ELDON, Mo. — Hunter Schuerenberg seized the opportunity to return to victory lane with the POWRi 410 Outlaw Sprints on night one of the Independence Celebrations at Lake Ozark Speedway.
Captivating the crowd on the initial green-flag start with high-point qualifier Schuerenberg and Emerson Axsom lined up in the front row as Schuerenberg shot to the lead on the opening lap with Axsom, Joe B. Miller, fast-qualifier Jake Bubak and Blake Hahn all racing within the early top five.
Overtaking for the top spot saw Axsom leading the pack of hungry 410 sprint cars for 17 laps while appearing to be in a class above the competition with Schuerenberg settling into the runner-up position as Miller continued to stalk in third.
Setting the stage for late-race dramatics, Schuerenberg would use perfect timing on a choose-cone restart to slide into the front-scored spot and hold the final revolutions with Axsom racing rapidly to recover in runner-up placement.
Going back-to-back in victories, Schuerenberg would not be denied leading eight laps and earning his second career POWRi 410 Outlaw Sprint victory in an action-packed main event with Axsom settling for the runner-up position late.
“You just have to play the hand that is dealt to you. This track was a bit dryer, faster, and trickier than we expected tonight, I made one mistake in lap traffic and Emerson was right there to get by me,” Schuerenberg explained. “That last restart was key and I knew I had to get to the bottom before he could shut the door because the top was curby and tough.”
Bubak finished third, with Ayrton Gennetten and Roger Crockett rounding out the top five.
The finish:
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 19-Hunter Schuerenberg[1]; 2. 27-Emerson Axsom[2]; 3. 27B-Jake Bubak[5]; 4. 3-Ayrton Gennetten[12]; 5. 12X-Roger Crockett[7]; 6. 51B-Joe B Miller[6]; 7. 45X-Jace Park[15]; 8. 79-Gage Montgomery[22]; 9. 23-Garet Williamson[14]; 10. 74-Xavier Doney[11]; 11. 50K-Kyle Bellm[13]; 12. 52-Blake Hahn[8]; 13. 98P-Miles Paulus[10]; 14. 14T-Tim Estenson[3]; 15. 77-Jack Wagner[18]; 16. 37-Bryce Norris[4]; 17. 1JR-Steven Russell[20]; 18. 21-Gunner Ramey[9]; 19. 7A-Will Armitage[16]; 20. 1T-Trevin Littleton[21]; 21. 93-Taylor Walton[19]; 22. 79X-Max Guilford[17].