ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. — The last lap is the only lap that pays and Brent Marks certainly put that mentality to practice on Saturday night at Lincoln Speedway, securing his fifth Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 victory of 2022 with a last-lap pass of Anthony Macri.
A marquee win, to say the least, Marks earned his triumph during Lincoln’s annual Dirt Classic, locking down a $20,000 payday in the process while simultaneously increasing his overall season win total to 17.
Although lining up 10th on the Dirt Classic grid, arranged by a point system that was accumulated over qualifying and double heats, Marks commenced his march to the front right from the drop of the green, actually powering his way to a top-five position with just a quarter of the 40-lapper in the books. Meanwhile, Macri held command, doing everything he could to fend off early race challenges by defending Dirt Classic champion, Justin Peck.
Eventually working his way to third around Cory Eliason, then getting by Justin Peck for second with a slider on lap 34, Marks’ new aim was on Anthony Macri, who continued to work Lincoln’s outer line. It was the main event’s last caution on lap 36, which led to open red conditions, that set up Marks’ eventual takeover.
Working Lincoln’s bottom groove, Marks used the last handful of circuits to inch closer and closer to the No. 39m. By the time the white flag waved, Marks was on Marcri’s tail tank, driving hard into turn one to slide across the nose of the recent Tuscarora 50 champion. The move stuck, securing another crown jewel.
Macri held on to finish second, followed by Peck, Buddy Kofoid and Tyler Courtney.
“I didn’t expect them to open up that last red…I’m usually not a fan of that. It worked out for us tonight,” Marks said. “Man, that was a fun race. The track turned out to be excellent. Just an awesome night and I’m so proud of this team. I was actually pretty disappointed to have to start tenth because there were a lot of good cars ahead of us. I thought the track was going to be too fast to make up any ground, but we did it.”
The finish:
Feature (40 Laps): 1. 19M-Brent Marks[10]; 2. 39M-Anthony Macri[1]; 3. 13-Justin Peck[2]; 4. 11K-Michael Kofoid[13]; 5. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[5]; 6. 11-Cory Eliason[3]; 7. 8-Freddie Rahmer[20]; 8. 24-Rico Abreu[19]; 9. 11T-TJ Stutts[4]; 10. 33M-Gerard McIntyre Jr[15]; 11. 44-Dylan Norris[26]; 12. 19W-Troy Wagaman Jr[23]; 13. 99M-Kyle Moody[9]; 14. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[18]; 15. 27-Daryn Pittman[14]; 16. 19-Chris Windom[24]; 17. 4-Cap Henry[17]; 18. 1X-Chad Trout[11]; 19. (DNF) 48-Danny Dietrich[8]; 20. (DNF) 16A-Aaron Bollinger[12]; 21. (DNF) 39-Chase Dietz[7]; 22. (DNF) 75-Tyler Ross[21]; 23. (DNF) 5E-Brandon Rahmer[16]; 24. (DNF) 21-Brian Brown[22]; 25. (DNF) 69K-Lance Dewease[25]; 26. (DNF) 26-Zeb Wise[6]