Mike Marlar
In a race named in honor of the late C.J. Rayburn, one of his top proteges drove to victory in a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series feature race held on Friday night at Brownstown Speedway. After taking the lead one-fourth of the way through, the No. 157 then had to fight off challenges from Brandon Overton, Nick Hoffman and Ricky Thornton Jr. before finally taking the checkered flag then heading to what would be an emotional victory lane,
The Longhorn Chassis driver from Winfield, Tennessee earned $10,000 from the track located in Brownstown, Indiana in a race aired live by FloRacing.com.
A total of 45 cars were signed in for competition
Qualifying Results:
Group A- 1. Brandon Overton(13.465), 2. Ricky Thornton Jr., 3. Garrett Smith, 4. Tim McCreadie, 5. Josh Rice, 6. Jason Jameson, 7. Tanner English, 8. Tristan Chamberlain, 9/ Earl Pearson Jr., 10. James Rice
Group B- 1. Nick Hoffman(13.990), 2. Mike Marlar, 3. Garrett Alberson, 4. Daulton Wilson, 5. Devin Moran, 6. Jonathan Davenport, 7. Max Blair, 8. Ross Robinson, 9. Dennis Erb Jr., 10. Chad simpson
Heat 1 Results: 1. Brandon Overton, 2. Josh Rice, 3. Earl Pearson Jr., 4. Michael Chilton
Heat 2 Results: 1. Ricky Thornton Jr., 2. Tim McCreadie, 3. Jason Jameson, 4. Tristan Chamberlain
Heat 3 Results: 1. Nick Hoffman, 2. Devin Moran, 3. Garrett Alberson, 4. Max Blair
Heat 4 Results: 1. Mike Marlar, 2. Jonathan Davenport, 3. Daulton Wilson, 4. Ross Robinson
B-main 1 Finish: 1. James Rice, 2. Spencer Hughes, 3. Tanner English
B-main 2 Finish: 1. Hudson O’Neal, 2. Dennis Erb Jr., 3. Chad Stapleton
Feature Re-cap: The 40-lap feature got underway with Hoffman taking the early lead ahead of Overton, Marlar, Thornton and Moran. Marlar would soon move into the runner-up position pushing Overton back just ahead of Moran and Thornton.
On lap 9, Marlar passed Hoffman to grab the lead of the race over a fierce battle involving Hoffman, Overton, Moran and Thornton.
At the halfway point, the top-3 of Marlar, Hoffman and Overton were engaged in a three-way fight for the top spot that saw each using different lanes on the track in hopes of finding the traction they would need to break away. Shortly afterward, Thornton joined the fray to make it a four car battle.
Thornton got by Overton for third on lap 27 and closed on the side-by-side contest between Marlar and Hoffman. Eventually, Thornton would get around Hoffman to claim second. Just behind, Moran closed in and took fourth away from Overton then looked to enter the fight for the lead bringing Davenport along with him.
The leaders ran in tight formation over the closing laps with Marlar effectively holding his challengers back until he was finally able to take the checkered flag ahead of the pack in a race that ran caution free over the full 40 laps.
Feature Results: 1. Mike Marlar, 2. Ricky Thornton Jr., 3. Devin Moran, 4. Jonathan Davenport, 5. Nick Hoffman, 6. Brandon Overton, 7. Tim McCreadie, 8. Jason Jameson, 9. Josh Rice, 10. Daulton Wilson, 11. Hudson O’Neal, 12. Earl Pearson Jr., 13. Garrett Alberson, 14. Michael Chilton, 15. Max Blair, 16. Ross Robinson, 17. Tanner English, 18. James Rice, 19. Dennis Erb Jr., 20. Spencer Hughes, 21. Tristan Chamberlain, 22. Tyler Erb, 23. Skyler Lewis, 24. Chad Stapleton, 25. Devin Gilpin, 26. Boom Briggs
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