9.5.20 MLRA Late Models Results
Wheatland, MO (September 5, 2020) – After knocking on the door numerous times in recent years, Mason Oberkramer finally put his frustrations in his rear view Saturday night at the Lucas Oil Speedway, notching his first career Lucas Oil MLRA win in the first annual Ron Jenkins Memorial. With 27 cars signed in, the win was anything but easy for Oberkramer.
The night started off strong for the driver from Brosley, Missouri as he grabbed a win in his qualifying heat race along with Joseph Gorby and Justin Duty, placing Oberkramer third on the starting grid for the 40 lap main event.
At the drop of the green it was Duty seizing control from his outside front row starting position over Gorby and the nights Slick Mist Fast Time winner Aaron Marrant. Following a quick lap one caution for Jason Papich, the field would race green behind the XR-1 Rocket of Duty until the events second caution flew on lap thirteen for debris on the front stretch just as the leaders were approaching lapped traffic.
Duty, seeking his first MLRA win, looked to be the car to beat on the restart after again jumping to the race lead. With Duty showing the way, he was never able to pull away from the likes of Oberkramer, and two-time series champion Chad Simpson who had moved into the top three from his fifth starting spot.
With a long green flag run underway Oberkramer was able to adjust his line and found his way back to the bumper of Duty. Utilizing the high side momentum Oberkramer was able to sling shot to the lead with just twelve laps remaining. “It was live or die (on the top side), it’s a thin line that will make or break you,” commented Oberkramer. “I had to move up and take Jesse’s (Stovall) line. He is one of the best around here, but dad was signaling the top and I got up there and had to get it done.”
However, only two laps from the win, the events final caution flew when Stovall slowed on the race track setting up a two lap dash for the win. Oberkramer again fired on the restart and cruised to the $6,000 win, which included a $1,000 bonus from Mary Jenkins, the widow of the late Ron Jenkins, the builder of the original Wheatland Raceway. For the second time this season, Happy Valley, Oregon driver Justin Duty finished in the runner-up spot, while Simpson scored his fourth podium finish of the year in third. Payton Looney and Aaron Marrant completed the top five.
After giving the fans and exciting victory burn out, Oberkramer commented in Cedar Creek Beef Jerky Victory Lane on the battle for the win. “Me and Chad got together going down this front straight-a-way here and it messed something up on the front end. After that I really couldn’t steer it for about ten laps until I got it dialed back in.”
After trying for three plus years to get the elusive MLRA win, he continued “Man its’s been a long time coming for one of these. I’ve been chasing this track for five years now and the gremlins just get me every time. I’m just so happy to finally land one.”
Duty nabbed the Sunoco Rookie of the Race and said, “I didn’t quite adjust enough for what we were going to do there. I should have just stayed up top and pounded away but I wasn’t sure how long my tire were going to last. We had a really good car all night long start to finish. Overall I’m happy with second, I wish we would have hung on there, but Mason had a good car so we’ll take second.”
Simpson was only able close minimal ground on Looney for the series title with his tird place run. “The race track was really fast tonight. I knew I needed to be up there on the top but I just couldn’t steer near as good as Mason did up there. He was rolling really good on the top and got there quicker than I did tonight,” concluded Simpson.
The Lucas Oil MLRA now slides north to the Randolph County Raceway in Moberly, MO for the 2nd Annual “Scottie 46” on Sunday night September 6th. This $5,000 to win event was originally slated for the Quincy Raceways, but was moved to the RCR facility due to COVID restrictions. This will mark the second visit of the year for the MLRA following Shannon Babb’s season opening victory back on June 12th.
Lucas Oil Speedway Contingencies 9/5/20
Slick Mist “Fast Time Award” – Aaron Marrant
DirtonDirt.com “Pole Award” – Joseph Gorby
Allgaier Motorsports Racing Shocks Award – Justin Duty
Casey’s General Store’s “Hard Charger of the Race” – Brennon Willard
Dynamic Drivelines “Crew Chief of the Race” – Dino Oberkramer
Hooker Harness “11th Place Finisher” – Tony Toste
Midwest Sheet Metal “Points Leader Spoiler Challenge” – Payton Looney
Performance Bodies “Performer of the Race” – Mason Oberkramer
RacingJunk.com “Hard Luck Award” – Jason Papich
Sunoco “Rookie of the Race” – Justin Duty
Cedar Creek Beef Jerky A Feature (40 Laps): 1.Mason Oberkramer 2.Justin Duty 3.Chad Simpson 4.Payton Looney 5.Aaron Marrant 6.Daniel Hilsabeck 7.Tony Jackson Jr. 8.Jeremiah Hurst 9.Jeremy Conaway 10.Brennon Willard 11.Tony Toste 12.Cole Henson 13.Jesse Stovall 14.Garrett Alberson 15.Reid Millard 16.Scott Crigler 17.Jason Papich 18.Joseph Gorby 19.Kaeden Cornell 20.Nick Whitehead 21.Jon Binning 22.Jeremy Grady 23.Skip Frey 24.Blonde Bomber Mitchell
Lucas Cattle Company B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1.Nick Whitehead 2.Reid Millard 3.Jeremy Grady 4.Cole Henson 5.Cliff Morrow 6.Tucker Cox 7.Brennon Willard
Dynamic Drivelines Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1.Joseph Gorby 2.Aaron Marrant 3.Daniel Hilsabeck 4.Tony Jackson Jr. 5.Jason Papich 6.Blonde Bomber Mitchell 7.Cole Henson 8.Jon Binning 9.Tucker Cox
Midwest Sheet Metal Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1.Justin Duty 2.Chad Simpson 3.Payton Looney 4.Tony Toste 5.Kaeden Cornell 6.Skip Frey 7.Nick Whitehead 8.Jerry Morgan 9.Cliff Morrow
Casey’s General Stores Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1.Mason Oberkramer 2.Jeremiah Hurst 3.Jesse Stovall 4.Jeremy Conaway 5.Scott Crigler 6.Garrett Alberson 7.Reid Millard 8.Jeremy Grady 9.Brennon Willard
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