By Ken de la Bastide
ANDERSON – A year ago Clayton Gaines won his first Kenyon Midgets feature win with a dramatic last lap pass, his second career victory at Anderson Speedway on Saturday was dramatically different.
After two aborted starts for the feature race when first Nathan Foster spun in turn two and then Chase Jones and Tommy Kouns made contact in the same corner. Kouns car did a gentle flip with neither driver injured but both unable to continue.
Starting on the pole position as a result of the invert the Alexandria teenager charged into the lead followed by fast qualifier Ryan Huggler and point leader Dameron Taylor.
As Huggler and Taylor battled for the second spot it allowed Gaines to stretch his lead.
He was able to navigate around slower cars just past the mid-point and drove to the victory.
Taylor passed Huggler for second on lap 21 with an inside pass entering turn three.
Gaines and Taylor were followed to the checkered flag by Huggler, Trey Osborne and Cole Christy.
“This was less stressful,” Gaines said of his second victory at Anderson Speedway and second with the Kenyon Midgets. “The car was fast all night, it was perfect.”
Coming up on the slower traffic, Gaines said the car of Foster was attempting to pass Ashlee Albertson with an outside move and he decided to take the high line.
Huggler set fast time during qualifying for the first time this season at Anderson Speedway with a time of 12.721-seconds edging out Taylor and Jones.
In the first heat race Logan Huggler led all ten laps but he was challenged the entire distance by Jones and Ryan Huggler.
Several times it looked like Jones was going to get a run inside of Logan Huggler to take the lead, but was forced to back out of the throttle entering the corners.
Dameron Taylor used the inside line to pass early leader Trey Osborne coming off the second corner halfway through the race to win the second heat race.
After passing Osborne, Taylor had to survive a final restart with two laps remaining after Albertson spun in turn four.