BARBERVILLE, Fla. — Danny Martin Jr. picked up a coveted Boot trophy on the opening night of the Battle in Barberville Friday at Volusia Speedway Park.
One year ago, Martin finished one spot short of winning the inaugural Battle in Barberville for 360 sprint cars.
This time, with a fresh paint scheme and a fast No. 24 Shaw Racing machine, Martin used the track conditions to his advantage to pick up the victory.
Starting the 20-lap feature from the pole, Martin endured multiple caution flags en route to his first victory at the half-mile oval since August 2022.
“We’ve been struggling here (recently),” Martin said. “We got out front with clean air and everyone was quick. We have a different motor we’ve been trying with stuff on it and I was definitely comfortable. We’ll see what happens tomorrow night, we found a fuel leak, got it tightened up and the rest of the night we were quick. I can’t thank my guys enough, along with Shaw Racing Chassis, O’Donnell Engines and Berryman Shocks.”
A.J. Maddox finished second with Tyler Clem, Mark Ruel Jr. and Dennis Miscura rounding out the top five.
It was a story of youth in the ¾ modified main event as 13-year-old Colton Lane claimed the victory in the 15-lap main event.
Lane took the lead on lap five and sailed to his first Volusia triumph.
Timmy Hogan finished second, with Ethyn Hwan third.
The sprint cars will be joined by the UMP modifieds on Saturday night.