Weiss Scores Two Victories At Wild West Shootout

Ricky Weiss with Crew Chief Shawn Gage in victory lane after winning the Wild West Shootout finale last weekend.
Mike Ruefer photo.

​Before setting out to compete for rookie of the year with the World Of Outlaws Late Model Series next month, Ricky Weiss, driver of the No. 7 J&C Properties Bloomquist, bounced back from a DNF after running fourth on the opening night of the 13th Annual Wild West Shootout at the Arizona Speedway in San Tan Valley, Arizona, to score solid finishes of ninth and sixth. When all was said and done, the Headingley, Manitoba native finished out the final three rounds of the series, with two big victories.

Weiss overtook Brandon Overton on the eight circuit to score his first win of the 2019 season. His $5,000 triumph came in the rescheduled day round from the previous Sunday.

Weiss said after the win, "It's been a tough week, we had a car to win ever night, a little bit of me, a little bit the track. Not so much that we like rubber, but we like the slick, that's where our stuff shines."

Weiss continued, "We've had the speed, but we had a little luck come our way. Brandon got a little high there, it was tough. It was easier to judge from where I was sitting, I could kinda watch him a bit, where I was gaining, where I was missing."

"It was a good race, the lapped traffic was getting a little hectic, but I could see Shawn [Gage, Weiss' crew chief,] and he was giving me good signals. Then the caution came out, and I knew at that point, as long as I could keep the tire under me, we'd be alright."

​After a fourth place run during the night portion of the final Saturday of the Shootout, Weiss found himself in victory lane once again. This win, worth $14,000, Weiss lead the final two circuits to score the win after Scott Bloomquist and Bobby Pierce fell to misfortune.

Ricky Weiss digging through the corner at the Arizona Speedway.
Mike Ruefer photo.

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"Hated to see that for Scott [Bloomquist]" Weiss said after the win. "I just can't thank those guys enough, feel heart broke for him and Cody [Mallory; Bloomquist's crew chief], they've had so much bad luck this week."

Weiss was quick to thank Bloomquist for the help he's been in his career. "Our speed is thanks to them, we've been working as a team. Can't thank Shawn [Gage] enough. He's been working his butt off, building this car from scratch. It's kinda surreal."

About holding off a pass on the restart, Weiss said, "I saw Overton come on the outside there, and I know he can whale the cushion, but it was a little treacherous up there. Then later in the race, when Scott was kinda pulling away, I was just kinda moving around and feeling it out. I seemed to get better when I could cut down my corner, but I knew that wouldn't hold the lead, so I just whaled it in there, started bouncing around a little bit, got it under control, and it was just great to see the checkered flag come out."

Cole Schill made the final three features in the No. 44 Mid Ag Dispatch MB Custom, and scored a third place run in the Pro Power Dash during round three of the Shootout.

In the Modified division, Dustin Strand had a solid week behind the wheel of the Flagstaff Nissan Subaru No. 71, despite an engine failure during round three of the Shootout. However, thanks to South Dakota native Rob Krause, Strand was able to put another power plant in his Millenium SRT to finish out the Shootout.

Strand scored one runner-up finish, a third, and three fourth place finishes, ending up fourth in the overall standings despite the broken camshaft on night three.

Fargo's Casey Arneson won the opening round, while former two-time NLRA series champion Cody Skytland, and former NLRA winner Scott Greer were also among the local contingent in attendance at the shootout in the Modified division. Greer put two different cars in the show during the week, racing in features for Chris Unrau and Al Giesbrecht.

​On the X-Mod side of things, Huron native Cole Searing was the dominant driver once again, but local drivers from our area were also fast, especially on the final weekend. Austin Hunter was the best of the three Millenium Midwest Mods that finished inside the top six during the finale, scoring a runner-up result, with Preston Carr third, and Scott Bintz sixth in his final race before retirement.

Local Drivers Results At The Shootout

​January 5

LM: Ricky Weiss 22nd; Cole Schill (DNQ)

Mod: Casey Arneson 1st, Dustin Strand 4th, Dylan Goplen 9th, Cody Skytland 11th, Tyler Peterson 24th (DNF; won B Main); DNQ: Ryan Cousins, Al Giesbrecht, Don Gumke (1st race in 11 years), Blake Higginbotham, Davey Mills, Chris Unrau

X-Mod: Matt Gilbertson 2nd, Lucas Rodin 3rd, Scott Bintz 8th, Cole Haugland 9th, Jess Brekke 10th, Matt Sparby 14th, Lance Schill 15th, Preston Carr 16th, Eric Haugland 18th, Austin Hunter 19th, DNQ - Bailey Cousins, Brock Gronwold, Nathan Higginbotham, Ron Reed, Adam Unrau

January 9

LM: Weiss 9th, C. Schill (DNQ)

Mod: Strand 2nd, Gilbertson 3rd, T. Peterson 6th, Mills 10th, R. Cousins 12th, Scott Greer 15th, Arneson 18th, Skytland 19th, Goplen 23rd; DNQ: Giesbrecht, Gumke, B. Higginbotham, Kody Scholpp

X-Mod: Carr 4th, Rodin 6th, Brekke 9th, Sparby 15th, Bintz 16th, Hunter 16th, C. Haugland 20th, Schill 22nd, Gronwold 24th; DNQ: B. Cousins, E. Haugland, N. Higginbotham, Reed, A. Unrau 

January 11

LM: Weiss 6th, C. Schill DNQ; (3rd in Pro Power Dash)

Mod: T. Peterson 6th, Arneson 10th, Goplen 12th, Mills 18th, Greer 24th; DNQ: R. Cousins, Gumke, B. Higginbotham, Stoney Kruk, Scholpp, Skytland, Strand

X-Mod: L. Schill 2nd, Skylar Smith 6th, Bintz 10th, Hunter 12th, Carr 16th, Gronwold 19th, Sparby 22nd; DNQ: Brekke, B. Cousins, C. Haugland, E. Haugland, N. Higginbotham, Reed, Rodin

January 12 (Day)

LM: Weiss 1st, C. Schill 19th

Mod A Main #1: Strand 4th, Goplen 6th, Scholpp 7th, Mills 19th, Giesbrecht 20th, B. Higginbotham 21st

Mod A Main #2: T. Peterson 2nd, Skytland 10th, R. Cousins 12th, Gumke 13th, Kruk 19th, Arneson 22nd

X-Mod A Main #1: Gronwold 1st, L. Schill 4th, Gilbertson 5th, E. Haugland 10th, B. Cousins 12th, Sparby 21st

X-Mod A Main #2: S. Smith 2nd, Rodin 3rd, Bintz 7th, Hunter 8th, C. Haugland 9th, Carr 16th, N. Higginbotham 17th, Reed 19th; DNS: Brekke

January 12 (Night)

LM: Weiss 4th, C. Schill 16th

Mod: Strand 3rd, Scholpp 5th, Arneson 19th, Skytland 22nd, L. Schill 23rd; DNQ: R. Cousins, Giesbrecht, Goplen, Gumke, B. Higginbotham, Kruk, Mills, T. Peterson

X-Mod: S. Smith 3rd, Gronwold 7th, C. Haugland 9th, Rodin 10th, Hunter 12th, Gilbertson 20th, L. Schill 21st, Bintz 22nd, Carr 23rd; DNQ: B. Cousins, E. Haugland, N. Higginbotham, Reed, Sparby

January 13

LM: Weiss 1st, C. Schill 18th

Mod: Strand 4th, T. Peterson 8th, Arneson 10th, Scholpp 15th, Goplen 21st, L. Schill 22nd, Skytland 23rd; DNQ: R. Cousins, Greer, Gumke, Unrau

X-Mod: Hunter 2nd, Carr 3rd, Bintz 6th, S. Smith 8th, L. Schill 13th, C. Haugland 14th, Gronwold 16th, Rodin 19th, E. Haugland 22nd; DNQ: Brekke, B. Cousins

The NLRA would like to thank Tour Sponsors: Adams Automotive & Machine, S&S Transport, Gateway Cenex, Millar Engines, Wes' Plumbing & Heating, White Water Truck Wash, On The Edge Graphics, Anderson Brother's Body Shop, Smitty's Transmission, Fastenal, El Roco Nightclub & Bottleshop, Hart Attack Racing, Residual Materials, Generous Gerry's, Gold & Silver Exchange, Gateway Sportz, ​Grand Forks Subaru/Kia, BOSS Signs & Graphics, Forum Printing, Fastlane Racing Equipment, Q&Z Plumbing, A&L Siding, Bank Forward, Hugo's Wine & Spirits, Day Dreams, Play It Again Sports, Red Wing Shoes, Speedway Shots, Country Financial, Katie Marcotte Century 21, and Contingency Sponsors: CMD Shocks, Hoosier Tire North, Mars Race Cars, Performance Auto, Speedway International Fuel, Schaeffer's Oil & Lubricants, for their support.
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