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ARCA: Welpott wins in Springport Midgets

19 June 2000

Springport MI, 6-18-00 – Travis Welpott held off defending ARCA Auto
Value Midget Series champion Gene Lee Gibson and a hard-charging Nick
Fornoro to win the tri-sanctioned ARCA-UMARA-NAMARS Midget 30 lap main
event Friday night at Springport Speedway.

The Pendleton, Indiana driver, in a Beast chassis, started outside
polesitter Gibson and snagged the lead at the onset with Gibson in tow.
From there, Welpott refused continual attempts from Gibson and never
relinquished the lead streaking underneath the checkered flag ahead of
runner-up finisher Gibson, Fornoro, Matt Westfall and Tom Fedewa to
complete the top-five.

Aside from Welpott’s win, Fornoro may have been the class of the field
having charged from 19th starting position to third in the final running
order. The Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania veteran simply ran out of time
before he could mount the necessary challenge on the top-two contenders.

1999 ARCA Midget Rookie of the Year Jason Fuller finished sixth in front
of Matt Estep, current ARCA Midget point leader Dave Baumgartner, Larry
Gibson and Don Carter rounding out the top-10. Fedewa won the Hoosier
Tire Pole Award with quick time at 14.520 seconds while Fornoro, Larry
Gibson, Branson Hartsell and defending UMARA Midget champion Steve
Thinnes picked up heat race victories.

The next events for the ARCA Auto Value Midget Series will be at Grundy
County Speedway in Morris, Illinois June 24 and July 8 before returning
to Springport Speedway on July 21.