From Lonnie Wheatley
LEBANON, Ore. (July 14, 2011) – Another night of ASCS Northwest Speedweek action produced yet another winner, as Kyle Larson ended his run of three consecutive runner-up finishes by winning Thursday night’s 30-lap feature event at Willamette Speedway.
The 18-year-old from Elk Grove, CA, battled past early leaders Henry Van Dam and Trey Starks en route to becoming the fourth different winner in as many nights of 14th Annual Bully Dog ASCS Northwest Speedweek presented by Contingency Connection competition, padding his lead in the Speedweek points chase in the process.
With Larson gridding the Finley Farms No. 77 inside the second row, front row starter Van Dam paced the initial circuits before 15-year-old Starks took command after the pair exchanged several slide jobs.
Larson raced into the lead soon after and raced on to the checkered flag virtually unchallenged. In his wake, Starks, Van Dam and Crawley diced for runner-up honors with Starks claiming the position.
Crawley settled for the show position for the second night in a row, with Van Dam in fourth. Roger Crockett advanced a handful of positions to round out the top five, with Steven Tiner, Brady Bacon, Seth Bergman, Jason Solwold and Mitch Olson completing the top ten. Olson picked up Travis Rutz Hard Charger honors after advancing from the 17th starting position.
Crawley, Starks and Van Dam topped heat race action, with Jamie Veal winning the “B” Main.
ASCS Northwest Speedweek Results from Willamette Speedway:
Heat One (10 Laps): 1. 88z-Tim Crawley, 2. 26f-Shane Forte, 3. 21w-Vern Wheeler, 4. 5h-Mason Moore, 5. 35au-Jamie Veal, 6. 98m-Mitch Olson, 7. 88-Brent Hoover, 8. 8rc-Jason Cocking.
Heat Two (10 Laps): 1. 55-Trey Starks, 2. 31-Colton Akerstrom, 3. 94-Steven Tiner, 4. 11-Roger Crockett, 5. 23-Seth Bergman, 6. 2L-Logan Forler, 7. 27dd-David Hoiness, 8. 9a-Luke Didiuk
Heat Three (10 Laps): 1. 33v-Henry Van Dam, 2. 13-Chadd Noland, 3. 77-Kyle Larson, 4. 39c-Jason Solwold, 5. 99-Brady Bacon, 6. 21-Tommy Tarlton, 7. 98-Joe Ramaker.
“B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 35au-Jamie Veal, 2. 98m-Mitch Olson, 3. 27dd-David Hoiness, 4. 21-Tommy Tarlton, 5. 88-Brent Hoover, 6. 98-Joe Ramaker, 7. 9a-Luke Didiuk, 8. 8rc-Jason Cocking.
Last Chance Winner: 98-Joe Ramaker.
“A” Feature (30 Laps): 1. 77-Kyle Larson, 2. 55-Trey Starks, 3. 88z-Tim Crawley, 4. 33v-Henry Van Dam, 5. 11-Roger Crockett, 6. 94-Steven Tiner, 7. 99-Brady Bacon, 8. 23-Seth Bergman, 9. 39c-Jason Solwold, 10. 98m-Mitch Olson, 11. 26f-Shane Forte, 12. 31-Colton Akerstrom, 13. 35au-Jamie Veal, 14. 21-Tommy Tarlton, 15. 13-Chadd Noland, 16. 27dd-David Hoiness, 17. 5h-Mason Moore, 18. 21w-Vern Wheeler, 19. 2L-Logan Forler, 20. 98-Joe Ramaker.
ASCS Northwest Points (Top Ten): 1. Roger Crockett 1,094, 2. Henry Van Dam 1,028, 3. Seth Bergman 1,015, 4. Trey Starks 951, 5. Mitch Olson 864, 6. Jason Solwold 787, 7. Jason Cocking 697, 8. Chadd Noland 686, 9. Mason Moore 631, 10. Kyle Larson 576.
Bully Dog ASCS Northwest Speedweek presented by Contingency Connection Points (Top Ten): 1. Kyle Larson 576, 2. Roger Crockett 540, 3. Henry Van Dam 528, 4. Trey Starks 499, 5. Seth Bergman 473, 6. Steven Tiner 445, 7. Chadd Noland 440, 8. Jamie Veal 434, 9. Mitch Olson 424, 10. Tommy Tarlton 421.