By Lonnie Wheatley
ODESSA, Mo. (September 25, 2021) – Jason Martin has knocked on the door of the previous pair of Lubbock Wrecker Service 305 Sprint Car Nationals with back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2019 and 2020.
The Liberal, KS, native finished off the job this time around atop the ½-mile I-70 Motorsports Park clay oval by topping Saturday night’s 30-lap championship finale of the Fifth Annual event, a victory that proved to be worth $4,250 including lap money to push his overall take for the three-day event to $5,225.
“I was a little bummed when I pulled the six for the Dash,” Martin commented in victory lane. “But I also knew that it was a long race and I had time to get there, I just had to rely upon my experience.”
Gridding the feature fourth after gaining a pair of positions in the Weld Racing Pole Dash, Martin moved the Myers-powered Rezac Concrete/Trucks Plus/Bybee Electric No. 5x Eagle into second on the opening round and set his sights on pole starter and early leader Ty Williams.
Williams kept Martin and the battling duo of Zach Blurton and Luke Cranston at bay in the initial rounds before approaching a gaggle of lapped cars a half-dozen laps in.
The Arcadia, OK, threaded his way through six cars while Martin and company got bogged down briefly, allowing Williams to slip away to a half straightaway lead.
“There were some of those guys racing side-by-side and there just wasn’t anywhere to go,” Martin explained.
Once free of that pack, Martin chipped away at Williams’ advantage and pounced when Williams ran afoul of traffic to open the door to victory lane.
Martin weathered one caution after 19 laps for a slowing car and then adeptly worked through traffic in the final circuits to secure the win.
Williams on that restart with Blurton finally breaking free of Cranston after trading third. Blurton closed the gap on Williams and used traffic to race into second, a position he held the rest of the way for a sweep of weekend runner-up finishes.
Williams settled for the show position with Cranton and Jeremy Huish rounding out the top five. After starting on the front row outside, Kyler Johnson crossed the stripe in sixth with Toby Chapman, Monty Ferreira, Randy Martin and Jay Russell completing the top ten.
Williams picked up an extra $300 by winning the Weld Racing Pole Dash that included a $1,000 overall purse for the six drivers that racked up the most cumulative points in Thursday and Friday preliminary action. Indiana’s Alfred Galedridge, Jr., and Nebraska’s John Webster picked up Saturday night heat race wins.
I-70 Motorsports Park – Fifth Annual Lubbock Wrecker Service 305 Sprint Car Nationals
September 25, 2021 Results:
United Rebel Sprint Series (URSS):
Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 19-Alfred Galedridge, Jr., 2. 45-Monty Ferreira, 3. 88J-Jeremy Huish, 4. 15-Jack Potter, 5. 63-Randy Martin, 6. 20d-Jacob Dye, 7. 75-Cash Beeson, 8. 38c-Camdin Couch, 9. 36-Chris Couch.
Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 9-John Webster, 2. 76-Jay Russell, 3. 1p-Curtis Evans, 4. 91-Steven Russell, 5. 4-Josh Poe, 6. 4-Josh Poe, 7. 43-Jake Greenwood, 8. 38-Kevin Frisbie, 9. 1-Greg Murry.
Weld Racing Pole Dash (6 Laps): 1. 911-Ty Wlliams ($300), 2. 45x-Kyler Johnson ($200), 3. 2J-Zach Blurton ($150), 4. 5x-Jason Martin ($150), 5. 7c-Toby Chapman ($100), 6 20-Luke Cranston ($100).
“A” Main (30 Laps): 1. 5x-Jason Martin (4) [$4,250], 2. 2J-Zach Blurton (3) [$2,160], 3. 911-Ty Williams (1) [$2,580], 4. 20-Luke Cranston (6) [$1,040], 5. 88J-Jeremy Huish (8) [$800], 6. 45x-Kyler Johnson (2) [$700], 7. 7c-Toby Chapman (5) [$650], 8. 45-Monty Ferreira (10) [$600], 9. 63-Randy Martin (9) [$550], 10. 76-Jay Russell (7) [$500], 11. 19-Alfred Galedridge, Jr. (14) [$475], 12. 1p-Curtis Evans (12) [$450], 13. 43-Jake Greenwood (15) [$425], 14. 4-Josh Poe [$400], 15. 15-Jack Potter (14) [$400], 16. 91-Steven Russell (19) [$400}, 17. 20d-Jacob Dye (17) [$400], 18. 36c-Camdin Couch (20) [$400], 19. 38-Kevin Frisbie (21) [$400, 20. 9-John Webster (13) [$400], 21. 75-Cash Beeson (16) [$400], 22. 36-Chris Couch (22) [$400], 23. 1-Greg Murry (DNS).