GIBSONTON, Fla. – Danny Martin Jr. opened the King of the 360s with a victory on Thursday night at East Bay Raceway Park.
At the start of the 25-lap feature, Dale Howard took the early lead from the outside of the front row. Brett Wright held second while Martin was battling Terry McCarl for third in the early laps.
The man of the move was Tim Shaffer, who started 14th, but sat in the top-five after four laps. The leaders caught slower traffic on the fifth lap, with Howard keeping the car on the low side to work through the back markers.
This allowed Martin, who had bypassed Wright on lap five, to narrow the gap on the leader. By lap seven, Martin was able to sweep past Howard and began to find racing room. Howard soon fell victim to Shaffer, who now set his sights on hunting down Martin.
With both drivers using the same groove, catching was easier than passing and Shaffer couldn’t find a place to sweep by. Martin kept putting cars between himself and Shaffer, playing a game of hide and seek among the cars going a lap down to the leaders.
The caution flag waved on lap 21 for a stalled car in turn one shortly after Austin McCarl left the race in a hurry with smoke from the engine compartment. The remaining laps saw no additional challenge as Martin was able to cruise to victory during the opening round of the King of the 360s.
The finish:
Danny Martin Jr., Tim Shaffer, Dale Howard, Mark Smith, Eric Riggins Jr., Terry McCarl, Brett Wright, Tyler Gunn, Max Stambaugh, Cale Conley, Connor Leoffler, Terry Gray, Jacob Karklin, Davie Franek, Conner Morrell, Todd Gracey, Ben Brown, Phil Gressman, Mark Ruel Jr., Paul Colagiovanni Jr., Ryan Ruhl, Dustin Gates, Austin McCarl, Slater Helt, Garet Williamson.