6/3/15
Kokomo Speedway
Kokomo, IN
WoO
39 cars
Rico Abreu (21st car out to time) set quick time on the ¼-mile in 11.096 seconds. Brad Sweet (14th car out) was second quick, followed by Joey Saldana (6th), Shane Stewart (30th), Paul McMahan (34th), Kraig Kinser (9th), Chad Kemenah (1st), Sammy Swindell (5th), Kerry Madsen (31st) and Christopher Bell (28th). Jeremy Schultz flipped in time trials, but made it back out for his heat race.
Heat one (started): 1. Madsen 29 (2) 2. McMahan 51 (3) 3. Abreu 24 (4) 4. Daryn Pittman 9 (5) 5. Gary Taylor 1st (7) / 6. Logan Forler 2L (9) 7. David Gravel 7 (6) 8. Cale Thomas 91 (8) 9. Cody Darrah 89 (1) DNS – Jacob Allen 1a
Darrah got the jump on Madsen at the start of the 10-lapper, but Kerry had the lead when lap one completed. Darrah reeled in the leader and the two battled until Darrah struck the turn four wall and retired. The restart was a break for Taylor who shot by Gravel for the final transfer spot.
Heat two (started): 1. Bell 67 (2) 2. Sweet 49 (4) 3. Jamie Veal 35AU (1) 4. Kr. Kinser 11K (3) 5. Parker Price-Miller 9P (5) / 6. Jason Sides 7s (7) 7. Scotty Thiel 64 (6) 8. Stuart Brubaker 35 (8) 9. Danny Reidy 5 (9) DNS – Critter Malone 7m
Bell led the duration, but he had company at the checkers as Sweet pulled alongside in a bid for the win. Thiel held the final transfer spot early, but Price-Miller shot by on the low side to gain it back.
Heat three (started): 1. Kyle Larson 67K (1) 2. Bryan Clauson 17w (2) 3. Saldana 71m (4) 4. James McFadden 3G (6) 5. Kemenah 10H (3) / 6. Kody Kinser 4K (5) 7. Danny Smith 4 (7) 8. Jimmy Light 23 (9) 9. Tayler Ferns 55F (8) 10. Logan Schuchart 1s (10)
Larson won an early back and forth battle for the lead with Clauson. With two laps in the books, Ferns flipped in turn two. She was uninjured. Larson picked the inside on the restart, ahead of Clauson, and Saldana and McFadden who had a good battle for third. Kemenah held down the final transfer.
Heat four (started): 1. Donny Schatz 15 (1) 2. Stewart 2 (4) 3. Swindell 41 (3) 4. Tyler Courtney 23c (2) 5. Randy Hannagan 11N (5) / 6. Hunter Schuerenberg 20N (8) 7. Jeremy Schultz 5J (9) 8. Brandon Wimmer A97 (7) 9. AJ Bruns 2B (6)
Schatz led the distance. Courtney started second, but Stewart and Swindell worked by him. Stewart and Swindell exchanged big sliders, with Stewart eventually winning out. Bruns turned over after two laps were complete. He would return for the B.
C main (started): 1. Schuerenberg (2) 2. Schultz (1) / 3. Reidy (3) 4. Light (4) 5. Schuchart (5) 6. Forler (6) DNS – Ferns, Malone, Allen
Schuerenberg led the duration of the 10-lapper. The battle was for second with Reidy taking it from Schultz on lap three. Three laps later, Schultz would return the move and hold down the final transfer to the B.
Dash (started): 1. Saldana (2) 2. Stewart (1) 3. Sweet (3) 4. Schatz (8) 5. Abreu (4) 6. Bell (6) 7. Madsen (5) 8. Larson (7)
Larson spun before a lap could be completed. The lead trio remained the same from the drop of the green, but there was plenty of action behind them. Schatz was the main instigator, picking his way forward in the 8-lapper. He grabbed fourth from Abreu on the final lap.
B main (started): 1. Darrah (1) 2. Gravel (3) 3. Ko. Kinser (2) 4. Thiel (4) / 5. Sides (6) 6. Bruns (5) 7. Schuerenberg (11) 8. Brubaker (10) 9. Wimmer (8) 10. Thomas (9) 11. Schultz (12) 12. Smith (7)
Darrah led the distance in the 12-lapper. Sides made a late run, getting by Bruns and setting his sights on Thiel for the final transfer. His bid fell just short.
A main (started): 1. Saldana (1) 2. Schatz (4) 3. Larson (8) 4. Madsen (7) 5. Bell (6) 6. Abreu (5) 7. Swindell (12) 8. McMahan (9) 9. Clauson (13) 10. Veal (16) 11. McFadden (23) 12. Pittman (17) 13. Darrah (15) 14. Kemenah (11) 15. Gravel (21) 16. Price-Miller (18) 17. Schuchart (25, prov.) 18. Hannagan (20) 19. Stewart (2) 20. Sweet (3) 21. Thiel (24) 22. Courtney (14) 23. Kr. Kinser (10) 24. Taylor (22) 25. Ko. Kinser (19)
Stewart led early in the 40-lapper over Saldana and Schatz. It was typical Kokomo great racing action. By lap eight, the leaders were in lapped traffic and going three-wide. The lead was exchanged (although never officially at the line) several times. 17 laps in, Sweet flipped in turn four. His team would make repairs enough for him to limp back out. He was part of a four-way battle for fourth with Abreu, Bell and Larson. The restart saw Stewart choose the outside line ahead of Saldana, Schatz, Bell and Larson. Saldana shot to the lead on the double-file restart, only to have it negated when Kr. Kinser spun, collecting Pittman. Pittman would restart. Despite the next restart going single-file, Saldana still found his way around Stewart for the lead. Schatz followed Saldana into second and put pressure on the leader. Showing his nose under Saldana once, the leader made an adjustment in one and two to hold Schatz at bay. Schatz would shoot by on lap 32, however. When Stewart got over the cushion and into the turn four wall while running third, Saldana was given another chance. Schatz chose the outside line on the double-file restart, and Saldana shot by on the low side, pulling away the final seven laps for his first win of 2015. Schatz followed, ahead of a fierce battle for third that saw Larson best Madsen and Bell. McFadden climbed as high as ninth before settling for 11th as the hard-charger.