Thomas Meseraull placed second, while Tanner Carrick finished third to lead Toyota at the POWRI Lucas Oil National Midget League’s Mid-State Open Wheel Nationals at Valley Speedway Sunday night.
Pole-sitter and eventual race winner Justin Grant started from the pole and immediately went to the lead as Meseraull fell in behind him in second with Carrick in third. It would be the beginning of an epic battle for the runner-up spot throughout the 30-lap feature as the position changed hands eight times at the flag.
Carrick would make the first move in his Petry Motorsports Toyota as he took over second on lap two with Meseraull falling back slightly to fourth as Andrew Felker also moved past him.
Two laps later, Felker would overtake Carrick. The two would then trade the position six times over the next 14 laps as Grant maintained the lead. Behind them, Meseraull had fallen back to fifth at the midway point before he started to surge back towards the front.
Carrick would recapture second from Felker on lap 17 and by lap 20, Meseraull had climbed back into third. The RMS Racing driver began to reel in Carrick and eventually worked by with six laps remaining. Further back, two more Toyota-powered entries worked their way into the top six with Kevin Thomas Jr. (Petry Motorsports) running fourth and Cannon McIntosh (Dave Mac Motorsports) in sixth.
As the laps began to wind down, no one would have anything for Grant as he took the checkered flag with Meseraull bringing it home in second, followed by Carrick. Thomas would finish fifth, with McIntosh in sixth.
Joining them in the top-10 was 15-year-old sensation Emerson Axsom in the third Petry Motorsports entry. The POWRi rookie made his debut in the series on Saturday with a runner-up showing. After his second consecutive top 10, Axsom has moved into a tie for the series points lead with Jake Neuman.
Rounding out the eight-car Toyota contingent was Clinton Boyles in 11th, Ace McCarthy in 12th and Saturday’s feature winner Zach Daum in 16th.
The POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League returns to the track Thursday night at Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, Okla., for the opening night of the four-race Turnpike Challenge.
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