By Chad Buford
Taking control on on lap five, Mark Shirshekan captured his first career Winged Outlaw Warrior win at LA Raceway Friday night. When the green flag waved, Eric Todd led from his pole starting position as he was followed by Shirshekan and Tyler Blank. With Todd leading, Shirshekan and Blank had a good race going for the second spot with the pair trading the position on laps three and four. Shirshekan took over second from Blank on lap four and a lap later, he worked his way past Todd and into the lead. On lap six, Blank was able to get by Todd as well as he was one of only a few cars who were running the high groove.
The action would be halted on lap eight for Jon Corbin who stopped in turn three. Corbin would not continue. The yellow was unfortunate for Randy Martin, who had just passed Eric Todd for third. Before a lap could be completed after the restart, the yellow reappeared for a Haley Arnold spin in turn one. Shirshekan would once again jump out into the lead on the restart as his car was working flawlessly on the bottom of the track. On lap eleven, Martin was able to get by Todd for third and a lap later, he had worked his way past Blank and into second. Todd also worked his way past Blank and into third on lap fourteen, but Blank would battle back a lap later and back into third. The duo continued the battle for third, but Todd would take control for good on lap sixteen. With a handful of laps remaining and Martin starting to gain on Shirshekan, a caution appeared for Cody Baker, who rolled to a stop on the backstretch. Shirshekan got a great restart and moved away from Martin as Todd and Blank both began to apply heavy pressure for second, but Martin would answer and move away from the pair as the laps wound down. Martin was not able to close as Shirshekan went on to his first career Winged Outlaw Warrior win in the Cooper Racing Enterprises Wesmar-powered J&J. Martin ran a solid second in his Diamond Pet Foods J&J powered by a stout Roush-Yates motor. Todd continued his strong early season by finishing third in the AmsOil Maxim powered by a Joe Todd motor. Jay Russell finished fourth in the Klein Motors and RV’s Maxim with a Trondson Engine. Curtis Boyer worked his way past Blank on the last lap to finish fifth in the American Family Insurance/Ramey Dirt Works/Hagedorn Collision and Signs Salina-powered J&J. Blank held onto sixth in the Blank’s Backhoe Maxim followed by J Kinder in seventh from his fifteenth starting spot. Mitchell Moore ran eighth as Kyle Bellm and Michael White rounded out the top ten.
The Winged Outlaw Warriors will be in action again on Saturday May 8th at Springfield Raceway in a co-sanctioned race with the ASCS Sooner Region.
LA Raceway
May 7th
21cars
1st Heat- 8 laps
1. 3 Mark Shirshekan-Farmington, MO(2) 2. 75 Tyler Blank-California, MO(3) 3. 44 Jon Corbin-Kansas City, MO(5) 4. 48 David Brown-Marshall, MO(6) 5. 93 Taylor Walton-Warrensburg, MO(1) 6. 11C Dakota Carroll-LaMonte, MO(7) 7. 18W Chris Walker-Oak Grove, MO(4)
2nd Heat- 8 laps
1. 14K Kyle Bellm-Nixa, MO(1) 2. 21T Eric Todd-Falcon, MO(3) 3. 19 Mitchell Moore-Edgerton, KS(6) 4. 165 Haley Arnold-Sedalia, MO(2) 5. 46 Michael White-LaMonte, MO(4) 6. 10 Chris Coleman-Marshall, MO(5) 7. 38 Cody Baker-Lone Jack, MO
3rd Heat- 8 laps
1. 14 Randy Martin-California, MO(6) 2. 76 Jay Russell-Elwood, KS(1) 3. 43 Frank Brown-Marshall, MO(2) 4. 72 Curtis Boyer-New Haven, MO(3) 5. 88 J Kinder-Holt’s Summit, MO(5) 6. 19S Steven Cross-Appleton City, MO(4) 7. 3V Tyler Utz- Sedalia, MO(7)
Feature- 20 laps
1. 3 Shirshekan(2) 2. 14 Martin(5) 3. 21T Todd(1) 4. 76 Russell(4) 5. 72 Boyer(12) 6. 75 Blank(6) 7. 88 Kinder(15) 8. 19 Moore(8) 9. 14K Bellm(3) 10. 46 White( 14) 11. 19S Cross(18) 12. 18W Walker(19) 13. 3V Utz(20) 14. 93 Walton(13) 15. 11C Carroll(16) 16. 48 D.Brown(10)-DNF 17. 38 Baker(19)-DNF 18. 10 Coleman(21)-DNF
19. 165 Arnold(11)-DNF 20. 44 Corbin(7)-DNF 21. 43 F. Brown(9)-DNF