ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. – Freddie Rahmer got the monkey off his back Saturday night at Lincoln Speedway with his first victory of the season.
Joe Kata started from the pole and took the lead as the green flag waved. Glenndon Forsythe, who started third, moved into second when the first caution flag waved on lap one for Tyler Esh spinning and collecting Jim Siegel.
Rahmer, who started sixth, went to work after the restart, moving from fourth to third by lap two. On lap four Rahmer moved into second while Kata continued to lead the field.
Kata had a lead of more than two seconds by lap six, but Rahmer started to close the gap to Kata as they approached lapped traffic on lap eight. Rahmer had Kata’s lead down to .6 of a second and quickly got under Kata in turns three and four on lap 11, but couldn’t complete the pass. Rahmer stuck around and got by Kata for the lead coming out of turn two on the next lap.
It didn’t take long for Rahmer to pull away from the rest of the field. Within one lap he put two seconds between himself and second place.
The second caution of the race came on lap 15 for Brian Montieth and Brett Michalski in turn four. Montieth had been running fifth and was making it a four-car battle for second with Kata, Forsythe and Adam Wilt. Both Montieth and Michalski were able to rejoin the field.
The restart with 10 laps to go erased Rahmer’s lead of 2.7 seconds over the field.
Rahmer got a great start at the cone and quickly built a gap between himself and the field. Behind him the battle was on between Wilt and Kata for second. Wilt got around Kata for second on lap 22.
Wilt wasn’t going to catch Rahmer, who crossed the finish line for his first win of the season and a $3,500 payday. Wilt settled for second while Tim Glatfelter finished third. Kyle Moody and Forsythe completed the top-five.
Jeff Halligan took home $1,000 for his victory in the companion 358 sprint car main event.
The finish:
Freddie Rahmer, Adam Wilt, Tim Glatfelter, Kyle Moody, Glenndon Forsythe, Alan Krimes, Joe Kata, Cole Young, Ryan Smith, Steve Owings, Cory Haas, Brandon Rahmer, Chad Trout, Landon Myers, Chase Dietz, Brian Montieth, Dan Shetler, T.J. Michael, Tyler Esh, Brett Michalski, Trey Hivner, Scott Fisher, Jim Siegel, Todd Gracey.