Summer Season – Week 8 Recaps

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Jarrell Dominates At Lanier For 3rd Victory Of Season

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GM Parts XPerts Super Late Model Series

Finishing out Week 8 of the season was the GM Parts XPerts Super Late Model Series when they took on the Lanier National Speedway for a 150-lap feature event. Cody Kelley edged out Joe Schaffer Jr for the pole with a lap of 13.064 seconds, before a 9-car invert sent them back and brought Conner Blaise to the front of the field.

Blaise led the field to the green, but it took just four laps for Darrell Hamlin to move up from his 3rd starting spot to challenge for the lead. Hamlin’s lead stayed at about a half-second over Derek Holzhuasen during the early stages of the opening 39-lap green flag run, up until Trey Jarrell moved up to 2nd just prior to the races first caution.

After the restart, despite being stuck in the high line, Jarrell would make a power move around Hamlin on the outside to take over the lead. Jarrell would hold onto the lead until the races second and final caution on lap 65. With the race being 150 laps, most of the field decided to wait to take tires, staying on track on old rubber.

The caution that most of the field were hoping for during the second half of the race, never came as the race would go 85 laps to the finish. The green flag run would benefit Jarrell as he was able to slowly build his lead out to 1.5 seconds at times during the run, and he would easily lead the field to the finsih, leading 105 laps en route to his 3rd win of the season. The win was also his 15th career SARA victory.

Cody Kelley, Kyle Holzhausen, Jacob Linkiewicz, and Derek Holzhausen rounded out the top five.

Kelley Pulls Away At Phoenix For Win

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GM Parts XPerts Pro Late Model Series

The GM Parts XPerts Pro Late Model Series traveled out to the desert to take on the Phoenix International Raceway in Week 8 for a 75 lap feature event. Tim Bills picked up his 12th career SARA pole by beating out Ty Spearman by .006 seconds, but a 7-car invert would drop them back as Derek Robinson was inverted to the front.

When the field took the green flag, they would set out on a 37-lap opening green flag run, and Robinson would take the early lead. That lead was short lived however as Cody Kelley chased him down and took over on lap 8. At that point, Kelley would separate himself from the rest of the field as he pulled away, stretching his lead out to nearly five seconds before that first caution flew on lap 37.

A majority of the field used the caution to take on some fresh tires to set themselves up for a run to the finish. Scott Dunlap stayed out during the caution but would quickly be overtaken by Joe Schaffer on lap 43. One more caution on lap 48 set the field up for a 23-lap run to the finish.

Schaffer led the field back to the green but after just a couple laps, Kelley returned to the top spot when he made his move on lap 57 to take over the lead, and once again pulled away out front. Kelley extended the lead to 1.5 seconds by the time he came around to take the checkered flag, picking up his 3rd win in three starts in the division, and his 40th career SARA victory.

Schaffer, Hunter Combs, Ian Layne, and Russell Berry rounded out the top five.

Tire Strategy Moves Martin Out Front For Victory

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Grassroots Vintage SK Shootout Series

The Grassroots Vintage SK Shootout Series took on the Stafford Motor Speedway in Week 8 for the 9th race of their season. Tim Bills set the fast lap in Time Trials with a time of 18.849 seconds, but a 7-car invert would bring Matt Eddy up to the front of the field for the 125-lap triple crown race.

Eddy led the field to the green flag and led the opening 9 laps before Joe Schaffer Jr. took over the top spot on lap 10 after moving up from the 5th starting spot. Bill Martin would eventually join Schaffer at the front of the field as he closed within a couple of car lengths during a green flag run, but couldn’t find room to make a move for the lead.

A lap 62 caution would slow the pace, and would give the field a chance to head down pit road for tires. Schaffer, and most of the field would take four tires during their stop, but Martin would take just two tires to gain track position and would come out of pit road ahead of Schaffer. Matt Eddy would stay out on old tires but Martin quickly took over the lead and looked to pull away during the second half of the race.

Despite getting two tires, Martin was able to stay in front of Schaffer throughout the run. The field would see one final restart on lap 100, and this time Martin was able to pull away as other battled it out in the top five behind him. Martin would lead the field back to the checkered after leading 59 laps to pick up his 3rd win of the season, and the 42nd victory of his career.

Conner Blaise moved up in the closing laps to finish 2nd, followed by Tim Bills, Schaffer, and Chris Forster to round out the top five.

Bills Victorious in First Trip To Gateway

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Callaway Investments Sportsman Street Stock Series

The Callaway Investments Sportsman Street Stock Series visited the Gateway Motorsports Park for the first time in SARA league history for a 55-lap feature event. Windell Stratton put down the hot lap in Time Trials with a 39.267-second lap, but a 9-car invert for the race would send Ian Layne to the front.

Layne would lead the field to the green, but would not lead a lap as Travis Warling from the outside groove would take the top spot before they got back to the start/finish line. Warling would lead early but Matt Rolfe took the lead away before the race’s first early caution. Another quick yellow would shake up the running order with the incident happening at the front of the field, which seemed to divide the field as the race would go under a long green flag run after two early yellows.

A unusual tandem-style race broke out at the front, as the top six cars gapped the field. Windell Stratton would lead for a few circuits with Tim Bills right behind him. They would lead the groups of Ian Layne and Ty Spearman, with Austin Yarbrough and Bill Martin following behind. The top six set sail on the rest of the field as Bills would pass Stratton to on lap 28 to lead their duo and the race.

Bills and Stratton would work their two-car pair the best of any of the top six. They would get some breathing room in the closing stages. It was up to Stratton to make a move for the win, until the race would end under yellow with Bills still out front with Stratton being unable to make a move as the caution ended his chances to make one. Tim Bills would bring the field around for the win after leading 28 of 55 laps with Stratton following in his tire tracks every lap. Ty Spearman, Ian Layne and Travis Warling rounded out the top five.