ANDERSON, Ind. — Defending Kenyon Midget Series champion Dameron Taylor opened the campaign with a victory in the Dick Jordan Classic.
Taylor, a master on the high banked quarter-mile oval Anderson Speedway took the lead from Dezi Pedregon on the fourth lap to record the win.
Taylor becomes the first driver in the five-year history of the Dick Jordan Classic to win it more than once. Pedregon and Tanner Tecco started on the front row as a result of a six inversion following the two heat races.
Pedregon jumped into the lead with Ryan Huggler running second followed by Taylor, up three spots on the opening lap and Tecco.
Taylor moved inside of Huggler on the second lap, but before another lap was completed Huggler’s car erupted in a ball of flames which collected the car of Tecco. Neither driver was injured.
On the restart Taylor and fast qualifier Aryton Houk got inside of Pedregon on the back straight and the battle for the win by the two former champions was in full swing.
The driver on the move was Clayton Gaines, who started 13th in the 14-car field.
Gaines passed Jeff Hill, Kyle Ford and Pedregon in the course of six laps before the halfway point to be running third.
With Houk looking for a way around Taylor the two leaders were able to pull away from the rest of the field.
At the checkers it was Taylor winning by 1.3-seconds over Houk followed by Gaines, Ford and John Robbins.
“We were both fast all day,” Taylor said in the Peterman Brothers Victory Lane. “I just worked on passing the lapped cars at the right time to open up the margin.
“It feels great definitely,” he said of the victory.
The Finish: Dameron Tayor; Aryton Houk; Clayton Gaines; Kyle Ford; John Robbins; Dezi Pedregon; Jeff Hill; Cash Wyke; Landon Brown; Phil Brown; Taylor Tecco; Ryan Huggler; Tanner Tecco; Evan Hammond