LOGANSPORT, Ind. — Johnny Boland led every step of the way in the $10K-to-Win Eibach Racing Championship Night of the third yearly installment of the Keith Kunz Motorsports Challenge presented by Start2Finish TV to claim his second career victory with the POWRi Non-Wing Outlaw Micro League at the outstanding hosting finale of US-24 Speedway.
Going through a strong field of sixty entries on Championship Night of the POWRi Non-Wing Outlaw Micro division in the KKM Challenge saw Daniel Robinson set the quick non-lock-in hot lap time with 11.663 seconds. Kole Kirkman and Robbie Smith gained the semi-feature wins with Blayne Buntin and Mack Leopard each took the C-feature checkers.
Automatically locking into the main event through top-four placements in preliminary night competitions, setting the first four starting rows through a King of US-24 Pole-Shuffle with Johnny Boland victorious over High Event Qualifier Gavin Miller as well as Gunnar Setser, Aiden Purdue, Kale Drake, Brian Carber, Thomas Kunsman Jr. and Jake Nail.
Soaring onto the smooth US-24 Speedway surface for Eibach Racing Championship Night feature racing for the opening night of the Keith Kunz Motorsports Challenge presented by Start2Finish TV saw pole-shuffle winner Boland battle outside front-row contender Miller as the green flew with Boland holding the front of the field with Miller, Purdue, Gunnar Setser and Carber all staying close inside the early contending top five as Nail, Drake, Smith, Frank Flud and Kunsman ran inside the top ten.
Protecting the lead early, Boland continued to show the field the fastest route with Miller and Purdue battling behind as Setser kept a quickly charging Drake behind while inside the top five as the mid-point rapidly approached.
Bunching the field back together for an ‘Honest Abe’s Choose-Cone Restart’ after a lap 17 caution, Boland again extended the lead from a sliding Miller with Drake quickly closing into third as Carber and Purdue went side-by-side for the fourth and fifth spots with a caution containing the action on lap 27.
Taking the low line on the restart once again, Boland grabbed the lead as Carber ran an even lower line moving into second with Miller keeping pace in third as laps began to conclude rapidly.
Extending the lead late, Boland held steady up front for his second career POWRi Non-Wing Outlaw Micro victory as Miller finished in the closely contended second spot with Greyson Springer finalizing the podium placements from starting 11th.
“I was comfortable out front until lap traffic because I knew all these fast guys would be right behind me, this was a driver’s track tonight that’s for sure,” said Boland. “To be able to start this month of travel off with a win feels good”.
Driving from starting sixth, Carber placed fourth as Kirkman rounded out the top-five finishers.
The finish: 1. 1V-Johnny Boland[1]; 2. 71K-Gavin Miller[2]; 3. 24G-Greyson Springer[11]; 4. 8C-Brian Carber[6]; 5. 22-Kole Kirkman[9]; 6. 25P-Aiden Purdue[4]; 7. 71-Kale Drake[5]; 8. 29A-Jake Andreotti[14]; 9. 14R-Jake Nail[8]; 10. 11C-Darren Brown[20]; 11. 21B-Cale Cannon[19]; 12. 39-Russ Disinger[18]; 13. 28-Chelby Hinton[21]; 14. 10-Daniel Robinson[16]; 15. 83-Brant Woods[24]; 16. 21K-Thomas Kunsman Jr[7]; 17. 25S-Justis Sokol[23]; 18. 81-Frank Flud[12]; 19. 24S-Colby Sokol[22]; 20. 95-Parker Perry[13]; 21. 40-Caleb Shietze[17]; 22. 71G-Gunnar Setser[3]; 23. 99B-Robbie Smith[10]; 24. 12K-Jeffrey Newell[15].