The MRolfeDesigns Pro Late Model Series returned to the Concord Speedway this past Wednesday night for the first time since November of 2014, and a familiar name found his way to victory lane by the end of the 100 lap feature event. Ty Majeski started 8th on the field after picking up the pole and being inverted back in the feature, before picking his way up to the front for the victory.
Patience was the key for Majeski as he worked his way towards the front in the early laps and throughout some early cautions, working his way into the top three by lap 30. As the race neared the halfway point, Majeski took his shot at the race leader, Austin Yarbrough, but the two made contact and nearly ended up in the turn three inside wall as they handed the lead over to Ty Spearman who snuck through.
Majeski went on to take over the lead on lap 78 from Spearman during a lengthy green flag run in the second half of the feature, and led the final 23 laps on the way to his 2nd Pro Late Model victory of the season, and the 64th win of his SARA career. The only challenge for Majeski in the late laps was a caution with ten laps to go, setting up a five lap dash to the finish, but he jumped ahead quickly and held on to capture the win.
Spearman, the points leader entering the night, was looking for his 3rd victory of the season once he took over the lead on lap 46. He went on to lead a race-high 32 laps before surrendering the lead to Majeski, and Spearman went on to pick up a 2nd place finish which helped him pad his points lead.
After a qualifying effort that landed him just outside the top ten, Joe Schaffer quietly worked his way towards the front of the field as he cracked the top five just prior to halfway. Schaffer battled inside the top five the rest of the race, before gaining a spot during the late caution as he moved up into a 3rd place finish.
Hunter Combs failed to get a qualifying lap in during Time Trials, and was forced to start towards the back of the field, making it a tough task for him. Combs was able to crack the top ten just after halfway for the first time however, and then picked off cars in the closing laps, including working his way into the top five in the final laps to snag a 4th place finish.
Rounding out the top five was Marc Gammack, who used the invert to start on point for the feature event. Gammack led the opening 17 laps, but after giving up the lead he never dropped back worse than 6th and hung inside the top five for most of the race before picking up a 5th place finish.
Ian Layne and Michael German were both involved in early race incidents, but were able to recover and worked their way forward into 6th and 7th place finishes respectively. Russell Berry started deep in the field before quietly working his way up into the top ten by halfway and held on to finish 8th. Brandon Wilkinson also recovered from and incident during one of the first cautions to come back and finish 9th. Darrell Hamlin struggled early, but made a few pit stops during the race to adjust and was able to climb back up to finish 10th.
By picking up a 2nd place finish, Ty Spearman was able to open up the gap in the points standings out to 43 points, as 2nd place driver Windell Stratton was caught up in a lap 46 wreck that dropped him to a 16th place finish. Spearman will lead the Pro Late Model division into next week’s race at Phoenix, hoping to have a solid run which could potentially clinch him his first career SARA championship.
The Qualifying Dash victory went to Austin Yarbrough. Bill Martin, Marc Gammack, Ty Spearman, and Ty Majeski rounded out the top five to gain extra bonus points in the championship standings.
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