DODGE CITY, Kan. — The opening leg of the third annual Lubbock Wrecker Service DCRP 305 Sprint Car Nationals picked up right where the 2018 edition left off with a pair of Jakes slugging it out for the Thursday night feature at Dodge City Raceway Park.
This time, Jake Bubak turned the tables on defending event champion Jake Martens, battling into the lead on the 17th round and racing on to the stripe aboard the Dubose/Well-powered Coyote Candle Company No. 74b Maxim ahead of Nebraska resident Jason Martin and Martens.
“I feel like we got one taken away from us last year, we’re here to win the whole thing this time,” Bubak said after putting himself atop the point charts and in prime position to secure a lock-in position to Saturday’s $3,000-to-win finale.
With Bubak pulling the eight in the redraw to start the 25-lap feature outside the fourth row, Martens and Oklahoma City’s Tanner Conn led the way to the green flag.
Martens gunned into the early lead ahead of Conn with defending track champion Steven Richardson working past Jed Werner for third in the opening handful of laps. Richardson moved in to challenge Conn for second, only to have the right rear wheel come off getting into turn three on the 11th round. Richardson took a tumble that drew the night’s lone red flag but was able to walk away.
Conn went to work on Martens for the lead on the restart and used the high side to take command exiting turn two on the 13th circuit, only to have the move negated by Andy Shouse’s turn four caution.
Conn stumbled on the ensuing restart, losing several positions with Bubak taking over second. Bubak went to work on Martens in short order with the duo swapping the point on the 16th round before Bubak took over for keeps one lap later.
“I was able to find the top early and got going,” Bubak said. “Jake (Martens) was working the bottom really well, I couldn’t make it stick down there so I just used the top.”
After starting 13th, Jason Martin battled past Martens for second on the 21st round with Martens surviving a tap with the turn two wall to hold off Steven Shebester for third. Shebester was fourth with Jed Werner rounding out the top five.
While Bubak snared sprint car honors over a field of 42 entries, Bucklin’s Reagan Sellard held off Tathan Burkhart to capture his second IMCA Hobby Stock feature win in a row.
The finish:
Feature (25 laps): 1. 74b-Jake Bubak (8), 2. 5x-Jason Martin (13), 3. 48-Jake Martens (1), 4. 16s-Steven Shebester (5), 5. 50-Jed Werner (4), 6. 21x-Taylor Velasquez (12), 7. 49x-Luke Cranston (11), 8. 2J-Zach Blurton (6), 9. 11x-Tony Bruce, Jr. (21), 10. 78-Tanner Conn (2), 11. 45d-David Luckie (17), 12. 97-Brian Herbert (7), 13. 911-Ty Williams (10), 14. 55b-Brandon Anderson (19), 15. 33-Koby Walters (15), 16. 72-Ray Seemann (9), 17. 28-Tracey Hill (20), 18. 45x-Kyler Johnson (22), 19. 224-Aric Sooter (18), 20. 12-Bob Schaeffer (14), 21. 27-Andy Shouse (16), 22. 0-Steven Richardson (3).