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North Little Rock driver Mike Bowers took the checkered flag at Central Arkansas Speedway during the third and final visit to the Plumerville, Arkansas, quarter-mile bullring for the AMP late model series. The late model veteran held off Greenbrier’s Jon Mitchell for the duration of the 30-lap, $1,500 to win event, earning the top qualifier spot for the A-main after winning the third heat from the fourth-place starting position to earn the most passing points.
Mitchell, who wrapped up the AMP season points championship with his second place run, gave his elder statesman little room for comfort throughout the race, looking to the inside of Bowers’ GRT number TEN car on two different restarts. One of Bowers’ best-known tricks while leading races over the years has been to leave behind feisty challengers in heavy lap traffic, but the Catman would have none of it.
Bowers never put more than three lengths on the newly-crowned champ, and things would get really interesting on the final restart with 11-laps to go when third-place driver Jon Kirby of Russellville entered the equation. Kirby got around Mitchell for second on the restart, but would slide back to third moments later briefly setting his sights on Bowers for the point.
It was not to be for Kirby, but he did stay within striking distance until the checkered flag. Behind him, two of the AMP’s youngest regulars, Clay Fisher and Charlie Cole both had the best runs of the entire season.
Dewitt driver Fisher, 18, arrived at CAS Saturday afternoon with a brand-new, untested Mastersbilt number 99 car. It didn’t take long for the youngster to shake the car down, however, leading the first six laps of the third heat before a slight bobble in turn two allowed Bowers by. Fisher started sixth in the feature, but quickly made his way up to the fourth spot while holding off a challenge from Texarkana hot shoe driver Duke Whisenant. Fisher’s car looked to be as fast as the leaders in the early going, and only fell off slightly in the waning laps for a solid fourth-place finish.
Cole’s fifth-place run was perhaps the quietest drive of the night by anyone, but he would actually gain more spots during the race than anyone with the exception of Maumelle driver Shane Diamont, who earned the Larry Shaw Racing hard-charger award for his sixth-place finish after starting the race in tenth. It would be one more spot than Cole’s advancement of three spots after starting eighth, but a great run none the less for the 23-year-old driver from Harrisburg.
Joseph Long finished seventh, and Terry Henson took eighth. A mid-race spin put AMP rookie of the year for 2007 Kyle Beard from Trumann, Arkansas in the ninth-place finishing position, and Alexander driver Larry Potter rounded out the top ten.
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