PLACERVILLE, Calif. – They say sometimes that it’s better to be lucky than good, and Evan Margeson was both on Wednesday night at Placerville Speedway during the Elk Grove Ford Hangtown 100 finale.
After running second for more than half of the 40-lap Wicked Energy Gum Northwest Focus Midget Series feature, Margeson took advantage when race-long leader Garrett Thomas slowed with a broken brake bracket on lap 36.
Once out front, Margeson never looked back and beat Tuesday night winner Tristan Thomas to the finish line by .675 seconds for the $1,000 payday in a car making just its second start of the year.
It was his third Northwest Focus Midget Series win of the season.
The feature was slowed by three red flags – including a 16 minute, 24 second stoppage for the violent frontstretch flip of Hannah Lindquist – and numerous cautions which forced it to be shortened from its originally-scheduled distance of 50 laps down to the 40-lap distance it ultimately finished at.
“The way that race was going, man, I wasn’t sure if it was ever going to be over,” said Margeson, who led only the last five laps, in victory lane. “It seemed like it was taking forever. But I definitely didn’t have the best car, Garrett did. Fortunately for us, we were a little bit more lucky than good tonight, and it paid off.
“I didn’t have a ride for this thing, so the only way I was going to get down here was to try and put something together for myself,” he added. “So we ended up doing it. Luckily, PMI Truck Bodies helped us out, along with Triple X Race Company. I couldn’t do without any of those guys.”
Behind Margeson and Tristan Thomas, Seth Hespe, Shane Smith and Chance Crum completed the top five.
Sawyer Lind finished sixth, followed by Michael Vollbrecht, Matt Loving, Guy Tow and Colton Heath.
Nick Evans, who crossed the line 11th, earned the overall event title for the Northwest Focus Midgets.
The finish:
Evan Margeson, Tristan Thomas, Seth Hespe, Shane Smith, Chance Crum, Sawyer Lind, Michael Vollbrecht, Matt Loving, Guy Tow, Colton Heath, Nick Evans, Mike Stryker, Adam Elbert, Ashley Thompson, Aaron Leffel, Brian Aune, JD Dryden, Jeremiah Franklin, Nik Larson, Garrett Thomas, Alden Ostrom, Chris Greene, Hannah Lindquist, Kenny Ferris.