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It was just a matter of time.
UMP DIRTcar Racing Summernationals newcomer Mike Marlar of Winfield , Tenn. , rolled up top-five finishes in the tour’s first four events, so it was no surprise that he broke through with a victory in the fifth stop on Tuesday night at Lebanon I-44 Speedway.
Marlar pocketed $6,000 for capturing the 40-lap A-Main – his first career win on the grueling Summernationals loop.
Driving the Stephens Motorsport No. 34, Marlar was a survivor in the hardscrabble feature on the three-eighths-mile, high-banked oval. He inherited the lead on lap 20 when six-time Summernationals champion Billy Moyer of Batesville , Ark. , developed a flat tire and never looked back.
Moyer was the third different leader of the race to be struck down by bad luck. Before him MARS DIRTcar Series titlists Bill Frye of Greenbrier, Ark. , and Terry Phillips of Springfield , Mo. , saw encouraging runs short-circuited by misfortune.
Frye was the first to fall, forced out while in the lead due to fuel-pump problems. Phillips then moved into the top spot but only lasted there a handful laps before heading pitside with a flat tire.
Marlar avoided problems during the race’s second half to take the checkered flag several car lengths ahead of New London , Wis. ’s Terry Casey, who registered his best finish of the 2007 Summernationals.
Randy Korte of Highland , Ill. , saw his two-race win streak end with a third-place finish. Jeep VanWormer of Pinconning , Mich. , the 2006 Summernationals points runner-up, finally got on track in ’07 with a fourth-place finish, and 2004 tour champion Don O’Neal of Martinsville , Ind. , took fifth.
Marlar’s victory kept him in the UMP DIRTcar Racing Summernationals points lead and made it clear that he’s a serious contender for the $25,000 title. He’s already shown himself this season as a capable points chaser on a multiple-night series, winning the recent Kentucky Speedweek championship.
Forty cars entered the event at Randy Mooneyham’s facility.
Heat winners were Moyer, Frye, Phillips and Jeremy Payne of Springfield , Mo. , and the B-Mains were captured by Steve Sheppard Jr. of New Berlin , Ill. , and VanWormer.
The night’s most spectacular incident occurred during heat action, when A.J. Diemel of Navrino , Wis. , rolled his car. He escaped the accident without injury.
For more information on UMP DIRTcar Racing, visit www.umpracing.com.
UMP DIRTcar Racing Summernationals Feature Finish (40 laps):
1. Mike Marlar
2. Terry Casey
3. Randy Korte
4. Jeep VanWormer
5. Don O’Neal
6. Rodney Melvin
7. Dennis Erb Jr.
8. Billy Moyer
9. Al Purkey
10. Brandon McCormick
11. Eddie Kirchoff
12. Steve Sheppard Jr.
13. Wes Steidinger
14. Tim Manville
15. Jeremy Payne
16. Terry Phillips
17. Christian Rayburn
18. Bill Frye
19. Rusty Schlenk
20. Kevin Weaver
21. Jason Feger
22. Brad Looney
DNQ: Will Vaught , Jordan Bland , Chad Jones, Kyle Beard, Bill Bartells, Randy Zimmerman, Ed Dixon, Jason Bodenhamer, Jack Sullivan, Larry Jones, Rusty Griffaw, A.J. Diemel, Trace Westling, Mark Voigt, Dustin Mooneyham, Ron Bartells, Billy Faust |
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