Brown Blasts Wartburg Foes

WARTBURG, Tenn. — The Brucebilt Performance Iron-Man Modified Series returned to competition on Saturday evening at Wartburg Speedway and Blake Brown extended his series points lead and also become the first repeat winner with the tour.

Brown led all 25 laps to earn the $1,200 top prize.

The victory by the 22-year-old second-generation racer was his sixth career Brucebilt Performance Iron-Man Modified Series victory and second of the season. 

The start of the 25-lap feature contest would see polesitter Blake Brown grab the race lead, with Jeff Hamby, Chris Wilson, Clayton Miller, and Ricky Tinch giving chase. 

 The front five would remain the same until lap six when Wilson would work past Hamby for the second position and Miller would take third from Hamby one circuit later.  Brown was distancing himself from the field at this point by lap eight, with Michael Asberry making his way into the top five after passing Tinch for the position on lap nine.  

Brown would maintain the lead, while Miller would chase down Wilson for second and the pair would begin to battle for the spot until the duo would make contact in turn three on lap fifteen, resulting in Wilson spinning his machine and drawing the first caution of the event.  

The restart would see Brown and Miller now be first and second, followed by Hamby, Asberry, and Brandon Kinzer. With Brown and Miller now pulling away from the pack and Miller pressuring Brown for the lead, Kinzer would work past Asberry for the fourth position on lap eighteen.  

Miller would make his move on lap nineteen with a slidejob pass that would see Miller temporarily take the lead in turn two, but Brown would crossover beneath Miller and reclaim the lead as the pair entered turn three.  

The final caution of the event would wave on lap twenty-one when third-place running Jeff Hamby made contact with the outside wall in turn two and would slow entering turn three and roll to the pit area, done for the night. 

 The restart would see Brown maintain the lead, with Miller, Kinzer, Asberry, and Amos Bunch second through fifth.  

Brown scored the victory, with Miller holding off the challenges of eighth-place starting Kinzer for second, with Kinzer taking third, while Asberry and Bunch would complete the top five.  

The remainder of the top 10 finishers were Tinch, Wilson, Matthew Hopper, Dustin Diden, and Travis Sietsema.