LEHIGHTON, Penn. — Nick Ross raced to his third late model win of the season in what was a barnburner between him and Mark Hudson in the closing laps at Mahoning Valley Speedway.
Hudson had led from lap two and was preserving the top spot over Mike VanFossen and Ross. By lap seven, Frankie Althouse joined the fray and moved to third.
Subsequently, it became a tight three-car battle with Hudson working feverously to fend off the pair. As the laps began to wind down, Hudson was looking to make his four-hour drive from Massachusetts worth it as he had himself poised to score his first Mahoning win.
Despite Ross trying high and low to get by, Hudson remained in control until a lap 17 restart when they would start off side-by-side.
As they did, Hudson again stood his ground, but Ross continued to hound him every lap. Over the final two circuits, Ross continued to turn up the tension on Hudson. Entering the final lap, he was able to make the pass and go on to claim the victory.
Hudson held on for a track-best second with Althouse, Geno Steigerwalt and VanFossen rounding out the top five. Â
Meanwhile, after finishing runner-up four times in the past five Sportsman Modified races, Baer can finally shake the bridesmaid moniker as he notched his first class win with a smooth and solid drive.
Bear raced past early leader Zach Lenardo on lap three and then began to peel off steady and consistent laps, holding off Lenardo and Greyson Ahner in the process.
On lap nine, Ahner suddenly spun and prompted a caution. Jaden Brown, who won the past three features ahead of Baer, was now second following the restart.Â
When the action resumed, Brown was looking for every opportunity to get by Bear. However, Bear stayed the course and never allowed the pass to be made. All Brown could do was follow close in line as Baer went on to win at the track for the first time since 2015 and for the first time in a modified.Â
Sportsman Modified Feature (25 Laps): 1. Nick Baer, 2. Jaden Brown, 3. Brody George, 4. Zach Lenardo, 5. Troy Bollinger, 6. Greyson Ahner
Late Model Feature (25 Laps): 1. Nick Ross, 2. Mark Hudson, 3. Frankie Althouse, 4. Geno Steigerwalt, 5. Mike VanFossen, 6. Seth VanFossen, 7. Todd Cooper, 8. Brooks Smith, 9. Jacob Kerstetter