WAYNESFIELD, Ohio – Justin Peck collected his second NAPA Auto Parts FAST Series win of the weekend Sunday afternoon at Waynesfield Raceway Park.
It wasn’t easy for Peck, who won at Atomic Speedway near Chillicothe, Ohio, Saturday, as he had to deal with lapped traffic and several challenges from Cale Conley, who scored a victory of his own Saturday at Attica Raceway Park.
“We really got taken to school for two years around Ohio. These guys are tough. It’s pretty awesome to come in here and pick up two wins. It is the first races of the season which gives us a lot of confidence and makes us feel like we know what we are doing and gives us a pretty good base line with our cars,” Peck said. “We talked last night after getting a strong start about following FAST now.
“Those lappers were really tough to get around. This place was just so fast wide open around the top you really had to check up to go to the bottom and be patient. I had to catch the lappers the first time to figure that out. I made too many mistakes the first time trying to get through. The last few times I caught them there at the end I was picking the right spots and making the right moves,” said Peck.
Max Stambaugh and Peck brought the field to green for the 30-lap FAST A-main with Peck gaining the advantage over Stambaugh, Conley, Henry and Brady Bacon. Buddy Kofoid spun in turn one on lap three, collecting Joey Saldana and Lee Jacobs with Saldana going pitside with front end damage as Kofoid and Jacobs rejoined at the tail. on the restart Conley drove around Stambaugh while Henry, Bacon and Travis Philo battled for fourth.
Adam Cruea spun on lap five just as the leaders were preparing to enter lapped traffic. With a clear track on the restart Peck and Conley pulled away from the battle for third between Stambaugh, Henry and Bacon. Peck encountered very heavy lapped traffic by the ninth circuit and Conley quickly closed as the pair maneuvered through and around lapped cars battling for the lead. Henry took third on lap 12 with Stambaugh now battling Bacon and Philo to hold onto fourth.
Peck worked his way through the lapped cars like a surgeon and was able to maintain the lead over Conley but that again evaporated by lap 18 with heavy lapped traffic. Conley again closed and this time Henry and Bacon joined the fun. The lead quartet was soon joined by Stambaugh as they had the crowd on their feet battling for the lead over the next seven laps. A Bradley Ashford spin with five laps to go giving Peck a clear track and clean air.
Peck pulled away for the win but the action behind didn’t slow down as Conley, Henry and Bacon waged war for the runner-up spot. Henry was able to get under Conley on lap 27 and crossed the finish line second ahead of Conley, Bacon and Stambaugh. Spencer Bayston charged from 13th to sixth followed by Cole Duncan, Philo, Greg Wilson and Kofoid who rallied from his early race spin to round out the top 10.
In the K&L Ready Mix National Racing Alliance (NRA) portion of Sunday’s show, Delphos, Ohio’s Shawn Dancer held off several challenges from Randy Hannagan on a hand full of restarts to take the victory.
“Waynesfield is a great track. Shane (Helms, promoter) put on a great race. Thanks for the fans for coming out…come back for the other shows. The track prep job was awesome. Congrats to everyone who put this together,” said Dancer. “Sometimes it gets tough on the cushion here. Thanks to Kent and Garth and everyone who helps.”
The finish:
Justin Peck, Cap Henry, Cale Conley, Brady Bacon, Max Stambaugh, Spencer Bayston, Cole Duncan, Travis Philo, Greg Wilson, Buddy Kofoid, Dale Blaney, Tyler Gunn, T.J. Michael, Lee Jacobs, Chad Wilson, Mike Terry Jr., Cody Bova, Adam Cruea, Bradley Ashford, Jake Hesson, Jordan Harble, Joey Saldana.