Mike Marlar
Mike Marlar has found some momentum in the second half of the 2023 campaign and he parlayed that into a World of Outlaws CASE Construction Late Model Series victory at Atomic Speedway. It was the first of two nights in the Outlaw Invasion following a three week layoff for the national tour.
The Longhorn Chassis driver from Winfield, Tennessee earned $10,000 from the track located in Alma, Ohio in a race aired live by DirtVision.com.
A total of 37 cars were signed in for competition
Qualifying Results:
Group A Results- 1. Chris Madden(12.961), 2. Bobby Pierce, 3. Jimmy Owens, 4. Kyle Bronson, 5. Ryan Gustin, 6. Cade Dillard, 7. Adam Stricker, 8. Garrett Smith
Group B Results- 1. Mike Marlar(13.102), 2. Nick Hoffman, 3. Brian Shirley, 4. Freddie Carpenter, 5. Justin Cooper, 6. Brandon Sheppard, 7. Tanner English, 8. Gordy Gundaker
Heat 1 Results: 1. Ryan Gustin, 2. Jimmy Owens, 3. Brent Larson, 4. Adam Stricker
Heat 2 Results: 1. Bobby Pierce, 2. Cade Dillard, 3. Kyle Bronson, 4. Shane Clanton
Heat 3 Results: 1. Mike Marlar, 2. Brian Shirley, 3. Tanner English, 4. Kirk Phillips
Heat 4 Results: 1. Nick Hoffman, 2. Freddie Carpenter, 3. Brandon Sheppard, 4. Gordy Gundaker
Last Chance Showdown 1 Finish: 1. Garrett Smith, 2. Dennis Erb Jr., 3. Chris Madden
Last Chance Showdown 2 Finish: 1. Jesse Wisecarver, 2. Seth Daniels, 3. Justin Cooper
WoO Redraw Results: 1. Nick Hoffman, 2. Mike Marlar, 3. Bobby Pierce, 4. Ryan Gustin, 5. Cade Dillard, 6. Freddie Carpenter, 7. Brian Shirley, 8. Jimmy Owens
Feature Re-cap: When the 40-lap main event took the green flag it was Hoffman who went to the lead ahead of Marlar, Pierce, Gustin and Dillard. Gustin got by Pierce for third on the second lap but Pierce fought back to regain the spot one lap later.
Marlar closed in on Hoffman and began to harass the early leader in hopes of taking the top spot. Those efforts paid off on lap 9 when Marlar passed Hoffman for the lead. Further back, Owens was on the move as he took advantage of others battling and jumped up to third.
Owens took second from Hoffman on lap 13 then Pierce passed Hoffman for third on lap 14. A lap 17 caution for a flat on the car of Sheppard slowed the pace.
Marlar built a lead of more than two seconds following the restart over Owens, Hoffman, Pierce and Gustin, Dustin Walker spun on lap 23 to bring out another yellow flag and erase Marlar’s lead.
On the restart, Hoffman grabbed second from Owens while Pierce dropped several positions when he drifted high on the track. Contact between Pierce and Shirley sent Shirley off the race track to bring out a caution. Since Shirley’s car never stopped, he blended back into the running order in the eighth position.
Bronson and Dillard moved into the top-5 ahead of Pierce and Shirley. Once more, contact between Pierce and Shirley sent Shirley spinning to bring out a yellow on lap 26. Under the caution, the top-5 running car of Gustin pulled off track and out of the race with mechanical trouble.
Owens moved back to second on the restart as Marlar continued to show the way with intense battles taking place throughout the field. A caution flag waved on lap 37 for Carpenter which set up a dash to the finish.
On the restart, Marlar maintained control of the race and drove on to the win as drivers further back were banging fenders.
Feature Results: 1. Mike Marlar, 2. Jimmy Owens, 3. Nick Hoffman, 4. Bobby Pierce, 5. Brent Larson, 6. Chris Madden, 7. Kyle Bronson, 8. Dennis Erb Jr., 9. Garrett Smith, 10. Tanner English, 11. Shane Clanton, 12. Gordy Gundaker, 13. Rod Conley, 14. Brandon Sheppard, 15. Brian Shirley, 16. Cade Dillard, 17. Todd Cooney, 18. Adam Stricker, 19. Jesse Wisecarver, 20. Justin Cooper, 21. Seth Daniels, 22. Dustin Walker, 23. Kirk Phillips, 24. Freddie Carpenter, 25. Ryan Gustin
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