CALIFORNIA, Mo. — Opening night at Double-X Speedway saw a good crowd and a good field of cars supporting local dirt-track racing.
Tyler Blank took top honors in the headlining winged sprint car feature.
Evan Martin and Blank were on the front row and brought the field to the green. Blank took the lead on the high side in turns one and two with Kyle Bellm in tow. Martin would fade to fourth after a pass for third by Taylor Walton.
On a clear track, Blank was setting sail with Bellm keeping pace. As the leaders encountered lapped traffic on lap 10, Bellm would begin to reel in the leader. Blank changed his line moving to the low groove in one and two with Bellm mimicking the change.
As they cleared the lapped cars the duo moved back to the top shelf and Blank once again gained some breathing room over Bellm. Lapped cars were looming again but Blank was able to clear them and claim the victory.
Following the fleet lead duo under the checkered flag were Taylor Walton with a good run in third. Evan Martin finished fourth and Zach Daum was fifth.
The Super Stocks were first on the card for the feature events with a 15-lap main on tap. Dalton Imhoff and John Clancy, Jr paced the field to the green flag. Contact in turn two between the front row starters saw Cole Henson inherit the lead for the restart. During the yellow flag Imhoff retired to the pit area as did Clancy, however he was able to return to the competition. On the restart Henson took the green but had a bobble in turn one allowing Joe Miller and Dale Berry to move past. Miller would continue to lead while Berry held off Henson. Cole Henson would race a complete lap side by side with Berry before completing the pass for second.
A lap-12 caution brought Henson to the rear bumper of Miller’s, No. 409, but the cagey veteran was able to maintain his lead over the final three laps to secure the win. Following Miller and Henson under the checkered flag were Brandon Hays in third.
In the Hobby Stock feature, it was Kyle Smith with a convincing run to claim the victory on night one. Mike Schrader came across the line to finish second. Chuck Coffey was third, Aaron Brookshire crossed fourth and Drew Tully completed the top five.