Part-time CRA Street Stock competitor Ryan Amonett survived a three-lap shoot-out to the finish to capture the Knapp Supply 150 at Anderson Speedway.
Amonett posted the second fastest time during qualifying topped by Jimmy Kirby in which 16 drivers posted times within a half-second. The inversion put Andrew Cook and Dalton Conner on the front row for the start with Cook taking the lead at the start.
Conner, the defending CRA champion, tangled with Josh Poore on lap six sending both drivers to the tail of the field. Both would soldier on through the night to post top five finishes. Cook gave way to Alan Williams Jr. on the restart with Cook dropping back through the field.
Amonett moved into the third spot on the restart and took control of the race on lap 45 with an inside pass of Williams coming off the fourth corner. Andrew Teepe moved into the second spot on lap 53 with Kirby cracking the top five for the first time.
Williams night ended on lap 66 when his ride went up in smoke. Teepe kept Amonett in view until there was less than 38 remaining when Conner claimed the second spot with an inside move following a caution period when Poore spun after contact with James Kirby.
Jimmy Kirby’s night came to an end on lap 148 setting up the run to the checkers.
Amonett was able to hold off Conner on the start to win by 7-tenths of a second with Teepe, Poore and first-time competitor Austin Tunny rounding out the top five.
Amonett said in the Riley&Sons Victory Lane he last won a long CRA race at Mt. Lawn Speedway several years ago. Qualifying was close here,” Amonett said. “There were six or seven cars that you could cover with a blanket. “We got lucky tonight and was able to take it to the front,” he said. “I didn’t expect to see that last caution, we had a good car and I wasn’t worried about the last restart.”
Conner said he got into Poore early in the race and had to use the first 75 laps to regain track position. “The car was overheating, I was overheating on the last restart,” he said. “It was all about survival.”
Teepe said his car was better on short runs and would get tight on the long runs.
“It was a long night and I was hoping to get on the inside of him (Amonett), but it didn’t work out,” he said.
Rickie Tharp II led all 25 laps to win the Ford Division feature holding off Ron Phipps by one-tenth of a second with Colson Gray coming home in third.
Phipps looking for his third consecutive feature win kept the pressure on Tharp for the entire distance but was never able to get into the preferred low groove in the corners.
Brad Kendall recorded the feature win in the Thunder Roadster division by holding off John Robbins and Doug Dugger for the entire event.
