Jacksonville, IL– Craig Ronk of Warsaw, Indiana was on a mission at Jacksonville Speedway, determined to pick up his second-career POWRi Speedway Motors 600cc Outlaw Micro League victory. Ronk battled back and forth with Nathan Benson on his way to capturing the Herb Barlow Memorial win.
Starting inside the second row, Ronk relentlessly trailed Benson, pressuring the veteran driver through multiple cautions in the early stages of the race. Taking the lead from Benson on lap 10, Ronk had his work cut out for him, as Benson used the late race yellows to his advantage to try to take back the lead. However, Ronk proved his strength and style at the high-banked Jacksonville Speedway, outlasting Benson and third place finisher Harley Hollan.
“I was just trying to focus,” commented Craig Ronk. “I knew Nathan was going to be tough to beat, and good job to him. I didn’t know if I would be able to get around him, but I found the rubber and it stuck perfect. This track is really fun. It’s so fast and so rac-ey. You can basically go wherever.”
“We had a good racecar, but I just stayed on the bottom too long,” stated Nathan Benson. “Actually, when he passed us and we moved up to the top, we ran him back down. I should have just gone to the top sooner. I felt the bottom slowing down. The car is really good and we have the motor running great and are excited about the rest of the season.”
“It was a good night for us,” said Harley Hollan. “We just haven’t had the experience here, so we’re still trying to figure things out. We weren’t quite ready for the rough and all the bottoming out, but overall it was a good night. We learned something to take away for the next time.”
Micros
Speedway Motors Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: 2B - NATHAN BENSON, Heat 2: 14H - HARLEY HOLLAN, Heat 3: 8H - MATTHEW HOWARD
Mesilla Valley Transportation Feature Winner: 5R - CRAIG RONK
POWRi Speedway Motors 600cc Outlaw Micro League Feature Results (20 laps): 1. 5R - CRAIG RONK 2. 2B - NATHAN BENSON 3. 14H - HARLEY HOLLAN 4. 8H - MATTHEW HOWARD 5. 66J - GARRETT DUFF 6. 10 - JACOB TIPTON 7. 14JR - HOLLEY HOLLAN 8. 14 - KURT WESTERFIELD 9. 44 - TREVIN LITTLETON 10. 37H - NICK HOWARD 11. 38 - JACKSON FRISBIE 12. 11 - RILEY GOODNO 13. 1 - CAILIN HUNT 14. 9T - JOE B MILLER 15. 59 - LUKE VAUGHN 16. 8 - GABE VERARDI 17. 99 - ALEC LONG 18. 5T - TIM MUCHOW 19. 14T - EVAN TURNER 20. 53 - MIKE MUCHON 21. 27 - COLBY SHEPPARD 22. 37 - AIDAN PURDUE 23. 28 - LUKE VERARDI
For further information, visit www.powri.com, “Like” POWRi on Facebook and follow @POWRi_Racing on Twitter.