IRWINDALE, Calif. – Derek Thorn continued his dominance of the SPEARS Southwest Tour with his 51st series victory Saturday evening at Irwindale Speedway.
Starting seventh in the 28-car field, Thorn was on a mission from the outset of the 100-lap main event. He quickly went from seventh to second, with Buddy Shepherd leading at the front of the field.
Thorn settled into second and spent more than half the race chasing Shepherd, eventually catching and passing him as the leaders worked slower traffic. Thorn got to Shepherd’s inside in turn three on lap 55, pushing Shepherd up the track before pulling clear into the race lead.
Thorn led the rest of the way, beating Jacob Gomes by more than two seconds for his second victory of the season with the series.
“This place is just so hard to pass,” Thorn said in victory lane. “Shepherd had a really good car. I had to go when the moment arose. This thing was on rails once I got out into clean air and was able to set my own pace.”
Kole Raz finished third, followed by Christian McGhee and Cale Kanke.
Other feature winners on Saturday at Irwindale included Jeremy Doss in the SPEARS Pro Late Model Series and Travis McCullough in the SPEARS Manufacturing Modified Series.
The finish:
Derek Thorn, Jacob Gomes, Kole Raz, Christian McGhee, Cale Kanke, Preston Peltier, Brandon Farrington, Buddy Shepherd, Carlos Vieira, Blaine Rocha, Jimmy Parker Jr., Andy Allen, Keith Spangler, Kyle Neveau, Ross Strmiska, Mark Neff, Austin Thom, John Moore, Dylan Lupton, Jeff Bischofberger, Tracy Bolin, Scott Sanchez, Corey Neveau, Sean Woodside, Dylan Garner, John Dillon, Trevor Huddleston, Dean Thompson.