Daniel Miller inherited the lead on lap 19 and drove away
The Iron-Man Series invaded the I-75 Raceway in Sweetwater, Tenn. on Saturday night to contest a $3,000-to-win feature race in front of a large crowd that assembled at the Tim and Angie Kyle owned facility. At the end of the night it was Daniel Miller who survived the full distance and took advantage of the falterings of others to pick up the winner’s rewards.
Tommy Kerr started the night off in a very fast way as he proved to be the quickest in Group A qualifying and overall as he posted a lap of 11.889 seconds around the third-mile clay oval to not only set the fastest overall time but to establish a new track record fr I-75 Raceway. Ray Cook, Caleb Ashby, Dusty Carver and Jason Manley followed Kerr in time-trials.
Miller led the way in Group B qualifying with a time of 12.235 seconds to beat out David Payne, Perry Delaney, Casey Turman and Barry Goodman.
Mike Price won the sole B-main race of the evening.
At the start of the 40-lap feature it was Kerr who jumped into the lead with Cook, Miller, Ashby and Carver in his tire tracks. Manley and Matt Henderson engaged in a battle for seventh in the early going while Cook moved low to take a peek on the inside of Kerr for the race lead on lap 4. However, Kerr was able to beat back the challenge as the two approached slower traffic just five laps into the main event.
Miller joined the fray to make it a three-car fight until the first caution flag of the night waved in lap 16. And that caution proved to be a pivotal one the leading car of Kerr slowed on the track with a flat right rear tire, collecting Jeff Neubert in the process.
A series of yellows that would come just one lap apart over the next three circuits claimed the leading car of Cook and top-5 running Payne as victims.
Once Miller rose to the lead and the race returned to green flag conditions, the No. 16 machine pulled away from the pack, at one time gaining an advantage of a half-track over the tight second place battle involving the smoking car of Ashby, Carver and Henderson.
Kerr again slowed on the track to bring out a caution on lap 33 which allowed the field to pull back up on Miller’s rear spoiler.
Once the racing action resumed, Miller again pulled away with the tightest battle being between Henderson, Coffey and Payne for positions 4-6. But at the waving of the checkered flag, it was Miller who beat the field to the line to claim the win.
Feature Finish: 1. Daniel Miller, 2. Caleb Ashby, 3. Dusty Carver, 4. David Payne, 5. Matt Henderson, 6. Ricky Tinch, 7. Brad Cofey, 8. Joey Standridge, 9. Craig Greer, 10. Jason Manley, 11. Tommy Kerr, 12. James Kelso, 13. Ray Cook, 14. John Ownbey, 15. Levi Ashby, 16. Jeff Neubert, 17. Perry Delaney, 18. Barry Goodman, 19. Michael Robinette, 20. Casey Turman
Miller and crew celebrate their win
