ANDERSON – James Kirby defended the home turf at Anderson Speedway for the first ever visit of the Ohio Wheelman Street Stock Series. The Series formed in 2021 was making its first event appearance on the high banked quarter-mile oval with a strong field of 26 cars on hand for Scroung Around Night at the Races.
Anderson’s Josh Poore set fast time during qualifying but because of the invert started 21st in the field. The race was red flagged on the opening lap when eight cars piled up entering turn one, including Poore’s car suffering front end damage. Joe Muldoon took the lead at the start, but the caution flag waved on lap four when local driver Ronnie Rose and two other drivers came to a stop on the back straight wall. On the restart Kirby took advantage of the outside line to take the lead from Muldoon. By lap 15 Poore had used the high groove to climb back to the fifth stop, but when the caution flag waved on lap 23, he returned to the pits with a flat left front tire. Kirby continued on the point with Jeff Kuykendall making a strong bid for the win in the closing laps to finish second with Dennis Wood driving to a third-place finish. Rose came home in fifth followed by Poore with Andrew Cook coming home in eighth among the Anderson Speedway regulars. Kirby for most of the night used the high line on restarts expect for the final one on lap 23.
“The car wasn’t real fast in practice and qualifying,” Kirby said in the Peterman Brother’s Victory Lane. “We took a big swing at it before the race and guessed right. “I knew (Muldoon) was holding them up a little, so I took the outside position,” he explained. “Once the 92 (Chris Parker) moved into second I knew he was fast, so I had to start on the bottom.”
In his first start of the year Danny Trent drove a near perfect race to capture the McGunegill Engine Performance Late Model 75-lap feature. Trent took the lead on the second lap with a pass of Jaren Crabtree with fast qualifier Jeff Marcum and Charlie Keevan climbing up through the field after the six-car inversion. Both Marcum and Keevan moved into the second and third spots by lap 24 and waged a back-and-forth battle until the end. Keevan claimed the second spot with five laps remaining with an inside pass of Marcum entering turn three. Despite either Keevan or Marcum being glued to his rear bumper, Trent consistently hit his marks entering the corners.
Ronnie Rose made it two consecutive victories in the Noble Wine & Spirit Thunder Car Division with what has become a common thread this year following a battle with Jimmy Kirby III. Rose and Kirby moved into the first and second spots after five laps and ran in formation until lap 31 when Kirby’s ride went up in smoke.
Noah Allison remained perfect on the year in Vintage Wrench Pro Ford Division action recording his fourth feature win of the year. Allison didn’t take the lead until lap 23 of the 25-lap feature after starting eighth in the field.
