Weese & Baur Star In Midwest Lights Twin 20s At Lorain

SOUTH AMHERST, Ohio – In what could be the closing act for the Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights at Lorain Raceway Park, a pair of young rising stars made the night count.

Teenagers Keegan Weese and Charlie Baur each drove to victories Friday night at the three-eighths-mile oval, splitting the pair of 20-lap crate sprint car features held as part of the track’s Trident Nationals weekend.

One of the longtime facilities on the Midwest Lights calendar and the original home of the crate sprint car division in Ohio, LRP is up for sale by its current owners and operators, the Maggio family.

On the racetrack, Weese soared his Blaster Products-sponsored No. 37 from the outside pole into the lead on the initial start of the first 20-lapper, and the 15-year-old hotshoe never looked back after that.

In a caution-free, wire-to-wire performance, Weese led all 20 laps for the second victory of his sophomore season with Must See Racing.

Considering Weese grew up just down the road from LRP, it made the win even more special.

“I knew on the start that I just had to get out and run with the clean air, because all the guys in the Midwest Lights series are really fast and if you let them get to you, they’re going to take advantage of it,” said Weese.

“It’s awesome to win here in front of all my family and friends,” he added. “This track is one of my absolute favorites and I’m so glad everyone got to come watch and support us close to home.”

Two-time and defending series champion J.J. Henes had one look at the lead with two laps left, but Weese slammed the door shut, leaving his teammate to settle for the runner-up honors.

Baur filled out the podium in race one to set himself up for even bigger things in the back half.

The nightcap inverted the full field and put Weese starting out back in his attempt to sweep the night.

Up front, it was Andrew Bogusz who got the jump at the green flag from the outside pole, much like Weese did in the first race. As Weese tried to work his way through traffic, he spun in turn two before a lap could be completed, forcing a full restart.

Bogusz again got the jump to go to the point, with fellow Michigan native Baur following him into second place and going on the attack quickly.

A lap-two caution for the stalled car of polesitter Parker Corbin set up a double-file dash, with Bogusz leading off the restart before Baur battled past to take control on lap four.

Moments later, a power steering failure again brought Corbin to a halt, this time putting her out of the event for the night.

It gave the field one more chance at Baur, but the Fenton, Mich., native withstood the pressure and held off a charging J.J. Henes down the stretch – notching his second career Midwest Lights victory as well.

“This is really rewarding,” said Baur. “Lorain has been my Achilles heel for a few years now; in 2023 when I got pushed into the wall here, I’d have been fine if we’d never come back, but after this one … I kind of like the place now! We’ve worked super hard to get our program better here.

“We had a good day; to unload and go quickest in both practices and second in qualifying really gave me the confidence that we had something strong to work with,” he continued. “The first race with Keegan getting out in clean air, we didn’t really have anything for him, but we worked hard through the break and the car was really good down low.

“When I hooked the bottom to get by [Bogusz], I was a little surprised with how good we were down there, but it turned out well for us and our take-off speed was key. Once we got the jump on J.J. at the last restart, I figured we’d have a good shot to hold on, and it all worked out.”

Henes finished second and Weese rallied back to third, in a reversal of the race-one podium finishers.

The Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights season concludes with two days of action Aug. 30-31 at Michigan’s Owosso Speedway. Henes and Weese both won at the track back on June 21.

For more information, visit www.mustseeracing.com.

RESULTS: Must See Racing Maxima Midwest Lights; Lorain Raceway Park; South Amherst, Ohio; Aug. 15, 2025

Qualifying (group format): 1. J.J. Henes, 36JR, Henes-13.239; 2. Charlie Baur, 23, CB1-13.532; 3. Keegan Weese, 37, Henes-13.599; 4. Brandon Lemmerman, 64, Henes-13.614; 5. Parker Corbin, 77, Corbin-14.971; 6. Andrew Bogusz, 17, Fast Company-15.821.

Feature #1 (20 laps, starting position in brackets): 1. 37-Keegan Weese [2], 2. 36JR-J.J. Henes [4], 3. 23-Charlie Baur [3], 4. 64-Brandon Lemmerman [1], 5. 17-Andrew Bogusz [6], 6. 77-Parker Corbin [5].

Lap Leader(s): Keegan Weese 1-20.

Hard Charger: 36JR-J.J. Henes (+2)

Feature #2 (20 laps, starting position in brackets): 1. 23-Charlie Baur [4], 2. 36JR-J.J. Henes [5], 3. 37-Keegan Weese [6], 4. 64-Brandon Lemmerman [3], 5. 17-Andrew Bogusz [2], 6. 77-Parker Corbin [1].

Lap Leader(s): Andrew Bogusz 1-3, Charlie Baur 4-20.

Hard Charger: 23-Charlie Baur (+3)