HUMBOLDT, Kan. — Another first-time winner made the trip to victory lane on Sunday night at Humboldt Speedway with Jesse Colwell topping the POWRi Lucas Oil National / West Midget League feature.
Inheriting the lead after Zach Daum flipped on lap 25, Colwell controlled the final five laps and drove the Keith Kunz Motorsports, JBL Audio, Bullet/Toyota No. 71 to his first triumph.
Earning PAC Racing Springs High Point Man honors with a fifth-to-second heat race, Zach Daum paced the field aboard his Daum Motorsports, Bullet/Toyota No. 5d.
Jonathan Beason was slated to start on his outside, but trouble during the pace laps sent him to the work area and back to the tail, giving Blake Edwards the outside pole.
The initial green flag was short lived as a lap one caution involving Luke Howard, Devin Simmons, Cannon McIntosh and Holley Hollan, sent McIntosh and Hollan to the work area, with only Hollan returning to the track.
Driving away from the field, Daum immediately began to distance himself as a long-run was established. Building a three-second lead by lap ten, Daum grew his advantage further as he galloped into lap traffic near the halfway mark. While Daum was checked out in front, both Hollan and Beason were crafting stellar charges into the top ten from the rear, and Jesse Colwell and Jake Neuman began tracking down Daison Pursley for the second spot.
Hitting the 10 to go mark, Daum continued to stretch his lead while the battle for second heated up, as Colwell and Pursley went slider-for-slider with the runner-up position up for grabs. After swapping the spot back-and-forth for almost four laps, Colwell assumed the advantage and moved into second just before catastrophe struck.
Running away in lapped traffic with five to go, tragedy struck for Zach Daum in a big way. Hauling down the front stretch, his Toyota Racing powerplant suddenly locked-up and shot the No. 5D dead right into the wall. What ensued was a violent series of end-over-end flips before he came to a rest at the entry to turn one.
The scary moment concluded when a flame emerged and his machine caught on fire, but Daum was able to escape the wreckage and quickly climbed out of the car under his own power to the roar of the thankful crowd.
Inheriting the race lead following Daum’s rough misfortune, Colwell led the field back to green and controlled the final restart with ease. The Red Bluff, Calif., native pulled away to lead the last five laps and earn his first-career POWRi Lucas Oil National / West Midget League victory aboard the Keith Kunz Motorsports, JBL Audio, Bullet/Toyota No. 71.
Following Colwell to the line and earning his own career-best finish was 14-year old Daison Pursley with a second-place finish in the Keith Kunz Motorsports Toyota Racing No. 9.
Rounding out the podium with a strong 12th-to-third charge was Jake Neuman in the Jim Neuman Racing, BRANDT, BOSS/SR-11 No. 3n.
Closing out the top five was Jonathan Beason with a magnificent recovery to finish fourth after going tail back, and Holley Hollan scoring fifth with her own impressive rebound after heading to the rear of the field.
The finish:
Feature (30 laps): 1. 71-Jesse Colwell (7); 2. 9-Daison Pursley (3); 3. 3N-Jake Neuman (12); 4. 7-Jonathan Beason (2); 5. 67-Holley Hollan (6); 6. 44S-Andrew Felker (8); 7. 28X-Ace McCarthy (20); 8. 32-Trey Marcham (11); 9. 7M-Chance Morton (13); 10. 2H-Luke Howard. (17); 11. 5D-Zach Daum (1); 12. 20G-Noah Gass (14); 13. 7X-Blake Edwards (4); 14. 56X-Mark Chisholm (19); 15. 42-Hank Davis (15); 16. 17-Austin Brown (9); 17. 44-Wesley Smith (22); 18. 6-Merril Lamb (18); 19. F5-Devin Simmons (16); 20. 08-Cannon McIntosh (5); 21. 15H-Tony Hudlin (10); 22. 15L-Rick Horn (DNS); 23. 10J-Matt Sherrell (DNS).