ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. — In an action packed night of racing at Lincoln Speedway, Anthony Macri emerged victorious in the $20,000-to-win Kevin Gobrecht Memorial/Labor Day Duel.
It was Macri’s fifth win of the season at Lincoln and his second in a row.
Troy Wagaman led the field into turn one, while Chase Dietz and Kyle Moody battled side-by-side for third, with Dietz quickly moving into the position and then overtaking T.J. Stutts for second.
Meanwhile, Macri began working on Moody for fourth. An early caution on lap two for a spin by Jonathan Preston set up the first restart with Wagaman, Dietz, Stutts, Moody, and Macri in the top five.
Wagaman got a strong jump on the restart, creating some distance between himself and Dietz, while Macri moved past Moody for fourth. Danny Dietrich soon joined the fight, taking fifth on lap four. Macri, relentless in his pursuit, began challenging Stutts for third as Wagaman and Dietz continued to run the high side, as they closed in on lapped traffic.
On lap nine, lapped traffic came into play as Dietz started closing in on Wagaman. Macri climbed to third, with Stutts holding onto fourth as Dietrich applied pressure. Devon Borden joined the fray, creating a fierce three-car battle for the position.
On lap 14, Dietrich pulled a slider to take fourth from Stutts, with Borden following suit a lap later.
As the halfway point approached, Macri closed in on the leaders, making it a three-car battle for the top spot in heavy traffic. On lap 17, Dietz attempted a slider in turns one and two but Wagaman managed to hold his lead. The action intensified when Dietz completed a second slider on the backstretch to take over the lead, with Macri following closely behind, dropping Wagaman to third.
At the halfway point, with 20 laps to go, all three, Dietz, Macri and Wagaman, remained in contention, with Dietrich and Borden closing in as well. Borden moved past Dietrich for fourth, but the two swapped positions back and forth in a thrilling duel.
Macri, working the bottom, steadily reeled in Dietz as they navigated through traffic.
A caution on lap 29 for Freddie Rahmer’s spin in turn four—which also collected Jordan Givler and Stutts—reset the field, with Macri having just edged past Dietz at the line before the yellow came out. On the restart, Macri led Dietz, Wagaman, Dietrich, and Borden. Dietz tried to make a move low on the restart, but Macri held his ground on the top side.
The fierce battle for fourth between Dietrich and Borden continued, with Borden finally securing the spot. Dietz, meanwhile, worked the bottom in an attempt to close in on Macri, getting a good run in turns one and two, but Macri’s high-side momentum proved too strong. With five laps to go, Borden overtook Wagaman for third at the line.
Lapped traffic loomed ahead of Macri with three laps remaining, but he maintained his composure, to secure a $20,000 payday.
Dietz finished second, Borden crossed the line third, Wagaman was fourth and Dietrich completed the top five.
The finish:
Feature (40 Laps) – 1. 39M-Anthony Macri; 2. 2D-Chase Dietz; 3. 23B-Devon Borden; 4. 27-Troy Wagaman; 5. 48-Danny Dietrich; 6. 91-Kyle Reinhardt; 7. 5R-Tyler Ross; 8. 6-Ryan Smith; 9. 5E-Aaron Bollinger; 10. 88-Brandon Rahmer; 11. 55M-Domenic Melair; 12. 8R-Freddie Rahmer; 13. 99M-Kyle Moody; 14. 1X-Chad Trout; 15. 11P-TJ Stutts; 16. 39-Kody Hartlaub; 17. 5W-Lucas Wolfe; 18. 38S-Brett Strickler (DNF); 19. 75-Cameron Smith (DNF); 20. 90-Jordan Givler (DNF); 21. 23A-Chris Arnold (DNF); 22. X-Matt Campbell (DNF); 23. 38J-Brett Strickler (DNF); 24. 22-Jonathan Preston (DNF)