ANDERSON – Veteran Kody Swanson led all 100-laps to capture the Glen Niebel Classic at Anderson Speedway for the 500 Sprint Car Tour.
The redraw following qualifying for the 26th Niebel Classic put Swanson and Dakoda Armstrong on the front row for the start of the myBigplan.com500 Sprint Car Tour season opening event with Swanson claiming the point at the start.
Swanson never looked back throughout the event and winning by more than 2-seconds in the tune-up for the 78th running of the Unified Group Services Little 500.
Armstrong’s night ended on lap 4 when he lost the right front tire entering turn three and made contact with the outside retaining wall.
The caution flag would wave twice more before lap 15 for incidents involving Rylan Gray and Colin Grissom.
During the long field run that followed Swanson pulled away from the field with Bischak holding down the second spot until lap 52 when Roahrig got inside entering turn three.
Swanson had built up a 7-second lead over Roahrig when the caution flag waved on lap 77 when Kyle O’Gara spun on the back straight while trying to keep from being lapped.
On the restart Swanson again pulled away from Roahrig and had to maintain the lead after the final caution flag waved on lap 89.
Swanson went on to win by 2.4-seconds over Roahrig with Bettis, Santos and Macenko rounding out the top five.
“My crew gave me a great car,” Swanson said in victory lane. “I’m thankful I have the opportunity to run for the 500 Tour championship.
“It was a good tune-up for the Little 500,” he said. “I was a little concerned about lapped traffic.”
In Kenyon Midget action, Ayrton Houk took advantage of lapped traffic on the final circuit to pass Evan Hammond to win the Dick Jordan Classic.
Hammond grabbed the lead at the start and led the first 29 laps before lapped traffic allowed Houk to score the victory.
“If not for the lapped traffic, I wouldn’t be here,” Houk said of his victory Saturday at Anderson Speedway.
Houk didn’t move into the second spot until lap 14 and quickly challenged Hammond for the top spot.
The two ran nose to tail with Hammond able to maintain the edge.
On the final lap when the two leaders encountered lapped traffic on the back straight, Houk went low and Hammond high, which resulted in the victory.
“I had a lot of practice there passing cars after starting fifth,” Houk said in the Hoosier Lottery victory lane. “Evan (Hammond) took everything out of me, just to keep up with him.”
Cassten Everidge scored his first-ever victory at Anderson Speedway in the season opening event for the Vern’s Concrete Late Models.
Nathan Greene took the early lead but was passed by Everidge on the ninth lap and remained on the point to the finish winning by less than a second over Greene with former track champion Jack Dossey III rounding out the podium.
John Robbins continued his mastery of roval competition for the Beaver Contracting Thunder Roadsters setting fast time and leading the entire distance through the modified race course at Anderson Speedway.
