Bean Becomes First Female Champion; Liquori Sweeps Action

(October 10, 2011) –  Jessica Bean only had to start the Kenyon Midget feature at Anderson Speedway during Ed Martin Toyota Championship night, but she made things interesting.

Bean got loose on her qualifying lap and only posted the seventh quickest time.

During the first heat race she placed third, but her closest pursuer Damon Harris was also having problems.

While Bean and Harris struggled, Joe Liguori was sweeping the night’s competition.

Liguori set quick time and in the first heat race passed Travis Young on the sixth lap with an inside move coming off the second corner.

Liguori went on to the victory followed by Young, Bean and Kyle Tilley and Anthony McCune, making his first start in a Kenyon Midget.

The second heat saw Eric Cottingim led from start to finish, but the driver to watch was Ray Seach, making his first start with the United States Speed Association midget series.

Seach passed Issac Chapple on the outside entering turn three on the fourth lap to move into the third position and four laps later dove inside of Harris entering turn one.

In the feature event, Chapple took the early lead chased by Liguori, Tilley, Seach and Young. Young and Seach swapped the fourth position several times in the early stages of the race as the five front runners ran in a tight pack.

On the fourteenth circuit, Young and Tilley brought out the caution flag when they spun in turn four. That allowed Bean to move up to the fourth spot followed by Cottingim.

But Bean’s run in the fourth spot ended momentarily on lap 20 when she spun in turn two and was relegated to the back of the field.

Over the final ten laps Seach was all over the back of Liguori’s midget, even at one point locking front and rear bumpers coming through the fourth corner. Bean passed Harris on lap 26 for the fifth spot and two laps later got inside of Tilley in turn three.

At the checkers it was Liguori winning by .143-seconds over Seach with Chapple, Bean and Tilley rounding out the top five.

“This is the second time in a Kenyon Midget and to get a win is special,” Liguori said. “We didn’t touch the car all night.”

Bean became the first women to capture a Kenyon Midget championship in the long history of the series.

“This is awesome,” Bean said following her championship.



































 
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