By Ben Deatherage
(6/15/23 – ) White City, OR … Corey Day took care of business in the non-stop 30-lap NARC 410 Sprint Car Series main event at Southern Oregon Speedway, besting the field to win the Fastest Four Days In Motorsports opening leg. Despite starting from the inside front row, Day had to hold back a charging Justyn Cox at the wire on the final lap. It is the fourth time that Day has won with the series in 2023 and the tenth of his career with NARC.
“I knew (Justyn) was getting close,” said a joyful Day in victory lane. “I was stuck with the lappers, and our header broke, and I wasn’t sure if our motor was blowing up or not, so I was just being conservative and trying to make sure it wasn’t losing power.”
“We finally put a whole night together. When you have a guy like Shane (Bowers) turning the wrenches, it makes your job pretty easy, and hats off to the track crew here; that rework on the bottom helped the track come in.”
Day motored away at the drop of the green flag and set a blazing place. It only took five laps for him to get into lapped traffic, and he handled it efficiently, but it would not be the last time he squared up with the tail end of the field. As the long green flag run developed, the Meyers Constructors/Four C’s Construction #14 KPC pilot kept the Jason Meyers Racing entry up on the high side, encountering more and more cars to pass.
In the last few circuits Day got bottled up in some hefty traffic which allowed runner-up Justyn Cox in the Benefit RFP/Teichert Construction #42X Maxim to reel him in. Cox, racing for Bates-Hamilton Racing, made a daring last lap. last corner, move but couldn’t make it stick, allowing Day to hold on for the .603 second victory.
“It was a Hail Mary at that point,” commented Cox. “When you’re leading, it’s tough to know what to do. I packed my right rear full of mud on the inside, so I was shaking hard and couldn’t see that well. I was half-blind for a minute but figured I’d poke my nose. Corey races me with a lot of respect.”
The Shane DeWald Trucking/NexGen Diesel Exhaust Fluid #18T KPC, of Tanner Holmes was third. Teenager Dylan Bloomfield posted a fourth-place finish in the Dave and Debbie Vertullo-owned Starr Property Management/Gary Silva Ranches #83V Maxim. It was his best NARC finish of his career. Fifth went to Justin Sanders, running the Farmer’s Brewing/North County Plastering #2X Maxim for car owner Demo Mittry.
“Corey and Justyn set a really good pace,” said Holmes, who posted a career-best NARC finish. “It came down to lapped traffic on what we could do. It’s awesome to see such a big crowd, and we were able to defend some home turf and run up front.”
Two-time defending series champ Dominic Scelzi was sixth, chased by Cole Macedo and Bud Kaeding. Joel Myers Jr. and Australian Jessie Attard wrapped up the top ten finishers.
Jared Hood got upside down in heat race action but was unharmed.
A-FEATURE (30 laps): 1. 14-Corey Day [1]; 2. 42X-Justyn Cox [2]; 3. 18T-Tanner Holmes [3]; 4. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [4]; 5. 2X-Justin Sanders [7]; 6. 41-Dominic Scelzi [8]; 7. 21-Cole Macedo [5]; 8. 69-Bud Kaeding [9]; 9. 46JR-Joel Myers [6]; 10. 53-Jessie Attard [11]; 11. 26-Billy Aton [12]; 12. 115-Nick Parker [10]; 13. 73-Chase Johnson [13]; 14. 3AU-Karl Hoffmans [16]; 15. AU96-Andy Caruana [14]; 16. 4-Burt Foland Jr [15]
METTEC TITANIUM LAP LEADERS: Corey Day 1-30
WILLIAMS ROOFING HARD CHARGER: Justin Sanders +2
ARP FAST QUALIFIER (17 Cars): Dylan Bloomfield, 11.133
BROWN AND MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS HEAT ONE (10 Laps): 1. 42X-Justyn Cox [1]; 2. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [4]; 3. 69-Bud Kaeding [2]; 4. 115-Nick Parker [3]; 5. 4-Burt Foland Jr [6]; 6. 3AU-Karl Hoffmans [5]
KIMO’s TROPICAL CAR WASH HEAT TWO (10 Laps): 1. 46JR-Joel Myers [2]; 2. 21-Cole Macedo [4]; 3. 41-Dominic Scelzi [1]; 4. 53-Jessie Attard [3]; 5. 73-Chase Johnson [5]; 6. A1-Jared Hood [6]
BEACON WEALTH STRATEGIES & RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIAL HEAT THREE (10 Laps): 1. 18T-Tanner Holmes [1]; 2. 2X-Justin Sanders [2]; 3. 14-Corey Day [4]; 4. 26-Billy Aton [3]; 5. AU96-Andy Caruana [5]
SUNNY VALLEY “POWERED BY BACON” TROPHY DASH (6 Laps): 1. 14-Corey Day [2]; 2. 42X-Justyn Cox [1]; 3. 18T-Tanner Holmes [5]; 4. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [4]; 5. 21-Cole Macedo [3]; 6. 46JR-Joel Myers [6]