RANSOMVILLE, N.Y. — Just when it looked like Tanner Holmes had his second win in the bag, a race-altering mistake at Ransomville Speedway changed everything in the Speedway Motors Thursday Thunder for Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing.
Coming from the outside pole, Holmes settled into the second spot when the Roto-Rooter Midweek Series feature went green as Sye Lynch, in pursuit of his first series victory, controlled the opening six laps of the race.
Storming by the Apollo, Po., native on Lap 7, Holmes ripped around the outside of turns one and two and set sail on the field. The Jacksonville, Ore., native had amassed a whopping 4.434-second advantage by the time the cross flags waved on Lap 15.
However, the picture of the race changed one lap later when the Buch Motorsports No. 13 went flipping through turn one. The slightest of mistakes, dipping his right rear off the banking, pulled Holmes into the wall and sent his Avanti Windows & Doors machine tumbling.
The 21-year-old climbed from the car under his own power, but certainly felt the dejection as his second win was taken away.
Assuming control on the restart with 14 laps to go, Aaron Reutzel took command of the lead and never looked back.
However, the Ridge & Sons Racing No. 87 pilot still had to earn every ounce of it, as Tyler Courtney charged into contention down the stretch.
At the checkered flag, the difference was a mere 0.114 seconds between Reutzel and Courtney – giving Ransomville Speedway the seventh-closest finish in Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing history.
For Reutzel, it marked his first trip back to Whiskey Myers Victory Lane in over a month. His second score at the New York facility gave him eight wins on the season with High Limit and 15 in his career. He also made one lucky fan an extra $2,500 and padded his own pockets with another $2,500 for winning the DURST Dice Roll from fourth.
Coming close to snapping a 31-race winless spell with Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing, Tyler Courtney settled for runner-up honors.
Behind Reutzel and Courtney came Brent Marks with his eighth podium in the last 12 High Limit features. “The Myerstown Missile’s” recent surge has propelled him back atop the Roto-Rooter Midweek Series points with only four races remaining in the $25,000-to-win mini-series title.
Rounding out the top five were Lynch and Daison Pursley.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel[4]; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[5]; 3. 19-Brent Marks[3]; 4. 42-Sye Lynch[1]; 5. 9-Daison Pursley[7]; 6. 77-Giovanni Scelzi[10]; 7. 26-Justin Peck[8]; 8. 88-Tanner Thorson[6]; 9. 17GP-Brock Zearfoss[12]; 10. 55-Kerry Madsen[9]; 11. 24-Rico Abreu[15]; 12. 12DD-Darren Dryden[11]; 13. 24D-Danny Sams III[17]; 14. 28-Jordan Poirier[20]; 15. 9R-Chase Randall[13]; 16. 8-Billy Dietrich[19]; 17. 7S-Chris Windom[18]; 18. 01-Danny Varin[24]; 19. 1-Nate Dussel[16]; 20. 13-Tanner Holmes[2]; 21. 5-Brenham Crouch[14]; 22. 7NY-Matt Farnham[22]; 23. 79-Jordan Thomas[23]; 24. 5C-DJ Christie[21]
