Tommy Kerr survived to claim the Iron-Man Classic
An old saying in racing proclaims that “To finish first, you must first finish”. That could not have been more true on Saturday night at Smoky Mountain Speedway when that facility hosted a $5,000-to-win Iron-Man Classic event that proved to be a survival of the fittest. And ultimately, it would be hometown driver Tommy Kerr who would be the fittest as he pulled his Blount Motorsports machine into victory lane after an eventful feature.
Vic Hill began what would prove to be a bitter-sweet night for him by setting fast time in Group A qualifying and overall among the 22 entrants as he posted a lap of 15.740 seconds around the 4/10 mile clay oval. Joining Hill in being locked into the feature from this group were Mike Marlar, Gary McPherson and Chris Combs.
Hill’s teammate, Ricky Weiss, was quickest in Group B qualifying with a lap of 15.944 seconds as he beat out Shanon Buckingham, Kerr and Skip Arp. Those four drivers were locked into the feature as a result of their efforts in time-trials.
Donald McIntosh used a mid-race restart to get around Iron-Man points leader Carder Miller to win the first consolation race of the night while Billy Ogle, Jr. led all the way to claim the second consolation race as he beat out David Crabtree.
Hill bolted to the lead at the start of the 40-lap feature, leaving Weiss and Marlar to contest the second spot. However, a caution just after the conclusion of the first lap briefly slowed the pace. Marlar had just gotten around Weiss for second prior to the yellow flag but since the lap had not been completed, he was forced to surrender the position.
When green flag action resumed, Hill immediately pulled away from the pack while Kerr challenged Marlar for third. Marlar emerged from that battle then quickly ran up on Weiss to contest the runner-up spot with the Canadian driver.
Marlar eventually passed by Weiss to take second then set about the task of chasing down Hill. The lead duo found themselves in heavy traffic by lap 13. As Hill went low in an attempt to pass a pack of slower machines, Marlar went high. Hill tagged the rear of one of the lappers which in turn caused that car to tag another. Eventually there would be a spin to bring out a caution. Hill continued to hold the top spot at that point.
Mike Marlar(157) and Ricky Weiss battled early on at Smoky Mountain
The resulting restart from that caution saw another yellow flag wave only seconds after the signal had been given to return to full speed when a jam up near the front of the pack set off a chain reaction that damaged several cars. Chief among those impacted by the accident was fifth running Shanon Buckingham who was sent spinning into the inside wall on the front stretch after contact from behind.
On the ensuing restart, Weiss took second away from Marlar only to return the position in the next set of turns. On lap 17, Weiss suffered a flat tire and brought another yellow flag.
Weiss being dropped to the rear of the field after changing his tire freed Marlar to focus solely on his pursuit of Hill for the race lead. However, that pursuit would be short lived as Marlar slowed to bring out another yellow flag on lap 29 when his car suddenly lost power.
Hill then looked to be on cruise control with Weiss back in the pack and Marlar retired for the night. But the No. 1 car would suffer misfortune of its own when, on lap 34, a suspension component gave way and sent Hill slamming into the turn one wall.
Hill slammed into the turn one wall when a suspension component broke
The wave of attrition lifted Kerr to the lead as a battle he had been engaged in with Arp, Combs, McIntosh and the recovering Weiss had suddenly gone from a fight for third to a race for the lead.
Once the green flag waved again, Kerr assumed control of the event and beat the pack to the checkered flag to claim the $5,000 first prize.
Feature Finish: 1. Tommy Kerr, 2. Skip Arp, 3. Donald McIntosh, 4. Ricky Weiss, 5. Chris Combs, 6. Billy Ogle, Jr., 7. Dakotah Knuckles, 8. Bobby Giffin, 9. Carder Miller, 10. Gary McPherson
Tommy Kerr in victory lane
