HARTFORD, Ohio — Spencer Bayston won Saturday night’s Lou Blaney Memorial, sanctioned by the All Star Circuit of Champions at Sharon Speedway.
Bayston withstood a last-ditch effort slider by Tyler Courtney to secure the $8,000 payday. The victory, Bayston’s first All Star win at Sharon Speedway and his first series win since August of 2020, bumped his career win total to four with the traveling aces, now at the helm of the Sam McGhee Motorsports No. 11.
“I’m happy to get it done,” Bayston said. “The throttle was actually hanging at about 3000 rpms under caution, so I was forced to mess with my throttle by hand under caution. But it’s done and we’re here in victory lane. I can’t say enough about Mike McGhee and the entire Sam McGhee Motorsports team. They are a great team that provides awesome equipment and they certainly made my job easy tonight. It’s so cool to be a part of this event. Hopefully the weather cooperates on Sunday and we can come out here and do it again.”
Starting third on the Blaney grid, Bayston made his living around Sharon’s outer edge, battling his way to second by lap 11 before taking control of the field on lap 13.
A single-file restart on lap 11 is what allowed Bayston to move to the runner-up position, utilizing a slingshot move through turns three and four to work by former World of Outlaws champion, Dave Blaney. Meanwhile, local standout and Chicora native George Hobaugh was the man in charge, taking advantage of the outside-pole position to lead from the drop of the green.
Using his momentum from the exact same aforementioned restart, Bayston made his first official move for the lead on lap 13, diving into corner number one to squeeze between Hobaugh and the infield tractor tires. The move worked, taking command by the time the frontrunners made their way into turn two.
Unfortunately for Hobaugh, his night would come to an end on lap 17, as contact with an infield tire sent the Krill Recycling No. 40 for a wild ride between turns one and two.
Although the ensuing restart allowed Bayston to drive away in clean air, Courtney, who had already worked his way to second from ninth, kept the Mike McGhee and Associates No. 11 sprinter within reach.
Using two and three wide traffic to his advantage, Courtney powered himself to a car length by lap 27, following Bayston around Sharon’s outer, but thin edge.
Two circuits later, Courtney made his move, diving to the bottom of turn one before power sliding across Bayston’s nose. The move nearly worked, but hard contact with the turn two wall cost Courtney momentum and a right-rear tire. Bayston regained control and drove on to claim the signature Blaney trophy; Courtney limped home fifth.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 11-Spencer Bayston [3]; 2. 26-Cory Eliason [8]; 3. 17B-Bill Balog [7]; 4. 48-Danny Dietrich [13]; 5. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [9]; 6. 19-Brent Marks [21]; 7. 13-Justin Peck [11]; 8. 10-Zeb Wise [15]; 9. 4-Cap Henry [1]; 10. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [17]; 11. 42-Sye Lynch [10]; 12. O7-Skylar Gee [12]; 13. 24-Rico Abreu [23]; 14. 5-Paul McMahan [14]; 15. 6-Bob Felmlee [24]; 16. 22C-Cole Duncan [22]; 17. 17-Josh Baughman [19]; 18. 33-Brent Matus [20]; 19. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [25]; 20. 22-Brandon Spithaler [18]; 21. 11B-Carl Bowser [16]; 22. 10B-Dave Blaney [4]; 23. 40-George Hobaugh [2]; 24. 28-Tim Shaffer [6]; 25. 29B-Dale Blaney [5] Lap Leaders: George Hobaugh (1-12), Spencer Bayston (13-30)