GLENDALE, Ariz. — Western Midget Racing champion Blake Bower picked up where he left off, winning the season opener for the series Saturday night at Adobe Mountain Speedway.
Bower inherited the lead after C.J. Bunch flipped from the top spot. Bower went on to lead the final 18 laps for the victory.
Cody Key won the first heat race in his series debut while Drake Edwards won heat two and Cory Brown won the third heat race.
Sixteen cars lined up for the scheduled 25-lap feature before runner-up David Prickett stalled and was unable to take the green flag.
Bunch started on the outside pole alongside Brown. Bunch made a bid for the lead, then was chased by third starting Bower.
Bower dove inside Bunch for the lead on multiple occasions, with the duo running side-by-side through turns three and four. Bunch then flipped on the top of turn one to bring out a red flag on lap five.
Bower took over the top position for the restart. Drake Edwards spun from the third position to require a caution on lap 10.
A gaggle of cars battled for the third position after the restart including Key, Todd Hawse and Dale Eliason Jr.
Eliason went to the outside of them before an incident on lap 18 that eliminated both Eliason and Hawse from the race.
The final five laps were led by Bower, topping Brown, a hard-charging Edwards, Key and Kyle Huttenhow at the finish.
Nathan High crossed the line third but was disqualified for being light across the scales.
The finish:
Feature (23 laps): 1. 9 Blake Bower, 2. 29 Cory Brown, 3. 86D Drake Edwards, 4. 35 Cody Key, 5. 57 Kyle Huttenhow, 6. 20 Kyle Hawse, 7. 24 Cameron Beard, 8. 74 Dale Eliason, 9. 31 Todd Hawse, 10. 55 Tyler Rodriguez, 11. 22 Stevie Sussex, 12. 20w Daniel Anderson, 13. 7 C.J. Bunch, 14. 3AZ Chloe High, 15. 22q David Prickett DQ: 33AZ Nathan High
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