40-Jace Sparks, 00:14.171[2]; 4. 05-Alex Midkiff, 00:14.172[11]; 5. 20-Cody Weisensel, 00:14.184[12]; 6. 7T-Adam Taylor, 00:14.359[6]; 7. 4K-Charles Kunz, 00:14.389[3]; 8. 19E-Daltyn England, 00:14.427[13]; 9. 8D-Miles Doherty, 00:14.446[1]; 10. 11K-Mark McMahill, 00:14.572[7]; 11. 18-Tyler Roth, 00:14.734[5]; 12. 51R-Thomas Harris, 00:14.902[8]; 13. 5-Jacob Sollenberger, 00:15.063[15]; 14. 11J-Todd Jackson, 00:16.964[4]; 15. (DNF) 51-Zach Boden, 00:18.000[14]
Article by Bill Blumer Jr.
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Submitted By: William Blumer