James McFadden
James McFadden took the lead early on from Donny Schatz then had to hold off the 10-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion over the closing laps to score the victory on the first of three nights for the series at the Jackson Motorplex as racers prepare for Saturday night’s big finale in the 45th annual AGCO Jackson Nationals.
The Roth Motorsports driver from Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia scored the win on the track located in Jackson, Minnesota in a race aired live by DirtVision.com.
A points system was used to set starting lineups.
Qualifying Results: 1. Tanner Holmes(12.616), 2. Donny Schatz, 3. Buddy Kofoid, 4. Giovanni Scelzi, 5. Carson Macedo, 6. David Gravel, 7. Logan Schuchart, 8. Rico Abreu, 9. Brad Sweet, 10. Brock Zearfoss
Heat 1 Results: 1. Chase Randall, 2. James McFadden, 3. Carson Macedo, 4. Brad Sweet, 5. Tanner Holmes, 6. Rusty Hickman, 7. Sam Hafertepe Jr., 8. Scott Winters, 9. Ian Madsen, 10. Christopher Thram
Heat 2 Results: 1. Robbie Price, 2. Justin Sanders, 3. Donny Schatz, 4. Brock Zearfoss, 5. Kaleb Johnson, 6. Justin Jacobsma, 7. Cole Macedo, 8. David Gravel, 9. Austen Wheatley, 10. Jake Swanson
Heat 3 Results: 1. Tim Kaeding, 2. Scott Bogucki, 3. Kasey Kahne, 4. Sheldon Haudenschild, 5. Logan Schuchart, 6. Buddy Kofoid, 7. Noah Gass, 8. Riley Goodno, 9. Tim Estenson, 10. Kevin Ingle
Heat 4 Results: 1. Cory Eliason, 2. Spencer Bayston, 3. Brooke Tatnell, 4. Giovanni Scelzi, 5. Corey Day, 6. Lachlan McHugh, 7. Rico Abreu, 8. Skylar Prochaska, 9. Kelby Watt, 10. Bill Wagner
WoO Dash Results: 1. Donny Schatz, 2. Tanner Holmes, 3. James McFadden, 4. Giovanni Scelzi, 5. Justin Sanders, 6. Carson Macedo. 7. Buddy Kofoid, 8. Cory Eliason
Last Chance Showdown Finish: 1. Spencer Bayston, 2. Corey Day, 3. Lachlan McHugh, 4. Rusty Hickman
Feature Re-cap: At the start of the 25-lap main event it was Schatz who grabbed the early lead over Holmes, McFadden, Macedo and Scelzi. McFadden went on the move quickly as he took second from Holmes on the second circuit.
By lap 5, McFadden had closed in and began to challenge Schatz for the race lead. Two laps later, McFadden moved around Schatz to take over the top spot on the leaderboard. The top-4 of McFadden, Schatz, Holmes and Macedo ran in tight formation. Further back, Kofoid burst into the top-5 when he passed Scelzi then began to close on the top-4.
A lap 17 yellow flag for the blown right rear tire of Gravel slowed the pace and provided a reprieve from the intense racing from earlier.
After the restart, Schatz pulled alongside to challenge McFadden for the race lead until a caution for a blown tire on the Bayston car on lap 21 again bunched the field.
Following the lap 21 restart, McFadden put some distance between himself and Schatz while Holmes and Macedo fought for the final podium position. In the end, it was Australian James McFadden who would claim his fifth WoO victory of the season.
Feature Results: 1. James McFadden, 2. Donny Schatz, 3. Tanner Holmes, 4. Carson Macedo, 5. Buddy Kofoid, 6. Giovanni Scelzi, 7. Brad Sweet, 8. Justin Sanders, 9. Rico Abreu, 10. Sheldon Haudenschild, 11. Logan Schuchart, 12. Robbie Price, 13. Cory Eliason, 14. Brock Zearfoss, 15. Chase Randall, 16. Spencer Bayston, 17. Tim Kaeding, 18. Scott Bogucki, 19. Lachlan McHugh, 20. Kasey Kahne, 21. Corey Day, 22. Rusty Hickman, 23. Brooke Tatnell, 24. David Gravel
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