ANDERSON – Austin Pursley led only one lap of the Marcum’s Welding Front Wheel Drive feature but it was good enough for his first career win.
A strong field of 24 competitors were at Anderson Speedway Saturday for the second race of the season for the division.
With an invert of four following qualifying Josh Whitt jumped into the lead at the start chased by fast qualifier Josh Ebbert Jr. and Caleb Southerland.
Ebbert took the lead on the eighth circuit, but it only lasted a lap when Whitt went back to the point on a restart.
Ebbert stayed glued to Whitt’s rear bumper with Pursley closing on the leaders. On the final lap Ebbert and Whitt made contact in the second corner with the result being Ebbert went low and Whitt high on the track, Pursley slipped through the gap and went on to win by .251-seconds over Ebbert with Whitt coming home in third.
“The bottom just opened up for me,” Pursley said in the Riley & Son Victory Lane.
Dalton Conner made it two victories in a row in the Modified Division by winning the Byrider 100.
Colby Lane set fast time and led the first 12 laps before being passed by Joe Beaver on the front straight.
Conner passed Lane on lap 19 with an outside pass enterin turn three and took the lead from Beaver on lap 43 with a move on the back straight. Lane moved into second on the same lap.
From there Conner pulled away from the field winning by 5.5-seconds over Lane with Beaver rounding out the top three.
Conner said Beaver is tough to pass at Anderson and he was trying to get the Cicero driver to give up the low groove.
“I choose to go to the outside and Joe (Beaver) raced me clean and gave me room,” he said.
With 34 cars the Ford Division locked in 20 cars during qualifications and four from a last chance race.
Helped with an inversion of eight following qualifying JD. Blankenship Jr. led all 25 laps holding off a charge by Ron Phipps over the final 16 laps.
Blankenship was able to maintain the point despite a total of six restarts in which Rickie Tharp II, Adam Lee and Phipps challenged for the win.
Frankton’s John Robbins led 22 of the 25 laps in the Legends feature for his first win of the year.
He was challenged by Xavier King and Sam Johnson for most of the race with King claiming the second spot with a pass of Johnson on lap 23.
