FORT WORTH, Texas — Chelby Hinton led all 25 laps to win Engler Machine and Tool Preliminary Night One of the Lil’ Texas Micro Mania KKM Challenge with the POWRi Outlaw Micro League at Texas Motor Speedway.
High-point qualifier Darren Brown shared the front row with Hinton, with Hinton taking the early lead as Frank Flud, Colby Sokol, Ryan Winter, Sheldon Creed, Chase Spicola, Cameron Paul, Jett Hays, Brecken Reese and Kyle Busch all battled inside the early contending top 10.
Extending a solid two-second advantage while working through lap traffic would find leader Hinton show the fastest path with Flud pacing in second as Sokol, Winter, and Creed battled for third, fourth, and fifth as the caution flag waved around the mid-point of the feature.
Bunching the field back together for a lap-13 restart would witness Hinton maintain the front of the field while holding off the steady-and-speedy charges of Flud with Sokol running third as Creed and Hays continually swapped spots within the top five.
Setting the stage for late-race dramatics would witness the pack restarting with two laps remaining as Hinton would defend the top spot to earn his second career POWRi Outlaw Non-Wing Micro victory as Flud finished in the closely guarded second spot with Sokol finalizing the podium placements.
“I am really glad I hung on and get a win in this place. I wasn’t letting off at any time even if I was locked in,” said Hinton. “Car got a little worse as the race went on but I never gave up and we’ll get this car right for Saturday.”
The finish:
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 28-Chelby Hinton[2]; 2. 81-Frank Flud[3]; 3. 24S-Colby Sokol[5]; 4. 74-Sheldon Creed[8]; 5. 51-Kyle Busch[13]; 6. 11J-Jett Hays[9]; 7. 12C-Chase Spicola[7]; 8. 110-Karter Battarbee[15]; 9. 11C-Darren Brown[1]; 10. 80N-Shawn Jones[20]; 11. 20Q-Brecken Reese[10]; 12. 14-Harley Hollan[6]; 13. 93-Matt Carr[16]; 14. 50-Jacob Severn[18]; 15. 44C-Cameron Paul[11]; 16. 21X-Brant Woods[19]; 17. 22M-Sammy McNabb[14]; 18. 3T-Trevor McIntire[21]; 19. 61C-Ryan Winter[4]; 20. 01-Weldon Buford[12]; 21. 8P-Caleb Pence[17]; 22. 82-Seth Shebester[22].