ANDERSON – James Kirby II drove a patient race for the first two thirds of the Heartland Racing Association 150-lap event and took over the point with 49 laps remaining.
Kirby sent fast time during qualifying Saturday at Anderson Speedway starting seventh after the invert.
Kirby has not visited the Hoosier Lottery Victory Lane this year in the Vore’s Welding and Steel Street Stocks Division.
This was the final tune-up before the Street Stocks take part in the Redbud 400 on July 25 with a 200-lap event.
Dalton Conner, who won both 150-lap races at Anderson Speedway a year ago started on the pole and took the lead at the start over Andrew Teepe and Ayden Oliver.
It was slow going in the first 25 laps of the event with the caution flag slowing the pace three times.
By lap 50 Kirby moved into the third spot behind Kirby and Teepe with Josh Ebbert and Oliver rounding out the top five.
Kirby moved into the second spot with an inside pass of Teepe and stayed glued to Conner’s rear bumper until the halfway break.
The race was slowed only once more on lap 80 when Thomas Skiles and Rickie Tharp II made contact in turn three.
Kirby took the lead on lap 101 with an outside pass of Conner on the front straight and pulled away to win by 3.4-seconds with Oliver, Joe Muldoon and Teepe rounding out the top five.
Muldoon started 12th in the field and an impressive run was turned in by Landen Jones who started 20th and finished eighth.
“I was saving my tires in the first half,” Kirby said in Victory Lane. “I was biding my time and waited until the second half to make my move.
For the 19th time since 2017 Dameron Taylor scored the Kenyon Midget Series victory at Anderson Speedway.
Taylor driving the Autotastic Service Midget was able to hold off point leader Aryton Houk over the final 21 laps winning by a half-second with Danny O’Gara making his first start coming home in third.
Houk in the Binkley’s Kitchen and Bar sponsored car set fast time during qualifying Saturday which saw 14 of the 15 entrants within a half-second of each other.
Andrew Wall took the lead at the start but Taylor grabbed the point on lap four with an inside pass entering turn one.
Wall’s night ended on lap nine when he made heavy contact with the turn four wall.
On the restart O’Gara started outside of Taylor but was passed by Houk on the restart. The front three ran in a tight pack with Evan Hammond climbing through the field from the ninth starting spot.
Curtis Chapman claimed the Knapp Supply Ford Division race when the early leader Colin Gray spun on the front straight after contact with Dalton Owen on the front straight while battling for the lead.
That put Chapman on the pole for the restart and he held off Zach Detches and Michael Phipps for his first oval win in the division.
Caleb Southerland dominated Front Wheel Drive action setting fast time and then leading 19 of the 25 laps claiming the point from Gaige Hulett with James Allender coming home in third.
