ABC Supply Co. steps up for Milwaukee IndyFest, which moves to August - MotorSportsTalk

Milwaukee’s IndyCar date is switching from June to August, and welcomes back an old friend as title sponsor.

ABC Supply Co., locally based in West Allis, will step up to sponsor the newly renamed ABC Supply Wisconsin 250, part of the Milwaukee IndyFest weekend, for the next two years.

In 2014, the date will be August 16-17, as part of a three-race culmination to the IndyCar season. West coast races in Sonoma and Fontana, Calif., will follow as the series seeks to end by Labor Day weekend.

The importance from a local standpoint is twofold: the race has a title sponsor for the first time since 2009, when ABC Supply Co. last sponsored the race (it did so from 2005 to 2009), and secondly, it will give the near-million Wisconsin State Fair patrons exposure to the event that will be occurring after the Fair ends.

“It’s important strategically,” said Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman & Co., parent company of INDYCAR. “Following State Fair will give us a chance to tell the million or so people our race is coming up in a couple weeks. We think a unique feature of IndyCar is the diversity of our racing, different tracks, street, road, ovals and different kinds of ovals. We love the idea of having a historic oval as part of that. Eventually we’re looking at an oval, a street and a road course – our three major formats – at the end of the year.”

Indy Lights and Pro Mazda are also on the calendar, as they were this year. Tickets for the family-friendly weekend go on sale Nov. 13, available online at www.milwaukeeindyfest.com.

Milwaukee had been run on the Saturday of Father’s Day weekend in June 2012 and 2013 since Michael Andretti’s Andretti Sports Marketing group resuscitated the race from life support. Miles said in a later interview this afternoon that the June date would “maybe” have still been considered had the other ASM-promoted race, Baltimore, remained on the 2014 calendar in what would have been an earlier August date.

As for whether the week after the Indianapolis 500 was considered, Milwaukee’s old traditional date, Miles answered with a definitive “no” – that date is locked in Detroit for the foreseeable future.

Andretti said the bigger issue with Milwaukee the last two years was actually having it on Father’s Day weekend.

“It wasn’t the problem for our staff; we have two separate arms,” he explained. “It was a little bit of a challenge having the race on Father’s Day weekend. People have other family plans. So now it’s a real positive from the standpoint to be one of the last three races of the season.”

However for Andretti, it now provides a singular focus for the ASM promotional arm. The group is exploring other opportunities – either race or corporate-related – down the road to replace Baltimore.

Miles has sought a more condensed calendar – all will be revealed tomorrow night, 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN – and considers breaks something of a necessary evil. But had Milwaukee stayed in its June date, that would have meant six consecutive weeks of on-track activity beginning with the Grand Prix of Indianapolis road course race on May 10.

“I wish we didn’t need a break!” he said, candidly. “For fans, appointment viewing is a big deal. If you know every week where to look, that’s a really good thing. But that’s impractical for our racing. There will be breaks. When you see the calendar, we’ve condensed our racing about to the point we can. The crews will get their necessary downtime.”

The other question, as always, is whether the dream of Road America will turn to reality. For now, it remains just that: a dream.

It’s definitively out for 2014 and possible, but still unlikely, in 2015. It remains the biggest pipe dream for IndyCar drivers, teams and fans, but will always be off the schedule so long as dates and sanctioning fees don’t work out – the last Champ Car race there was in 2007.

What it does present, however, is a Wisconsin doubleheader for fans of both road and oval racing in 2014. The TUDOR United SportsCar Championship races at Road America Sunday, August 10, with IndyCars on the historic Mile one week later.

And that, regardless of your preference of racing, is still something to celebrate.

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Jett Lawrence remains perfect in the Pro Motocross series after recording another perfect round at Hangtown in Rancho Cordova, California. In his second start on a 450, Lawrence won his second National with his fourth consecutive moto win. It is getting increasingly difficult to find the right superlatives to describe the exploits on the reigning 250 West Supercross champion.

“The track was so brutal out there,” Lawrence told NBC Sports Jason Thomas. “The bike handles amazing even when it’s not too friendly. You had to be really patient; you couldn’t take too much. I didn’t eat enough before that second moto. I kind of lost energy halfway through, but luckily I could use technique and balance and just keep that flow going.”

Lawrence leaves Hangtown with an 18-point advantage over Ferrandis in the 450 Motocross standings, but perhaps more importantly, he climbed to 19th in the SuperMotocross standings and should he stay there, he has an automatic invitation to the Main events in the SMX Championship.

“On this track, you just have to manage,” Lawrence continued. “If you try to take too much and not respect the track, it will bite you very quickly. It was humbling on the first few laps. I got kicked on the cutout at the start of the third section, the tabletop going to the left. I had to get my focus because the boys were coming.”

Still in his first few races since returning from a concussion suffered at Houston in the Supercross series, Dylan Ferrandis finished second with results of third in Moto 1 and second in Moto 2. While Ferrandis was happy with the result, he remains hopeful that he will contend for victory shortly.

“The first moto was very hard for my physically, Ferrandis said. “I got arm pump and when you get arm pump your body gets tired. But I’m very happy because we made a big change for the second moto. We tried stuff every session today and in the last moto the bike was much better, but unfortunately I wasn’t sure what I could do with this bike because the track was very hard and difficult to pass.”

RESULTS: How they finished in the 450 Overall at Hangtown

With the rash of injuries at the end of the Supercross season, the podium was filled with heartwarming stories. Cooper Webb returned to action last week in Pala and failed to make the podium. He is steadily improving with a third-place finish in Hangtown. after finishing with a 4-2.

“It’s incredible what seven days can do,” Webb said. “Last week I felt like I was going to get lapped in the second moto. This week, I could see the leader. It was nice. I fought hard, learned how to suffer again there and that felt nice.

Moto 2 wasn’t pretty for Lawrence. On several occasions in the opening laps, he nearly high sided as he rode the front wheel through the ruts. The reward was worth the risk. By the halfway point, Lawrence had 4.5-second lead over Webb, who was embroiled in a tight three-rider battle for second with his teammate Aaron Plessinger pressuring him and Ferrandis ready to take advantage if those made contact.

It took 20 minutes for Plessinger to get around Webb and once he did, he trailed Lawrence by four seconds. But then, with three minutes remaining, Plessinger crashed and had difficulty restarting the bike, handing second back to Webb who has seven seconds behind Lawrence. Plessinger fell to fourth with results of third and sixth.

Adam Cianciarulo rounded out the top five with a 5-4.

Heartbreak for Aaron Plessinger as he was charging forward 💔#ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #HangtownMX pic.twitter.com/vQtKIsuhVg

— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) June 4, 2023

Last week Hunter Lawrence won the overall with a 3-1. He repeated that feat in Hangtown in an exact replica of his Fox Raceway results last week. In Moto 1, Lawrence got off to a slow start and lost 10 seconds in the opening laps. Forced to overcome a sixth-place position in the race at the end of Lap 1, he once again caught the riders ahead of him when the field hit heavy traffic. For the second week, scored another 3-1 for the Hangtown National win.

“The start was crucial’ I knew I had to go,” Lawrence told NBC Sports’ Jason Thomas. “They laid a lot of water down, so I didn’t want to be behind any longer than [I was]. First hot one of the year, was a bit of a wakeup call, so I’m happy to get out of here safe and healthy.”

Lawrence’s third-place finish in Moto 1 featured a fierce battle for final spot on the podium when he caught Spain’s Guillem Farres and France’s Tom Vialle. With Lawrence hailing from Australia, the international nature of the sport was highlighted.

Lawrence left Hangtown with a 10-point advantage over Haiden Deegan in the Pro Motocross championship battle.

Click here for 250 overall results

Justin Cooper finished second in both motos to finish second overall. Hangtown represented a huge improvement from Fox Raceway where he finished fifth overall with a 5-4 finish in the two motos. Cooper pressured Haiden Deegan in the second half of Moto 1 and he earned the holeshot in the second moto and stayed within three seconds of Lawrence in that race.

“He was following me a little bit, checking out my lines, seeing where he was better,” Cooper said. “It’s disappointing to give up the lead like that but it was way better than last weekend. I will definitely take two seconds. I want to be on the top of the step. I feel like I get close to the top step but I never get it done. That’s building up the frustration – the fire. I really want to get one of these wins, so it’s time to start digging.”

Haiden Deegan earned the first holeshot of his career in Moto 1 and rode away from the field, building a four-second lead in the opening laps. Cooper trimmed the lead at the halfway point and for a while it leveled off at two seconds. Then Cooper made another charge with three to go and closed to within a second. Deegan was biding his time, however.

“I was saving a little. I knew at the end Justin was going to try and put a charge on. I let him get up close and then sent it super hard at the end to break him a little at the end.”

Deegan’s first moto win comes in only his fourth National and he remains perfect in regard to podiums this year.

“This was a dream since I was a little kid, to win,” Deegan said. “And in my fourth race, it’s gnarly. I was just sending it. I was getting a little tired at the end becasue I left my mouth open the whole time. It’s unreal; I’m so hyped. I wanted to win bad and I proved it to you guys.”

Chaos erupted in turn 1 in Moto 2 Jeremy Martin went and another rider ran over his arm. Michael Mosiman crashed further down the track on that same lap. Both riders were helped off course by the Alpinestars Medical team.

Deegan grabs his first 250 Mx moto win!1️⃣#ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #HangtownMX pic.twitter.com/1FH5s1ZHfn

— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) June 3, 2023