BUTLER TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Race No. 4 of the Evergreen Raceway/Mahoning Valley Speedway 602 Crate Modified Duel Track Series presented by Future Homes of Kunkletown was a wild affair held Sunday afternoon at Evergreen Raceway.
Winner Nick Baer knows a thing or two about that too as he’s been in position to score a victory in past DTS races but was a victim of circumstances. Admittedly, Baer wasn’t the fastest car on this day but was in the right place at the right time.
Jayden Harman and Neil Rutt III had a torrid race-long battle – that was until two laps to go. Harman had been the leader from the outset but on a lap 13 restart – which was after a multi-car hard crash on the front straight – Rutt was lined up alongside Harman and from there was glued solid to the rear bumper of the leader.
Lap after lap he tailed Harman while looking several times to move inside and make a pass. However each time Harman was quick to shun his efforts. Despite that Rutt remained strong-minded and would not let up.
With two laps to go he was able to get a run inside of Harman off turn four and move to the front. That, however, was short lived as Harman then tried to return the favor between turns one and two but wound up pressing Rutt and sending him spinning. Both drivers would then have to restart from the rear.
For the final two laps Mike Pollack was now at the point with Baer second. The first attempt at the restart was negated when Baer jumped too soon but on the second try he blasted ahead for the lead and stayed there to the checkered flag.
Pollack tried to hold second but at the line he was nipped by Brian Osborn. Rutt rebounded to come home fourth with Jaden Brown fifth.
“We didn’t really have the best race car by far but we were there at the end and it seemed that’s always the most important thing with these 602 races,” Baer said.
“On the first one (restart) I went a little bit early and they called it back and I thought if I don’t get him (Pollack) on the outside I’m not going to get him at all. My spotter then said clear on the inside and it was history from there.”
Baer, who had made an early stop to correct and overheating issue, had avoided the lap 13 melee and rejoined the race fifth after that. He then settled in behind third running Pollack. He was content at that point too seeing that the leaders were half a straight away up on him and Pollack keeping him in check.
“I could see how close they were and I also knew we didn’t have a car that could get up close enough to compete with them. Whatever happened was a shame for them but we certainly capitalized on it,” acknowledged Baer.
“The competition in this series and with these cars is so close so it always comes down to who can be around at the end.”
The win also capped off a solid two days of racing as less than 20 hours prior he was vying for a conquest against Brian DeFebo at Mahoning Valley Speedway where he finished second.
“This was great weekend and it really helps boost the moral. I need to thank Paul French for the opportunity to drive his car, my dad (Todd Baer) and the crew and our sponsors,” said Baer.
Jason Harman scored the street stock feature, while Kyle Taraska won the ATQMRA feature. The 4 Cylinder Stock feature was won by Micah Adams.
Feature Finish (40 Laps)
1. Nick Baer, 2. Brian Osborn, 3. Mike Pollack, 4. Neil Rutt III, 5. Jaden Brown, 6. Jayden Harman, 7. Mackenzie Adams, 8. Brody George, 9. Brian Rygielski, 10. Evan Rygielski, 11. Steve Shultz