HUMBOLDT — Survival was the word of the night at Humboldt Speedway.
While caution flags were a common theme during three of the night’s four A features, nearly all came down to the wire as drivers had to earn their way to Victory Lane.
The lone feature of the evening to go green the entire distance, Extrusions Inc. USRA Tuner class standout Brandon Vink turned back multiple challenges from Clint Haigler to pick up his second win in a row.
Haigler searched nearly the entire racing surface looking for a way to pass before settling for a second-place effort. Cody Vink, Carlyle Ward and Cayden Vance completed the top five, while Brandon Vink and Ward both grabbed heat race wins.
Ray’s Metal Depot USRA B-Mod winner Tyler Kidwell climbed out from behind the wheel of car No. 54 to end his night in Victory Lane, confidence bursting at the seams for the Chanute, racer.
When asked about fending off a late race bid for the win from St. Joseph, Minnesota’s, Jake Smith, Kidwell said, “I wasn’t worried. I saw him there to my inside, but I wasn’t going to give up the top of the racetrack. We had a lot of speed up there, and as long as I hit my marks, I knew we would be OK. We had to borrow a Yeoman Engine this week and man, the horsepower in this thing is just second to none. It’s great to get back to victory lane, and I hope this gets us pointed back in the right direction.”
Tim Phillips, Kenton Allen, and Brian McGowen completed the B-Mod top 5. Phillips, Allen and Krew Walburn picked up the three heat race wins.
Some might say it’s better to be lucky than good. Others say luck only happens when preparation meets opportunity. For Primal Jerky Midwest Mod driver Jon Westhoff, you could say it was all of the above.
Westhoff battled Casey Jesseph and Brad Jarmin for a large portion of the 15-lap race. At one point Jesseph looked to have the win in hand while Jarmin and Weshoff continued a fierce battle for second.
But a late race caution changed everything.
Just as the yellow lights went dark around the Hummer, Jesseph slowed to a stop on the back stretch, requiring help back to the pits as his race suddenly ended. That put Westhoff on the point where he hit the top of the Speedway for the green-white-checker finish, turning back a furious challenge from Jarmin at the line. Jarmin settled for second with Jackson McGowen, Norman Mackley, and Jerald Folk completing the top five. Scott Collins, Westhoff, and Jesseph picked up the three heat race wins.
Brian Knisley had the most comfortable margin of victory on the night in the Home Savings Bank Factory Stock competition, but it wasn’t without challenge. Knisley took advantage of multiple restarts on the night, each time pulling away from Derrek Wilson. Wilson would then begin to track down Knisley, working the top side of the speedway with Knisley glued to the bottom.
Wilson took advantage of run off the top side of the speedway to slip by Knisley, but it was all for naught as the race’s final caution negated the pass for the lead. On the restart, Knisley once again hit the bottom of the speedway to perfection, pulling away from Wilson for the win at the line. Ethan Vance, Trey Stipp, and Kenny Schettler completed the top 5. Knisley was able to break out the broom after his feature victory, after picking up the only heat race win earlier in the evening.
Racing resumes Friday. Hot laps kick off at 7:15 with racing at 8.
