WHEATLAND, Mo. — Justin Wells patiently waited before making a bold pass for the lead on lap 24 and pulled away from there to earn the State Tech Hermitage Lumber Late Model feature on Night One of the Fall Brawl Presented by SMC.
Wells earned $2,000 for his 11th feature win of the season at Lucas Oil Speedway. He will take aim for the $4,000 prize in Saturday’s finale, a program that has been moved to a 1 p.m. start due to a forecast of rain in the evening.Â
While Wells trailed until late in Friday’s 30-lapper, he wound up living up his his billing as the man to beat after capturing the Hermitage Lumber Late Model track championship in the Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series.
Wells said he looks forward to chasing double the money on Saturday and isn’t worried about different track conditions that could develop from a day-time race.
“They always provide a good track,” Wells said. “There was two or three grooves out there tonight. Johnny (Fennewald) and the 81 (Jimmy Dowell), we were three-wide for the lead. No matter what you get thrown at you, it’s always pretty good. I’m excited for tomorrow.”
Dowell beat fellow front-row starter Fennewald to the lead on lap one and set a quick pace, opening a 1.4-second lead after five laps with Wells trailing in third. Fennewald started to cut into the margin as the leaders found lapped traffic and was just two car lengths behind by lap nine when the first caution flew.
Dowell repelled Fennewald’s bid for the lead on the restart and was able to regain a one-second margin by lap 16 when another caution appeared. This time the restart went Fennewald’s way as he surged to the lead in turn two and Wells followed him past Dowell down the backstretch.
That set it up for a Fennewald-Wells battle the rest of the way. Wells made a bold dive into the low portion of turn four to take the top spot on lap 24. Wells said it was go-time.
“I think Johnny and I was both hanging back there just a little bit because the track was gonna keep the speed or maybe pick up,” Wells said. “I got the chance on that caution and then Johnny kind of squeezed me there and got me in the wall.
“I thought, you know what, we’re gonna man up and get this done and that’s what I done.”
Wells drove away from there for a 3.5-second win over Fennewald. Tucker Cox rallied for third with J.C. Morton fourth and Larry Jones fifth. Dowell faded to sixth.
In the Springfield Mechanical Services Inc. POWRi Pure Stock Shootout, Mason Beck captured the feature win to take home $500. The payout on Saturday night for the SMSI Power Stock Shootout will be $1,500 to win.
Also earning feature triumphs on Friday were Brandon Jordan (Show-Me Vintage Racers Series) and Matthew Hirst (the American Iron Racing Series).
Feature Finish (30 Laps)
 1. 98-Justin Wells[3]; 2. 21-Johnny Fennewald[1]; 3. 1T-Tucker Cox[6]; 4. 72-JC Morton[11]; 5. 99-Larry Jones[5]; 6. 81-Jimmy Dowell[2]; 7. 14-Kyle Graves[12]; 8. 1A-Bryon Allison[4]; 9. 5-Tommy Cordray[16]; 10. 82-Jace Parmley[13]; 11. 90-Joe Walkenhorst[19]; 12. 73-Francisco Escamila[15]; 13. 7J-Jake Morris[14]; 14. 6-Bob Cummings[17]; 15. (DNF) 15-Bobby Ruff II[8]; 16. (DNF) 21P-Darren Phillips[9]; 17. (DNF) 40-Josh Newman[18]; 18. (DNF) 28-Jim Greenway[7]; 19. (DNF) 13-Shawn Whitman[20]; 20. (DNF) 51-Larry Ferris[10]