By Jacob Seelman
ANDERSON, Ind. –
McCune used a high-low switch to take the lead from polesitter and early-race leader Chris Neuenschwander on lap 17, holding serve throughout the remaining distance and fighting off long-time rival Brian Gerster in the closing stages.
Not only was the win McCune’s fifth at Anderson, it was his personal-best sixth series win of the year and the record-extending 22nd of his MSR career.
While the win may have looked easy, McCune said it was anything but.
“I hope it was fun (for the fans to watch),” McCune laughed. “It was crazy out there. The car was good. It was just tough to figure out what guys wanted to do. Some wanted to run right through the middle and others wanted to run the top. It was just hard to pick and choose where they were gonna be.”
“The last few laps, the race track was all oiled (down) … about two car widths wide. It was treacherous and we were sliding around everywhere. I got there, but man, we were hanging on.”
The only true nervous moments for McCune were on lap 22, when Christian Koehler spun out right in front of the lead pack and nearly collected him in the process, and inside of 20 to go when lap traffic was at its peak.
On both laps 31 and 34, Gerster had a chance to work to McCune’s inside as the No. 88 was pinned in heavy traffic with no momentum, but both times McCune was able to find escape routes and get back in front.
Though Gerster fell .729 of a second short in the end, he too cited the oiled-down track as being a major factor as time wound down.
“The last five laps, somebody was dumping a ton of oil on the track and Jimmy was getting sideways … I was getting sideways; it was crazy,” Gerster said. “We had a decent night after messing up in qualifying, but we kept digging. We had a shot at the win a couple times. We just didn’t get the job done.”
Anthony McCune completed the podium in third, notching his fifth straight finish of fourth or better and his fourth podium in the last five races, followed by Chris Neuenschwander and Jerry Caryer.
Doug Dietsch, Charlie Schultz, Dameron Taylor, Tom Jewell and Brian Vaughn completed the top 10.
Jimmy McCune was the night’s fast qualifier, scoring his seventh-career Abe’s Auto Parts Time Trial Award with a lap of 10.710 seconds (84.034 mph) around the quarter-mile bullring.
Christian Koehler, Tom Jewell and Jerry Caryer won their respective 10-lap heat races.
The Must See Racing Sprint Car Series returns to action on Saturday, Aug. 19 with the running of the annual Engine Pro Fast Car Slash at Berlin Raceway.
RESULTS: Must See Racing Sprint Car Series; Anderson Speedway; Aug. 12, 2017
1-800-RADIATOR A-Feature (50 laps): 1. #88 – Jimmy McCune [4]; 2. #50m – Brian Gerster [5]; #8 – Anthony McCune [3]; 4. Chris Neuenschwander [1]; 5. Jerry Caryer [2]; 6. #0 – Doug Dietsch [6]; 7. #9s – Charlie Schultz [7]; 8. #5 – Dameron Taylor [10]; 9. #7 – Tom Jewell [9]; 10. #71 – Brian Vaughn [8]; 11. #10k – Christian Koehler [13]; 12. #B4 – Bronzie Lawson IV [11]; 13. #8A – Adam Biltz [14]; 14. #72s – Joe Speakman [12]; 15. #13 – HD Carter [15]; 16. #26 – Jeff Bloom [16].
Abe’s Auto Parts Time Trials (best of two laps): 1. #88 – Jimmy McCune, 10.710; 2. #8 – Anthony McCune, 10.829; 3. #75c – Jerry Caryer, 10.900; 4. #10 – Chris Neuenschwander, 10.930; 5. #50m – Brian Gerster, 10.971; 6. #0 – Doug Dietsch, 11.136; 7. #9s – Charlie Schultz, 11.158; 8. #71 – Brian Vaughn, 11.216; 9. #7 – Tom Jewell, 11.226; 10. #26 – Jeff Bloom, 11.246; 11. #5 – Dameron Taylor, 11.313; 12. #B4 – Bronzie Lawson IV, 11.441; 13. #72s – Joe Speakman, 11.465; 14. #10k – Christian Koehler, 11.550; 15. #8A – Adam Biltz, 11.651; 16. #13 – HD Carter, 14.278.
Abe’s Auto Parts First Heat (10 laps): 1. Christian Koehler ($100) [1]; 2. Joe Speakman ($50) [2]; 3. Dameron Taylor ($35) [4]; 4. Bronzie Lawson [3]; 5. Adam Biltz [5]; 6. HD Carter [6].
B&B Machinery Movers Second Heat (10 laps): 1. Tom Jewell ($100) [1]; 2. Charlie Schultz ($50) [3]; 3. Brian Vaughn [2] ($35); 4. Doug Dietsch [4]; 5. Jeff Bloom [5].
RAM Engineering Midwest Third Heat (10 laps): 1. Jerry Caryer ($100) [2]; 2. Chris Neuenschwander ($50) [1]; 3. Jimmy McCune ($35) [4]; 4. Brian Gerster [5]; 5. Anthony McCune [3].