Brian Brown used a strong restart following a late race caution to get around long time leader Terry Limberopoulos on lap 28 to capture his 2nd O’Reilly Auto Parts Whelen All American Series Pro Late Model feature on Caddy Shack Golf Cars Night.
Wild action started before the green flag even dropped as point leader Kyle Donahue and third place Kevin Donahue were sent to the pits for having unapproved tires on the cars resulting in a disqualification for both drivers.
The start of the feature saw Kansas City veteran Ronnie Hartford jump to the opening lead with Stephen Counterman, Brennon Willard and Steve Holt all in a tight pack up front. With the top 4 glued together, lap 2 turned the feature around quickly as contact with Hartford and Willard took both cars to the infield with Willard leaving on the hook and Counterman heading to the pits for repairs. Willard’s night was over and Counterman suffered front end damage which put him laps down as Hartford and Holt restarted at the rear. The restart found Terry Limberopoulos as the leader with Mandy Chick, Brian Brown, Joe Ross and Brian Woods running in the top 5. At the drop of the flag Limberopoulos pulled away over Chick by 5 cars as Brown and Ross raced hard for 3rd place. During the long green flag run, Chick slowly began to close the gap on the leader and as they flashed past lap 20, Chick turned up the pressure on Limberopoulos while Brown, Ross and Holt were battling back and forth. A heavy puff of smoke came from the leader’s car as the power steering hose blew as Chick was putting on pressure for the top spot. This battle kept everyone wondering who would get their first NASCAR feature win as Limberopoulos was holding on to his car despite the loss of power steering. Chick tried three different times to take the lead but just couldn’t close the pass until lap 27 when she had a great run going into turns three and four as Brown was now pulling up on the lead duo. Attempting to pass for the lead in turn four, Chick got loose and spun to avoid contact with Limberopoulos bringing out the caution on lap 28 and ending her attempt for the win. On the restart, Brown took advantage of the wounded car of Limberopoulos and made the winning move heading into turn one on the low line. Limberopoulos held on to take a season high second place finish as Holt made a last lap pass around Ross for third with Ross and Hartford completing the top five.
Counterman and Holt took home the heat race wins.
Current modified point leader and defending champion Tim Swearengin continued to roll as he took the lead from Terry Taylor after a hard door to door battle and then withstood a late race charge from Chris Johnson to grab his eighth feature win of the season. Terry Taylor got the jump on pole setter Brian Lewis to lead the opening circuit. Swearengin was quick to follow as the duo went side by side for the next 2 laps before Swearengin took the top spot. On lap 10, Taylor spun off turn 2 and something in the rear end broke ending his night. On the restart, Chris Johnson was able to overcome issues on the start to glue himself to Swearengin’s back bumper. Swearengin pulled away, but with five laps remaining, Johnson steadily closed the gap. Johnson ran out of laps as Swearengin took the win with Johnson and Lewis completing the top 3.
Swearengin completed the sweep by taking the heat win.
The Hoosier Tire Street Stocks provided the race of the night with point leader Justin Allen playing the patient game as he ran down leader Aaron Douglas on lap twenty seven of the thirty lap special and then withstood a late restart from Jordan Nisbett to take his third win of the season. The action started almost immediately as front row starters Les Mallard and Nick Cherry made contact sending both cars spinning right in front of the field. Incredibly all of the drivers following managed to avoid the incident. On the restart, Michael Juergensen jumped to the opening lead as Aaron Wilke and Tony Johnson followed. On lap two Douglas began his charge to the front along with Wilke. Wilke would take the Dodge to the top spot on lap three and Douglas followed. Wilke would hold the lead until lap eight when Douglas made the move for the lead. Allen caught Wilke as the duo ran door to door flawlessly for the next 10 laps but that let Douglas open a large lead while defending champion Nisbett was recovering from the near miss on the opening lap and a last place restart. On lap 21 Allen made the pass around Wilke and began to run down the leader Douglas. Allen reeled in Douglas on lap 25 as they ran bumper to bumper for two laps before Allen shot to the high side in turn four. The following lap Douglas had a mechanical issue and got loose in turn four causing his Camaro to spin and bring out the late caution allowing Nisbett had a last shot at the win but Allen got a great restart pulling a few cars on Nisbett. The following lap Allen got loose in turn two as Nisbett closed ground again while Wilke was setting a solid third. Allen recovered to capture the victory followed by Nisbett, Wilke, Juergensen and Douglas rallied to complete the top five.
Mallard and Nisbett took the heat race wins.
Coca-Cola Charger action saw James Ellis grab the opening lead from his front row outside position and take his second win of the season in the caution free twelve lap feature. Ellis wasted no time in grabbing the lead as Justin Gantt was quick to follow along with Nick Schmidt, Nik Taylor and Jerry Ellis. By lap 2 James Ellis had pulled to a 5 car advantage as Justin Gantt was staying ahead of Jerry Ellis in a race for position. The tight race for second continued until lap nine when Jerry Ellis finally made the pass for position as current point leader Ronnie Taylor was moving up quickly as well. The Ellis brothers completed the 1-2 sweep with Gantt, Ronnie Taylor and Nik Taylor completing the top 5.
Heat wins went to James Ellis and Nik Taylor.
Jake Piel has been on a roll and took home his third feature win of the season with a great performance in the Sportsman Division. Point leader Jimmy Fohn fell out early with problems as Piel cruised over James Fohn. Piel made it a clean sweep with the heat win.
Action continues Saturday Night with Alpha Media Night at the races with special giveaways for the fans and a special 20 lap feature for the Coca-Cola Chargers along with extra laps for the Ground Pounding Modifieds and a full NASCAR Whelen All American show for the Pro Late Models, Street Stocks and Sportsman. Fan Appreciation nights continue as well with special prices in both the Grandstand and Wild Side parking as Adult admission is only $10 with Senior and Military discounts being only $8 in both sections. Gates will open at 5pm with NASCAR Short-Track Racing action to start at 7:30.
I-44 Speedway PR
- Wilson Bank & Trust Track Laps Day to Kick Off Mother’s Day Weekend - April 30, 2024
- Three Races in Four Nights Bring World of Outlaws to Jacksonville, Eldora - April 30, 2024
- Niece Motorsports NCTS Race Advance: Kansas Speedway I - April 30, 2024