OKTAHA, Okla. – Jesse Stovall survived a late race caution on Thursday night at Outlaw Motor Speedway to capture his first Lucas Oil MLRA victory of the season.
Stovall became the fifth different consecutive winner in MLRA competition this season with the victory.
By virtue of his heat race win, Stovall started from the pole alongside Jake Neal. Stovall quickly jumped to the lead running the high line until the races first caution waved on lap number four.
On the restart, Stovall would again jump out in front and quickly pull away from the field including the likes of Jason Papich, Chad Simpson and Neal. The event’s second caution waved on lap 12 when Tony Toste and Jordan Yaggy came together in turns one and two. From there the field would run caution free for the next 26 laps.
Sixth starting Johnny Scott used the long run and moved past Simpson on lap 18 into second. As the race progressed, Stovall had to adjust his line multiple times on the rapidly changing track, all the while the XR1 Rocket of Scott was able to pull within striking distance. As the top-two caught the tail of the field with 10 laps to go, it added Simpson and Will Vaught back into the mix.
With the leaders exciting turn four approaching with two laps to go, the event’s final caution waved for the No. F15 of Jeremy Conaway, who spun on the bottom of turns one and two, setting up a green-white-checkered dash to the finish.
Stovall, like he had done all night long in his Back Diamond chassis, was able to pull away and not give up the bottom side of the track to Scott. Stovall would capture the $3,000 pay day by .654 seconds over Scott, while series point leader Simpson would come home in third. Will Vaught had his best finish of the year in fourth, while Justin Duty came home fifth.
“I knew it was going to be a fight to stay on that bottom there and that the guys behind me would have to race me clean and only take a position if they could get it,” Stovall said. “The track kind of latched down a little bit and had some rough character to it that didn’t allow to go around wide open, and you had to watch what you were doing getting into the corners and stuff.
“The car still quite isn’t where I want it to be,” said Stovall. “I know we won the race, but were going to try and make this thing even better than this. Ronnie Stuckey at Black Diamond Chassis, I just can’t say enough about them guys. I have been with them for five years now and he’s more of a friend now than just a chassis builder and an awesome person. Them guys down there all bust their butts and have been phenomenal to me.”
The finish:
Jesse Stovall, Johnny Scott, Chad Simpson, Will Vaught, Justin Duty, Jake Neal, Tony Jackson Jr., Payton Looney, Jeremiah Hurst, Jason Papich, Jeremiah Hurst, Mitch McGrath, Raymond Merrill, Daniel Hilsabeck, Tony Toste, Jeremy Conaway, Jeremy Grady, Jake Timm, Terry Phillips, Joseph Gorby, Joe Duvall, Jordan Yaggy, Mason Oberkamer, Brennon Willard.