By the URSS
NORTON — Sometimes you have to catch the breaks, and that’s just what Luke Cranston did.
Those breaks propelled Cranston to another United Rebel Sprint Series victory Saturday night at Elmwood Park Speedway in Norton on the first night of a two-day show.
Cranston started eighth and worked his way into fourth after the first lap.
On lap five, he was in second.
“It was a good time, a lot of fun,” Cranston said. “We had some good runs and caught some yellow flags at the right times — and luckily we weren’t involved in any of them. We caught some breaks and passed some cars.”
Cranston set his sights then on the leader, Keefe Hemel, and a caution helped him pull onto Hemel’s bumper.
On the restart, Cranston bolted to the lead and earned another URSS victory by holding off the rest of the field.
“It’s always nice working out front,” Cranston said. “You can run your own line and don’t have to worry about where everyone else is. … You can just take a deep breath and go.”
Hemel closed the gap a bit when Cranston entered lap traffic, but Hemel never could mount a real threat.
Hemel finished second, followed by Jake Bubak. Kade Hagans had one of his best runs in his rookie season, taking fourth, and Brian Herbert, a two-time URSS national champ, was fifth.
Heat race winners were Steven Richardson, Bubak and Herbert.
The Keizer Aluminum Wheels Hard-Charger Award went to Zach Blurton, who started 15th and finished seventh.
Feature results
1. Luke Cranston, 2. Keefe Hemel, 3. Jake Bubak, 4. Kade Hagans, 5. Brian Herbert, 6. Barry Crane, 7. Zach Blurton, 8. Steven Richardson, 9. Jeff Radcliffe, 10. Patrick Bourke, 11. Ron Hadley, 12. Mark Walinder, 13. Howard Van Dyke, 14. Greg Reiners, 15. Darren Berry (DNF), 16. Zac Taylor (DNF), 17. Richie Dewell (DNF), 18. Mike Madden (DNF).