OSBORN, Mo. – Three leaders all looking for the first career victory with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MAVTV, and the one leading the most important lap was Missouri’s Gunner Ramey in the Impact Signs, Awnings, and Wraps No. 21 at U.S. 36 Raceway.
The 164th driver to top the National Tour and 11th from the Show-Me State, Ramey’s Lucas Oil ASCS triumph also has the distinction of being first in a sprint car.
“This is awesome. It seems like it took forever to finally get this win, but we got it, and even better, we got it close to home,” stated an elated Ramey.
A red flag was displayed on the initial start after Blake Hahn hooked a rut and flipped off the top of the third and fourth turns.
As they went back to racing, Ramey rode third on the restart as Brandon Anderson took off with the lead. Into traffic on lap 7, the following lap would prove devastating as Anderson missed the line and backed the No. 55b into the turn one wall. Standing up on his tank, the car stayed upright and stopped to bring out the caution. He was able to continue after visiting the work area, finishing 13th.
Rolling back to the last fully completed lap, the lead was in the hands of Landon Crawley.
Putting distance on the No. 21 of Ramey, who restarted second, a mistake on the cushion in the first and second turns saw Crawley all over the wall.
Opening the door for Ramey, the No. 21 shot by for the lead. Regrouping to attempt to retake the spot, Crawley tried through the third and fourth turns but was denied as the field completed lap 13.
Racing to the white flag with a challenge brewing, California’s Corey Day was on a mission. Charging through the field from 17th, the No. 14 took the runner-up spot with two to go. Trailing nearly a second at the white flag, the final lap saw Day mount the charge but come up just shy as Ramey held on by 0.201 seconds.
Knoxville, Iowa’s Riley Goodno crossed third with Garet Williamson rolling from 10th to finish fourth. Despite a broken shock, 13-year-old Landon Crawley held on for fifth. The average age of the top five Friday night was 17.8 years old.
The Finish:
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 21-Gunner Ramey[4]; 2. 14-Corey Day[17]; 3. 22-Riley Goodno[3]; 4. 24-Garet Williamson[10]; 5. 187-Landon Crawley[1]; 6. 1X-Tim Crawley[12]; 7. 10P-Dylan Postier[8]; 8. 17B-Ryan Bickett[9]; 9. 95-Matt Covington[5]; 10. 36-Jason Martin[20]; 11. 98P-Miles Paulus[15]; 12. 03-Shayle Bade[13]; 13. 55B-Brandon Anderson[2]; 14. 45X-Kyler Johnson[18]; 15. 10-Landon Britt[21]; 16. 92J-JR Topper[14]; 17. 2-Dylan Opdahl[19]; 18. 2P-Chase Porter[7]; 19. 11A-Austin O’Neal[16]; 20. 52-Blake Hahn[6]; 21. 2C-Wayne Johnson[11]