FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Even after two years, Saturday’s finale to the 23rd Rumble in Fort Wayne presented by Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales was a reminder that some things just never change.
All-time Rumble wins leader Tony Stewart picked up his record-extending 12th national midget feature victory inside the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum with a rout of the field, taking the famed Our Gang Poker No. 2 Munchkin to a half-track victory in a caution-free 50-lap main event.
The midget feature went from green to checkered in a scant six minutes and 53 seconds.
Stewart started third, but moved to the runner-up spot behind polesitter Travis Welpott on the initial start. From there, he laid in wait until Welpott slipped off the bottom of the track at the start of lap four, powering to the inside and never looking back after that.
Stewart then drove away and carved his way effortlessly through slower traffic during the latter stages of the race. His official margin of victory at the checkered flag was 3.947 seconds.
“After how things ended last night, we wanted to come back here and prove what we’re capable of,” Stewart said. “I’d say that run did that. With the way Travis [Welpott] ran in the opener, I was a little nervous about whether we’d be able to get past him or not, but when he started slipping, I knew we had a chance.
“Sam McGhee [crew chief] has basically lived at my shop the last month getting these cars ready; I think I can about claim him as a dependent on my taxes,” the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion added with a hearty laugh. “He’s put in so much effort with the rest of this team and I’m glad we could reward them tonight.”
Rumble rookie Jack Macenko, who qualified for both features during his maiden showing at the indoor racing classic, held down second place for the majority of the second half after a stellar move to the outside that allowed him to dispatch Welpott.
Though Macenko couldn’t catch Stewart, he was still all smiles after what many considered to be a career-defining weekend for the high school senior and Kenyon Midget Series regular.
“I can’t believe this,” Macenko admitted. “We came in here just wanting to make a feature and to have a car like that … I’m so proud of this team. It’s incredible and it’s a huge boost for us going into next season.”
Friday runner-up Billy Wease completed the Saturday podium ahead of Trey Osborne and Joey Payne, another Rumble rookie who made both midget features during the weekend.
Stewart kicked off the night by setting fast time for the 16th time in his Rumble career, with a lap of 7.508 seconds around the temporary, seventh-mile concrete-and-pop syrup oval.
Macenko, Russ Gamester, Ryan Flores and Wease won their respective heat races. Derek Bischak and Payne split the B-main wins.
Saturday’s 600cc micro features were just as entertaining as their Friday counterparts, with two new winners starring at the end of those 25-lap contests.
Tyler Shullick held off his car owner, Rumble micro kingpin John Ivy, for the win in the winged 600cc micro feature after a wild affair during which late leader Cap Henry was relegated to the tail of the field with three laps to go after contact with a spinning lapped car led to a soft right-front tire.
Shullick inherited the top spot with three laps left and then out-raced Ivy for the win by .748 seconds. Chase Ridenour, Tylar Rankin, Kelsey Ivy and Ryan Ball closed the top six.
Shullick also set the all-time Rumble in Fort Wayne track record during winged 600cc micro qualifying earlier in the day. His lap of 7.255 seconds shattered the previous mark of 7.323 seconds, set by Tony Stewart in a midget during the 2005 edition of the Rumble.
The non-winged 600cc micro feature featured contact for the lead inside of five laps to go, after race-long dominator Justin Harper slowed off turn two and was hit by then runner-up Tyler Gunn.
Harper couldn’t continue once the caution flag waved, while Gunn was able to keep rolling and then led the final four laps for his first career Rumble micro victory.
Dillon Nusbaum finished second in non-winged action, followed by Brian Busz, Michael Busz and Grant Valkner.
Shawn Kluck headlined the list of go-kart feature winners on Saturday by becoming the fourth different winner in four runnings of the $2,000-to-win John Limbacher Memorial Race for the Clone 360 class.
Kluck held off a mid-race challenge from 2018 race winner Dustin Heath and led the final eight laps of the 20-lap feature. Heath ended as the runner-up finisher.
Other go-kart winners Saturday included Missy Bootes (Senior Caged), Parker Moyer (Junior Caged), Travis Fisher (Clone 400), Jakeb Boxell (Clone 330), Carson Mason (Junior 3), Evan Verduin (Wedge Kart), Kaden Sexton (WRA Wedge) and Daulton Soningsen (Kid Kart).
Austin Kryta (Animal, Heavy 160, Heavy 120) picked up three more quarter midget victories Saturday to push his weekend total to five wins in eight races overall between go-karts and quarter midgets.
Kedryn Evenson (Senior Honda, Light 160) won in two quarter midget classes Saturday, while Cam Lindsay completed the weekend sweep in the Junior Honda quarter midget division.
Evenson was selected as the SPEED SPORT One/Pit Row TV Rising Star of the Rumble, collecting a $200 bonus, while brothers Mel and Don Kenyon received the event’s highest honor, the David Lesiecki Award for Dedication to Auto Racing.
Every lap from both days of the 23rd Rumble in Fort Wayne is available for on-demand replay through SPEED SPORT Network affiliate Pit Row TV, which broadcast the event live to a worldwide audience for the first time in its history.
Viewers from more than 40 states and several Canadian provinces tuned in over the course of the two-day spectacle to take in the action.
The 24th renewal of the Rumble in Fort Wayne is slated for Dec. 30-31, 2022.
The finish:
1. 2-Tony Stewart [3], 2. 24m-Jack Macenko [4], 3. 99w-Billy Wease [7], 4. 6k-Trey Osborne [11], 5. 2.5-Joey Payne [10], 6. 59-Bryan Nuckles [2], 7. 31-Derek Bischak [9], 8. 16-Nick Hamilton [14], 9. 19-Austin Nemire [8], 10. 98-Ryan Flores [6], 11. 8up-Joe Liguori [13], 12. 97-Mike Fedorcak [12], 13. 46-Russ Gamester [5], 14. 18-Travis Welpott [1].