By Lonnie Wheatley (Meeker, OK) -- According to the lap sheets, Ace McCarthy led all 25 laps of Friday night’s Lucas Oil POWRi West Midget League presented by Executive Concrete NWA feature event atop the ¼-mile Red Dirt Raceway clay oval.
However, it wasn’t without a genuine Friday the 13th scare for the Tahlequah, OK, racer in the “Midget Meltdown 2k18” event as he withstood a wicked Blake Hahn slider on the final lap to secure his second career series victory aboard the Two-Eight Drilling No. 28m.
PHOTO CREDIT: Lonnie Wheatley
“Wow, that was wild there,” McCarthy said upon climbing out of his winning mount. “Blake (Hahn) came on strong there and when he threw it in there on the last lap, the pucker factor really went up.”
McCarthy survived the slider into turn one as Hahn missed the top of turn two after momentarily taking command less than one-quarter mile away from the stripe, allowing McCarthy to race back out front to the checkered flag.
“This track was awesome tonight, we can’t thank Cody (Brewer) enough for giving us that to race on,” McCarthy commented.
It was a race that began with McCarthy outgunning fellow front starter Cannon McIntosh to take command early from the pole starting position with Steven Shebester and Hahn quickly giving chase. Then, after weathering several cautions in the initial eight rounds, McCarthy found himself wading through lapped traffic over the last half of the race as he kept Hahn nearly a half-straightaway at bay.
Hahn, taking advantage of an idle weekend for the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour, battled into second from his fourth starting position by the sixth round but was unable to close the gap until the final pair of laps.
But when he closed, he closed in quickly and mounted a charge for the point as the white flag flew. Hahn dove to the bottom of turn one on the final round and slid up high in front of McCarthy, only to miss the top of turn two.
McCarthy charged back by to snare the win with Sapulpa’s Hahn recovering quickly enough to salvage runner-up honors. Nixa, Missouri’s Wesley Smith emerged from a multi-car scuffle for position to claim third with Springfield, Missouri’s Kory Schudy outlasting defending series champion Grady Chandler of Edmond, OK, for fourth.
With Chandler settling for fifth, Hank Davis climbed a handful of positions to sixth while Payton Pierce turned in the top passing performance by charging from 17th to seventh. McIntosh rebounded from an early incident to claim eighth with Jonathan Beason and Harlan Hulsey completing the top ten.
McIntosh, McCarthy and Hahn topped heat race action for the field of 24 competitors.
In addition to Lucas Oil and Executive Concrete NWA, additional POWRi West Midget League supporting sponsors include Two-Eight Drilling, American Discount Auto Care, R&M Race Trailer, A1 Machine, Rod End Supply, Pyrotech, Esslinger and MyChron Tom/AIM.
The POWRi West Midget League returns to action on Saturday night, April 28, at Oklahoma City’s I-44 Riverside Speedway.
Lucas Oil POWRi West Midget League presented by Executive Concrete NWA Results
Red Dirt Raceway (Meeker, OK) – April 13, 2018
Smith Ti Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 08-Cannon McIntosh, 2. 82-Steven Shebester, 3. 7m-Chance Morton, 4. 8J-Jonathan Beason, 5. 42-Hank Davis, 6. 15d-Andrew Deal, 7. 17e-Blake Edwards, 8. 19-Pierce Urbanosky.
Keizer Wheels Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 28m-Ace McCarthy, 2. 28-Kory Schudy, 3. 8m-Kade Morton, 4. 23-Hannah Adair, 5. 5m-Alex DeCamp, 6. 24-Hunter Fischer, 7. 4b-Harlan Hulsey, 8. 9u-Doug McCune.
Saldana Products Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 52-Blake Hahn, 2. 00-Grady Chandler, 3. 44-Wesley Smith, 4. 721-Brendon Wiseley, 5. 27b-A.J. Burns, 6. 77-Payton Pierce, 7. 51-Emilio Hoover. DNS: 3e-Blake Battles.
“A” Main (25 Laps): 1. 28m-Ace McCarthy (1), 2. 52-Blake Hahn (4), 3. 44-Wesley Smith (3), 4. 28-Kory Schudy (7), 5. 00-Grady Chandler (6), 6. 42-Hank Davis (11), 7. 77-Payton Pierce (17), 8. 08-Cannon McIntosh (2), 9. 8J-Jonathan Beason (10), 10. 4b-Harlan Hulsey (19), 11. 23-Hannah Adair (15), 12. 9u-Doug McCune (20), 13. 19-Pierce Urbanosky (23), 14. 27b-A.J. Burns (13), 15. 51-Emilio Hoover (22), 16. 82m-Steven Shebester (5), 17. 15d-Andrew Deal (16), 18. 8m-Kade Morton (9), 19. 7m-Chance Morton (8), 20. 721-Brendon Wiseley (14), 21. 5m-Alex DeCamp (12), 22. 24-Hunter Fischer (18), 23. 17e-Blake Edwards (21). DNS: 3e-Blake Battles.
BOSS Performance High Point Driver: Blake Hahn