MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — As the confetti fell on newly crowned five-time National Open winner Lance Dewease, it was a different story for runner-up finisher Brent Marks.
Heading into Saturday night’s 60th annual Champion Racing Oil National Open feature, Dewease and Marks were the class of the field.
Both drivers won heats and then finished 1-2 in the dash, with Dewease getting the better of Marks.
However, with the feature set for 40 laps around Williams Grove Speedway, there was bound to be plenty of opportunities.
At the green flag, Dewease jumped out to a solid lead, with Marks remaining steady in second.
However, caution flags kept Dewease at bay, and provided time for Marks to craft his next move.
That opportunity came on a restart with 15 laps to go, as Marks dipped underneath Dewease in turn one, making it stick as he slid up in front of the No. 69k entry.
Marks had control of the field for three corners, but a yellow flag took the wind out of the No. 19’s sails.
Marks had to surrender the top spot, because he narrowly missed crossing the start/finish line to complete the lap.
Though he’d challenge in the closing laps, Marks’ shot at a second National Open crown were dashed.
“It was a frustrating race for me,” Marks said. “Running second, knowing that you have a car that can possibly win, not being able to get the job done, just very frustrating.”
Marks found himself in a near identical circumstance during the Summer Nationals opener in July, chasing the orange and blue Kreitz Racing entry to the finish line.
As Marks looked back on another second-place effort at The Grove, the Murray-Marks driver noticed subtle changes with the racing surface that he felt were working in the latter stages.
“The track did change quite a bit,” Marks said. “Actually, the middle down in (turn) one and two started coming in a little bit there for me at the end. I felt like I was inching up on him (Dewease) just a tad, but I lost it all down in three and four.”
Despite a frustrating second-place effort, Marks, who has won 17 races this season, reflected in a positive manner, looking back at a memorable season as he prepares for 2023.
“I don’t want this season to end,” Marks said. “At the same time, I have a lot of great things going on in my life, so, looking forward to all that, and having the offseason. Building all that, re-building this race team for 2023. Just going to be excited to go back at it again next year.”
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