On Saturday night at Perth Motorplex, Logan Seavey claimed his first John Day Speedcar Classic win aboard the Travis White Racing No. 38.
The theme of the night was centered around “The General” John Day, and it certainly provided a feature race that befit the legend that John was. There were four different heat winners, with a thrilling feature race and a finish that came down to the last corner on the last lap.
The night began with 20 cars timing against the clock. Seavey and Tom Payet went fastest in their respective groups.
Payet and Seavey, along with Kaiden Manders and Kiwi Michael Pickens would each claim a heat. Seavey did enough to qualify into pole position for the 30-lap final alongside Manders, with Pickens and Payet on row two.
Seventeen cars would greet the starter and Seavey got the jump with Manders and Pickens side by side for second, both desperate to find a way past the leading Seavey on the inside. Behind them, Payet was running high in fourth, with Keenan Fleming also looking for a way by.
The yellows would come out with the field having completed one lap as eighth placed Patrick Watson spun in turn one, setting up a single file restart with 29 laps to go. Unfortunately, a single lap wouldn’t be completed as Payet, Cory Smith and Joel Watson all came to a stop in turn one.
Seavey led away the next restart and would lead lap two, but on lap three Manders made his move and coming out of turn two would take the lead, Seavey now second ahead of Pickens.
Again, the yellows came on and Patrick Watson found himself parked on the infield, while back on track Manders would lead away Seavey, with Pickens, Fleming and Cody Nash now in hot pursuit. Manders and Seavey broke away from Pickens, the two going side by side on a number of occasions, but with Manders maintaining the lead.
With eight laps complete, Alfonso Guadagnino spun, with Joel Watson having nowhere to go and driving into him, the duo stuck at the top of turn three. The race resumed once more and with 10 laps completed, the yellows were on again as Jake Robinson spun.
It was at this point that disaster struck, with Manders heading infield with a flat left rear tire.
Seavey would now lead away Pickens with Fleming and Nash still going side by side with each other in what was now the battle for third, Payet back up to fifth from the rear. All at once, Nash grabbed third and Payet grabbed fourth as they crossed the line to complete lap 13.
Payet then passed Nash a lap later to take third, setting out after Pickens and leader Seavey, who by this time had broken out to a 1.5 second lead at the halfway point. With 16 laps complete, Robinson found himself in the turn one wall and helicoptering, seeing the race under yellows once again.
Twelve cars would restart with 14 laps to go, Seavey again setting the pace.
Pickens and Payet went side by side coming out of turn two, Payet sliding by to grab second as just behind them Cody Nah clobbered the turn four wall, but was able to keep going. A lap later Pickens retook second, and it would remain that way. Seavey was 1.3 seconds ahead of Pickens with 10 laps remaining, with Payet in third.
The race would then come under cautions for the final time in the race, with Smith spinning again, this time seeing Guadagnino hit him, both cars coming to a stop in turn four. There were 11 cars remaining for the final nine laps, but this time Pickens put the claw to floor, used the bottom and slid up in front of Seavey on the restart to take the lead.
Seavey slid back under him in turn one the next lap to momentarily retake the lead, but Pickens was having none of it, racing back by and allowing Payet to pick the pieces of Seavey. Nash made contact with the turn three wall behind them this time but remarkably kept on going, with Nick Rowe now right on his tail.
Back up-front Pickens was nearly a second ahead with only a handful of laps remaining while Payet was well behind Seavey in third. Rowe would then retire infield while running fifth with three laps to go, with Glen Mears now fifth as he got by Fleming momentarily before Fleming was able to retake the position.
With one lap to go though, all eyes were on the battle for the lead, with Pickens and Seavey just 0.188 seconds apart as they crossed the line for the second last time. Seavey went high and low on the front straight looking for the best line while Pickens seized his opportunity and dove underneath Seavey for the lead in turn two.
The duo were locked together for the remainder of the lap, Seavey however utilized the highline to retake the lead coming out of turn four and would cross the line in first, winning by just 0.134 seconds in a thriller that saw the crowd on their feet.
Payet would hold on for third while Nash and Fleming rounded out the top five finishers.
Feature Results (30 Laps)
1. Logan Seavey, 2. Michael Pickens, 3. Tom Payet, 4. Cody Nash, 5. Keenan Fleming, 6. Glen Mears, 7. Aron Sharp, 8. Lee Austen, 9. Alfonso Guadagnino, 10. Steven Henderson (29). DNF: Nick Rowe (27), Jake Robinson (16), Kaiden Manders (10), Joel Watson (8), Vaughan Manders (1). DQ: Cory Smith, Patrick Watson. DNS: Tyson Bryden, Beau Doyle, Gary Mann. Total Time: No Time. Winning Margin: 0.134. Fastest Lap: 16.903 Kaiden Manders