ELDON, Mo. — Mario Clouser would advance five spots rapidly and lead the final nine laps in the final night of the Non-Wing Nationals presented by Start2Finish TV at Lake Ozark Speedway with the POWRi Wingless Auto Racing Sprint League to notch his 14th career feature victory wrapping up the premier weekend event.
Racing onto the quick surface of Lake Ozark, POWRi WAR would find 21 talented traditional sprinters witnessing Trey Osborne set the quickest hot-lap time of 14.620-second lap as Anthony Nicholson and Cody Baker each earned heat racing victories.
Kick-starting the initial green flag start with high-point qualifier Jack Wagner and Nicholson lined up in the front row, Nicholson would gain the lead on the opening lap with Wagner blasting into the runner-up spot.
Suffering mechanical issues on the next lap the leader Nicholson relinquished the lead to Wagner on lap two as Wesley Smith moved into runner up positioning with Cody Baker, Bret Mellenberndt and Osborne rounding out the early top five.
Leading the next nine laps, Jack Wagner would appear on a rail as Clouser began his chase for the top spot while eventually overtaking the preferred position on lap eleven with Xavier Doney, Wesley Smith, Chase Howard and Osborne staying within striking distance.
Leading the final revolutions perfectly, Clouser would emerge victorious to notch his first yearly league victory. Staying in the hunt Smith would finish runner-up as Doney completed the final podium placements.
“We’ve had an unbelievable difficult season so this feels great to be here in victory lane,” said Clouser. “We had a great track tonight and to get success finally feels great while making the eight hour trip worth it.”
Challenging closely behind would find Osborne finish fourth as Mellenberndt rounded out the top five finishers.
Feature Finish (20 Laps)
1. 6-Mario Clouser[6]; 2. 44-Wesley Smith[4]; 3. 74-Xavier Doney[9]; 4. 11T-Trey Osborne[7]; 5. 97-Bret Mellenberndt[5]; 6. 13-Chase Howard[12]; 7. 98-Saban Bibent[11]; 8. 9-Chad Goff[19]; 9. 73-Samuel Wagner[10]; 10. 77-Jack Wagner[1]; 11. 26-Zachary Clark[15]; 12. 9H-Cody Baker[3]; 13. 75-Glen Saville[16]; 14. 99-Bryan Roach[18]; 15. 82-Vinny Ward[17]; 16. 33-Bryson Smith[8]; 17. 27-Justin Johnson[14]; 18. 52B-Blake Bowers[21]; 19. 4T-Taylor Forbes[13]; 20. 16-Anthony Nicholson[2]; 21. 51-Doug Martens[20].