GIBSONTON, Fla. — Forced to wait 10 extra days due to Mother Nature’s inability to cooperate, Tyler Courtney fell right into his old ways on Monday evening at East Bay Raceway Park.
Courtney won the first FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 feature of the season, finally commencing the Classic Ink USA Screenprinting and Embroidery Southern Swing presented by Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts.
Courtney’s triumph, resulting in a $6,000 payday, was accomplished from the inside of row two after he chased down
Sam McGhee Motorsports driver Kerry Madsen, who started outside the front row.
A series of early race cautions proved to be a struggle for Courtney, but once the Indianapolis native and defending All Star champion found his rhythm and took command on lap 15, utilizing a power move to drive underneath the “Madman” at the exit of turn four, the race was over.
Madsen held on to finish second, followed by Gio Scelzi, Brent Marks and Justin Peck.
“I knew we had a little bit better car than Kerry (Madsen), but I also had to be careful not to show him my line, especially if another caution would’ve come out. Kerry is a hard racer, but we just had to be patient and it all worked out,” said Courtney, now a nine-time All Star winner aboard the Clauson Marshall Racing/NOS Energy Turbo/No. 7bc sprint car. “To start off the year on the right foot is key, especially if it’s getting a win this early in the season. We definitely have this team heading in the right direction, so we’ll head back here tomorrow and try it again.”
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [3]; 2. 11M-Kerry Madsen [2]; 3. 18-Gio Scelzi [1]; 4. 19-Brent Marks [8]; 5. 13-Justin Peck [10]; 6. 10X-Ryan Smith [6]; 7. 28-Tim Shaffer [17]; 8. 11-Parker Price Miller [4]; 9. 19AZ-Tanner Thorson [12]; 10. 24-Terry McCarl [22]; 11. 48-Danny Dietrich [7]; 12. 55-Alex Bowman [5]; 13. 47X-Dylan Westbrook [11]; 14. 9K-Kevin Thomas Jr. [23]; 15. 28M-Conner Morrell [13]; 16. 6-Dustin Gates [14]; 17. 1-Jamie Myers [24]; 18. 10-Paulie Colagiovanni [19]; 19. 20B-Cody Bova [20]; 20. 26-Cory Eliason [9]; 21. 39M-Anthony Macri [16]; 22. 47-Eric Riggins Jr. [15]; 23. 2C-Wayne Johnson [21]; 24. 28F-Davie Franek [18] Lap Leaders: Kerry Madsen (1-14), Tyler Courtney (15-30)