Mike Marlar drove the No. 1 Modified to victory at 411
It was like a trip back in time for Mike Marlar on Saturday afternoon at 411 Motor Speedway when he returned to his racing roots by strapping into an Open Wheel Modified race car and winning the feature in that class in the track’s Frostbuster event. The Winfield, Tenn. driver picked up $1,000 after leading all 25 laps in the Modified division’s main event.
Marlar would start the feature from the pole position after setting fast time in qualifying with a lap of 17.397 seconds around the 3/8 mile clay oval. With the entire feature lineup set by time-trials, Ernie Gingerich, Brad Dyer, Shon Flanary, Brad Hall and Jody Puckett would fill in the first three rows on the starting grid.
Flanary saw his night end early as mechanical troubles sent his car to the hauler before the feature even began.
Marlar went to the lead at the drop of the green flag on the 25-lap feature with Gingerich, Puckett, Hall and Dyer in tow. While Marlar pulled away from the pack during the initial laps, it would be Hall who would move forward early when he challenged Puckett for third in the early going.
Hall eventually took third away from Puckett on the ninth circuit.
In a race that would ultimately run caution free, Marlar found himself battling slower traffic just before the halfway mark. Those slower cars allowed Gingerich, Hall and Puckett to close the distance on the lead machine.
Hall once again attempted to gain ground as he pulled up on Gingerich in a fight for the runner-up position. At the same time, Marlar found himself held up behind a slower car as his two closest pursuers once again drew up to his rear spoiler.
However, the 2016 Knoxville Nationals Late Models champion was able to hold the lead as he drove under the checkered flag to score the victory ahead of Gingerich, Hall, Puckett and Jimmy Dalton.
