Tony Stewart appeared to have the race well in hand until a red flag with eleven laps remaining changed the story at the McCarthy Auto Group KC Classic Thursday night. It was the annual NASCAR race weekend special featuring the Lucas Oil ASCS National Series at Lakeside Speedway just a few miles north of the Kansas Speedway.
Stewart started the twenty-five lap main event from the third position, but he moved to the front on lap two when he flew around pole-sitter Jack Dover. From there the former NASCAR Cup champion would open up a nice lead until lapped traffic came into play and on lap nine when Harli White slowed in turns one and two the caution waved giving the leader a clear track once again. On the restart Paul Nienheiser tangled with the lapped car of Robbie Price at the entrance of turn one and with both drivers spinning it sent the rest of the field scrambling. Nienheiser was able to keep his car running though so he would return to his fifth position for the next go at a green.
After dropping a position on the first lap, Nienheiser then went on a tear passing two cars to move to fourth until lap twelve when he slowed and hit an infield track tire as he drove to the infield. Stewart now had a full straightaway lead over Dover and Seth Bergman, but that would be wiped away when Jamie Ball and Chris Martin got together on the back stretch with Martin taking a tumble on lap fourteen.
After the cleanup "Smoke" would bring the field back to green and he would again pull out to a solid lead as Bergman shuffled Dover back to third. With the laps counting down Bergman started searching for a different line and when he found one a little lower than the leader the gap closed quickly. With just five laps remaining Bergman would put the slider on Stewart into turn one to take the lead and he would then pull away for the victory. Brian Brown also made a late pass of Tony Stewart to finish second while Dover and Sam Hafertepe Jr. completed the top five.
Bergman had started fourth and Brown came from eleventh while the rest of the top five started one, two and three.
E-Mods and B-Mods ran as support classes in front of a large crowd. In the E-Mod feature the defending track champion and current point leader Billy Spillman took advantage of the front row starters Eddie Ingram and Trevor Hand banging wheels in turn three on the opening lap to take the lead and he would survive a couple of early cautions to go the distance for the win. Ben Stockton mounted a challenge after the final restart though he would have to settle for second, Matt Dorsam came from the fifth row to finish third, Hand was fourth and Jessie Mulich took fifth.
The B-Mod field was stacked with talent as pole-sitter Tim Powell grabbed the early lead. The winner here the past two Friday nights looked to be in command until Brad Smith found the high line to his liking, especially in turns three and four and on lap ten of the twenty-lap event Smith would nose ahead at the stripe. Powell was still faster on the bottom in one and two so he would lead down the back stretch only to see Smith again sweep past him up top off of four. This time after again taking the lead off turn two Powell moved up the track in three and four to take away Smith's line as well as the lead and that would be how they would race for the next six laps.
Coming to the white flag Powell had stretched it out a bit so Andy Bryant had room to throw a slider on Smith and it would stick for second but the 2016 USRA National Champion could not run down Powell who captured his third straight win at Lakeside. Bryant and Smith were next in line while J.C. Morton and Jim Moody competed the top five.
It was a warm and windy evening on the northwest side of Kansas City with thirty 360 Sprint Cars signed in for action. Racing started right on time at 7:30 and with a couple of lengthy breaks the final checkers flew right around 10:30.
I will make it three nights in a row for the first time this season with Friday night action at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. Hope to see you there!
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