Rookie Ryan Probst Wins Again – 2 in a row!

Rookie Ryan Probst has solidified his name in the IRS Midget Racing Series with another big win Saturday at the Grundy County Speedway. The 17 year old Probst has won his second Feature race in a row in the IRS Midget Racing Series.

Just 2 weeks after his first win on September 4^th, At the Grundy Speedway Night Of Features Tom Arthur Memorial race, and just his second race since having his Rookie status removed, Ryan took to the 1/3^rd mile at Grundy to start the night with some good practice sessions that showed the others in the field that Ryan is here to race.

Putting down some of the fastest times in the IRS field, Ryan and the team had the car ready for the heat. The IRS did not qualify, so Ryan’s draw put him in the 5^th spot on the grid (3^rd row inside) for the 8 lap qualifying heat race. At the green the #99 took no prisoners as Ryan was able to move quickly into the #3 spot before a caution. At the restart, Ryan made his move inside to take 2^nd and put his eyes on the leader. That only took another half lap and Ryan made his way into the lead and the eventual win of the 1^st of 2 heat races for the IRS teams.

With his heat race win, Ryan had to roll the dice, literally. The winner of heat one rolled a big dice that determines the inversion in the main Feature race. Ryan rolled a 6 which meant the top 6 cars would be inverted from the finish order of the head races. Ryan would start the main event from the 6^th position (3^rd row outside) with 5 of the fastest IRS veteran drivers ahead of him. Patrick Burns, Aaron Willis, Sean Murphy, Mike Gas to name a few. 3 of the SET racing drivers with good EcoTec engines were there to set the pace. These guys are the top of the point lineup and always race hard. This would be a good challenge for the Rookie to prove if he had the stuff to race with the point leaders and show that the win from the front was no accident on the 4^th.

At the green flag, Ryan went wide and tried to avoid some traffic, but the line had no grip and he shuffled back to 7^th but regained the position by the end of lap 1. Running in 6^th for a few laps, it looked like the tires were getting warmer and Ryan was starting to get some confidence in the ability of the car to stick like glue in the corners. The Feature race was only 25 laps, so time is crucial. By the end of the 7^th lap, Ryan had passed into the 4^th spot. Inside, outside, it made no difference as the car was on rails again. After a lengthy caution for some oil, Ryan made his move into 3^rd and then second and behind Sean Murphy’s SET racing EcoTec #5. It only took Ryan 2 laps to make the move, and pass the #5 car to take the lead with 7 laps to go. With 3 to go on the scoreboard, a caution bunched up the field and took away the sizable lead the #99 had built. The restart was single file and Sean gave Ryan everything he had, but the #99 Lucas Oil /Expert Plumbing Service midget was solid and in control for the remaining 3 laps to take his second career feature win and his second in a row.

During the post-race interview, Ryan  Thanked Lucas Oil, Expert Plumbing Service, MSD Ignitions, Ringers Gloves and Lithium Pros batteries for the help to make this win possible.