WHEATLAND, Mo. — Tucker Cox parked it in victory lane in the Hermitage Lumber Late Model division on Saturday night at Lucas Oil Speedway in Round 3 of the Pitts Homes and Realty Challenge Cup.
It wasn’t easy, even though Cox officially led all 20 laps. The Jefferson City driver earned his first feature win of the season, holding off multiple slider attempts from Robbe Ewing over the final four laps.
“It was a really good race and the car was really good tonight,” said Cox, who earned $1,000 for the victory.
Cox started on the pole and set the early pace, leading Ewing and Matt Becker, with eighth-starting Cole Henson moving into fourth by lap four. Following a lap-six caution, Kaeden Cornell advanced into second after starting seventh.
As the laps clicked by, Cox kept extending his lead and was 2.5 seconds in front of of Ewing by lap 14 with Cornell third and Henson fourth. But Cox saw his big lead wiped out with a lap-16 caution.
Ewing rode the high groove to pull alongside Cox twice in the final laps, but Cox hung on to win by .151 seconds or one car length.
“On that last restart I could hear him out there. On the front straightaway I could hear him, wide open going into one,” Cox said of Ewing, who twice momentarily took the lead, only for Cox to cross back over before the start-finish line,
Cornell was third with Bryon Allison fourth and Becker fifth.
A total of 113 cars checked into the pits for the five classes, which will have 10 points races between April 10th and Aug. 29 with a number of other events to be run as non-points events. All 10 Challenge Cup events for each series will have elevated nightly purses. Year-end points payouts also will be boosted.
Other feature winners on a night with several close finishes included Jon Sheets (Clear Creek Golf Cars USRA B-Mods), Cole Campbell (Arctic Food Equipment USRA Modifieds), Mike Striegel (Hickamo Super Stocks) and Jaylen Wettengel (O’Reilly USRA Stock Cars).
