LAKE ODESSA, Mich. — Justin Peck put on a show Friday night in I-96 Speedway’s annual Mace Thomas Classic.
Peck battled reigning series champion Tyler Courtney through two green-white-checkered restarts to grab his first Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 victory of the season. Suffice it to say, Peck withstood the pressures, earning an $8,500 payday in the process while locking down a sixth-career All Star victory. Impressive enough, all six of Peck’s All Star triumphs occurred at different facilities with his I-96 win being a first in the Wolverine State.
“I feel like we’ve had speed all year, but tonight we were able to put it all together. For a while there, we weren’t able to get anything to go our way,” said the driver of the Buch Motorsports/Coastal Race Parts/No. 13 sprint car. “I knew with a guy like Tyler (Courtney) behind me that things may get a little hairy, especially with those two late restarts. But luckily, we were able to hold them off. My guys have been giving me a fast hot rod these last few races, so I’m glad to finally be able to get it done.”
Starting from the outside-pole position, Zeb Wise earned the initial jump, soon entering a tussle with Scotty Thiel, who ultimately snagged the top spot from the third-year All Star on lap three. The “Big Wheel” maintained the point position until lap 14 when Peck, who started third on the A-Main grid, drove into the lead exiting turn four.
Once in command, it was relatively smooth sailing for Peck and the “Buch Misfits” entry, that until the final two cautions on lap 29.
Courtney, who battled ahead from the outside of row five, did his best to show his nose on each of the two-to-go restarts, but the efforts were not enough. “Sunshine” went on to finish second, followed by Hunter Schuerenberg, Zeb Wise, and Parker Price-Miller.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 13-Justin Peck [3]; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [10]; 3. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [5]; 4. 10-Zeb Wise [2]; 5. 11-Parker Price Miller [9]; 6. 19AZ-Tanner Thorson [12]; 7. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [17]; 8. 26-Cory Eliason [14]; 9. 4-Cap Henry [7]; 10. 97-Greg Wilson [19]; 11. 17B-Bill Balog [16]; 12. 7-Scott Bogucki [23]; 13. 71H-Max Stambaugh [15]; 14. 101-Cale Thomas [6]; 15. 11N-Harli White [22]; 16. 19-Chris Windom [20]; 17. 24D-Danny Sams III [8]; 18. 23-Russel Borland [24]; 19. 85-Dustin Daggett [11]; 20. 7m-Geoff Dodge [13]; 21. 11K-Buddy Kofoid [4]; 22. 73-Scotty Thiel [1]; 23. 25M-Ryan Ruhl [18]; 24. 9K-Kevin Thomas Jr. [21] Lap Leaders: Zeb Wise (1,2), Scotty Thiel (3-13), Justin Peck (14-30)