JACKSONVILLE, ILL. (October 6, 2019) – Going wire-to-wire in Saturday’s 30-lap main event at Jacksonville Speedway, Tanner Carrick of Lincoln, Calif. was just unstoppable in the green-to-checkered run. Aboard the Keith Kunz-Curb Agajanian Motorsports, Walker Filters, Bullet/Toyota No. 71K, Carrick won his third career POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League feature and the first of his 2019 campaign.
Surviving a pair of rain delays before the feature hit the track, it was a constant guessing game on Saturday as Mother Nature tried and tried again to thwart the Jacksonville Speedway season finale. A steady afternoon cell nearly ended it all before pill draw started, and then a sudden shower ahead of the main events created a second brief stoppage.
Earning PAC Racing Springs High Point Man honors, Carrick claimed the pole position of the main event following an excitable fifth-to-first charge in heat race action. Joined to his outside by Zach Duam of Pocahontas, Ill., the duo brought the 22-car feature field to life and Carrick immediately shot to the point.
On a fast, heavy and hammer down quarter-mile surface, Carrick was able to quickly extend his advantage before Rico Abreu of St. Helena, Calif. made his way by Daum for the second spot on lap eight. Trailing by 2.1 seconds, Abreu’s charge to Carrick’s tail waited until the final ten laps, when he brought the heat through lap traffic.
Finding another gear in the closing laps, Abreu all of a sudden chopped into Carrick’s lead left and right aboard the Safelite Auto Repair No. 97. Giving the fans some late-race excitement, Abreu was able to approach Carrick’s No. 71K on the final circuit but fell just one or two corners short of being able to make a bid for the win.
In the end, Tanner Carrick of Lincoln, Calif. controlled all 30 laps aboard the Keith Kunz-Curb Agajanian Motorsports, Walker Filters, Bullet/Toyota No. 71K. His Jacksonville Speedway score marks his first POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League win of 2019 and the third of his career.
Rico Abreu settled for runner-up honors for the second-straight night while Zach Daum also rounded out the podium on Saturday just like he did on Friday. Jesse Colwell lost 10 points off his championship lead as he finished in fourth with Tucker Klaasmeyer right behind him in the fifth spot.
Also finishing inside the top ten was Holley Hollan in sixth, Cannon McIntosh in seventh, Logan Seavey in eighth, Daison Pursley in ninth and Andrew Layser in tenth.
The POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League moves to Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Ill. on Friday, October 11 followed by a Saturday, October 12 stop at Southern Illinois Raceway in Marion, Ill.
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Auto Meter Heat One (8 Laps):
- 71K-Tanner Carrick, Lincoln, CA (5); 2. 47BC-Andrew Layser, Collegeville, PA (2); 3. 97K-Jesse Love, Redwood City, CA (4); 4. 97A-Austin O’Dell, Rochester, IL (3); 5. 57B-Chase Jones, Greenwood, IN (1); 6. 28-Ace McCarthy, Tahlequah, OK (7); 7. 55-Jeff Sparks, Mason City, IL (8); DNS, 87-Mitchell Davis, Auburn, IL.
KSE Racing Products Heat Two (8 Laps):
- 67-Logan Seavey, Sutter, CA (3); 2. 5D-Zach Daum, Pocahontas, IL (6); 3. 71-Jesse Colwell, Red Bluff, CA (5); 4. 08-Cannon McIntosh, Bixby, OK (7); 5. 21KS-Jake Neuman, New Berlin, IL (4); 6. 3K-Korey Weyant, Springfield, IL (1); 7. 103-Broc Hunnell, Eolia, MO (2).
Advanced Racing Suspensions Heat Three (8 Laps):
- 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer, Paola, KS (2); 2. 97-Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA (6); 3. 9-Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, OK (3); 4. 67K-Holley Hollan, Broken Arrow, OK (7); 5. 00-Luke Howard, Overland Park, KS (1); 6. 54-Ray Seach, Beloit, WI (5); 7. 50-Daniel Adler, St. Louis, MO (4).
POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League Main Event (30 Laps):
- 71K-Tanner Carrick (1); 2. 97-Rico Abreu (3); 3. 5D-Zach Daum (2); 4. 71-Jesse Colwell (6); 5. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer (5); 6. 67K-Holley Hollan (8); 7. 08-Cannon McIntosh (7); 8. 67-Logan Seavey (4); 9. 9-Daison Pursley (11); 10. 47BC-Andrew Layser (9); 11. 21KS-Jake Neuman (13); 12. 97A-Austin O’Dell (12); 13. 97K-Jesse Love (10); 14. 57B-Chase Jones (15); 15. 28-Ace McCarthy (14); 16. 50-Daniel Adler (20); 17. 3K-Korey Weyant (19); 18. 00-Luke Howard (16); 19. 54-Ray Seach (17); 20. 103-Broc Hunnell (21); 22. 55-Jeff Sparks (18); 23. 87-Mitchell Davis (22).
Lap Leader(s): Carrick 1-30.
Photo Credit - Brendon Bauman Photos