BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Derek Thorn topped the SPEARS Southwest Tour Series portion of the October Classic on Sunday at Kern County Raceway Park.
Starting from the pole after an invert, Thorn dominated the 100-lap event. Despite spending his day at the front of the field, Thorn was constantly hounded by veteran late model driver Preston Peltier throughout the race.
Peltier was rarely more than half a second behind Thorn before eventually falling out of the race in the final 30 laps with a mechanical issue.
That left Thorn by himself at the front of the field, allowing him to cruise to the victory over Jace Hansen. The victory was Thorn’s sixth victory of the season with the series.
“That was a workout. That was intense. That was the most intense race I think I’ve had in a long time,” Thorn said. “Hats off to the 54 (Peltier) and the 08 (Hansen), they both had really good cars.”
Christian McGhee, Brandon Farrington and Jacob Gomes completed the top-five finishers.
Jeremy Doss won the companion Spears Manufacturing Modified Series feature.
The finish:
Derek Thorn, Jace Hansen, Christian McGhee, Brandon Farrington, Jacob Gomes, Dan Holtz, John Dillon, Blaine Rocha, Carlos Vieira, Kyle Neveau, Buddy Shepherd, Cale Kanke, Chris Clyne, Keith Spangler, Eric Schmidt, Joey Iest, Dean Thompson, Bobby Hodges, Jim Vermillion, Scott Sanchez, Preston Peltier, Mark Neff, Linny White, Andy Allen, Thane Alderman.