Auto City Speedway’s Saturday night line-up was pure excitement for the fans. With the 100-lap Springslinger Super Late Model race and feature races for the Street Stocks, Pure Stocks, Hornets and Auto City 8’s it was non stop action.
Paige Amy No. 1 found a good groove and set the pace for the Spaulding Insurance Hornets Feature event. She led the first half of the race by five car lengths until she was sent to the back for running three tenths faster than her qualifying time. With the front of the field wide-open the battle was on! Thirteen year-old Rookie Jacob Thom was the victor with his first feature win.
Thom’s mom Penny was with him in the tech barn after the race.
“What are we going to do to celebrate, Mom?” Jacob asked.
“Anything you want!” Penny said, too excited to really think about what she was promising. (You have it in writing, now, Jacob!)
Mike Luberda Jr. No. 40 sat back in the number two spot for most of the 100-lap Springslinger Super Late Model feature. With 10 laps to go, Luberda moved to the front and stretched out his advantage to a comfortable four car-length lead. A caution flag in the final lap bunched up the field for a restart on the final lap, but Luberda was able to hold off hard charges from Mike Rudd No. 98 to take home the win.
“I was saving tires and saving brakes the whole way,” Luberda said. “I knew we’d have something at the end. Mike Rudd was a bullet coming through the field. Another 10 laps and it wouldn’t have been pretty!”
The Herald Pure Stocks 20-lap feature saw a field of 17 “good ol’ boys” take to the track.
Duane Damon ended Chad Lamson’s winning streak when he snuck inside Jordan Lechota in turn four of the eighth lap and held off Lamson to the finish.
A fan in the stands, Raymond Stomberski of Pinconning, summed up the race when he said, “This is like watching the Dukes of Hazard!”
“It feels great to get that first feature win of the year!” Duane Damon said. “I beat the track record in qualifying, too, with a time of 16.51.”
Maverick Morrow was top dog of the Modern Concrete Street Stocks Division.
“Last night I won my first career win at Dixie,” Morrow said. “I’ve been racing for 10 years with no feature wins. Now, I have two in one weekend. It’s unbelievable!”
Current Pure Stock and Figure 8 points leader Chad Lamson No. 888 rolled into victory lane after yet another Figure 8 win this season.
Next week is Autograph Night at Auto City. The Auto City Super Stocks and Dart Modifieds are back on the schedule and there are two special features: Bob Kern’s Down and Dirty Figure 8 Invite and the Billy’s Roadhouse Modern Concrete Street Stock Shoot-Out, if your name is Billy (and you can prove it) you get in free.
