5/26/2015
Kevin Donahue
Memorial Day Weekend
Former two time O'Reilly Auto Parts Pro Late Model Champion Mike Slone of Rolla rolled out his updated 2010 Championship Car on Saturday night in NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action. His lap 27 pass over leader Kevin Donahue captured the 30 lap Pro Late Model feature at the "High-Banks" of the Lebanon I-44 Speedway to become the 3rd different feature winner in 3 events.
The O'Reilly Auto Parts Pro Late Model Feature provided plenty of action as drivers are preparing for the Mercy Masters of the Pro's 144 coming up this Saturday night.
Brian Brown grabbed the opening lead from pole setter and 2014 NASCAR Missouri State Rookie Of The Year Kyle Donahue to set a very quick pace as the pack behind featured side by side racing all throughout. On lap 4, Kevin Donahue moved around his younger brother to take second place and began to close in on the leader Brown while the battle for position between Jimmy Vanzandt and fast qualifier Slone heated up as they both moved around Kyle Donahue. Up front, Brown was holding Donahue at bay for the top spot. This battle continued until lap 9 when Donahue made the pass for the lead in turn 2 while the Vanzandt, Slone battle was keeping the crowd's attention. The 1st caution waved on lap 17 for a single car spin bunching the already tight field even closer. On the restart, Brown had a shock issue send the early leader spinning wildly down the backstretch as everyone got by with no damage. On the restart, Slone made the move around Vanzandt to grab second place and closed-in on leader Kevin Donahue while everyone else was fighting for position. With Kevin Donahue, a 2-time feature winner last season setting a quick pace, Slone slowly began to close the gap and by lap 21 closed to a single car length while point contenders Kaleb Allison, Ken Dickinson and point leader JC Newell were swapping spots with 2014 Sportsman Champion Paul Jepsen as they closed on Kyle Donahue for 4th place. On the 27th lap, Slone went to the low side on leader Kevin Donahue to take the lead and secure his 1st win since 2012 with Kevin Donahue, Vanzandt, defending track champion Kaleb Allison and Kyle Donahue following as 14 of the 15 starters finished on the lead lap.
Article Credit: Ronnie Williams
