9/16/2023
Mike Marlar
Runner-up finish in Lucas Oil Knoxville Nationals finale
Mike Marlar returned to action on Tuesday at Fairbury Speedway (Fairbury, Ill.) as the Castrol FloRacing Night in America miniseries returned from its summer break with the annual One for the Road.
Amongst a field of 31 Super Late Models, Mike followed up the 11th-fastest qualifying effort in his group with a third-place finish in his heat. Chasing a $23,023 top prize in the feature, Marlar rolled to a consistent eighth-place finish in the 50-lapper.
Joining the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) on Thursday, Marlar invaded Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, Iowa) for a pair of preliminary nights to kick off the 19th annual Knoxville Nationals. Despite setting the mark in time trials with blistering 17.109-second lap, Marlar had to start his heat in sixth based on the invert. With a fourth-place finish in his heat placing him on the fourth row for the opener, Mike gained two positions to register a fifth-place finish, which came behind Ricky Thornton Jr., Daulton Wilson, Brandon Overton, and Devin Moran.
On Friday, Mike raced into the final $7,000-to-win preliminary feature with a sixth-to-third run in his heat. Starting in seventh, Marlar was sidelined on lap 21 with a faulty crank trigger.
With preliminary results on Thursday and Friday locking Marlar on the third row for Saturday night’s $50,000-to-win Knoxville Nationals finale, Mike gained three spots to register a second-place finish. He led laps 11-12 and 18-22 but wasn’t able to outrun red-hot Ricky Thornton Jr. in the 75-lap affair. Hudson O’Neal, Jonathan Davenport, and Brandon Overton completed the top-five finishers.
Full results from the events are available at www.FloSeries.com and www.LucasDirt.com.
Article Credit: Heath Lawson photo