6/22/2019
THREE-PEAT: SIMPSON CONTINUES MLRA DOMINATION IN WIN AT RAPID SPEEDWAY
Rock Rapids, IA - With an opportunity for an MLRA three peat on the line at the Rapid Speedway, defending series champion Chad Simpson proved he was up to the challenge scoring his third consecutive Lucas Oil MLRA win Friday night in the series first ever appearance at the 3/8-mile facility.
Friday nights "A" feature found series point leaders Will Vaught and Mitch McGrath rolling off side by side on the front row for the 40 lap affair. Motor issues on Thursday night at the Cresco Speedway forced McGrath and team to make the long haul home to Waukesha, WI to pick-up his back-up, before making the long trek back across the Hawkeye state to the Rapid Speedway.
At the drop of the green flag, McGrath utilized the momentum on the top of the speedway to shoot to the lead in his new Rocket XR1 Chassis. The lead for McGrath however would be short lived, as Vaught was able to charge by in his Clements powered entry to take the lead on lap number three. Not to be outdone, Simpson would return the favor and capture the lead from Vaught just one lap later.
With Simpson out in front he quickly began to distance himself from the field and begin working his way through lapped traffic. As Simpson maintained a comfortable 2-3 second advantage over the field, lady luck would again strike series point leader and second place running Will Vaught on lap # 24, when he slipped up off the speedway in turns one and two, coming to a stop and bringing out the events first caution.
With Vaught tagging the field on the restart, it would be Norfolk, Nebraska's Tad Pospisil taking advantage of the re-start by jumping around McGrath for second and taking his shot at stopping the Simpson win streak. Simpson however, jumped back out front and appeared to be headed for his third win in a row, when for the third consecutive event, the caution waved with just four laps to go.
3-in-a-row for Simpson--Lloyd Collins- FastTrack Photos
Simpson would again make quick work of the final four laps, collecting his third MLRA win of the 2019 season and yet another $3,000 pay day over Pospisil in the runner-up position. Vaught charged from the tail to snag third at the line from Ben Sukup who recorded his career best MLRA finish. Top Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie driver Logan Martin completed the top five.
"Will (Vaught) and (Mitch) McGrath are both really good, and I figured the track was going to be really fast. You know you get on a fast race track like this and it's hard to pass. This Black Diamond Chassis was outstanding, and I just have to give a huge hats off to all my sponsors that have helped me out with this deal. I started this team new this year and it's a lot of fun doing that," commented an exhausted Simpson in Lucas Oil Victory Lane.
"Hats off to this Jay Dickens Motor, you know we got a little nervous last night that we hurt it and found out it was just a valve cover gasket," stated Simpson. "This thing was fast tonight and it just proves right here that Jay builds one hell of a motor."
Simpson's Jay Dicken's powered Black Diamond Chassis is Sponsored by, Graves Oil, Wehrs Machine, Race Bud's, Allgaier Racing Shocks, Michelle Ruefer Chiropractic, Ideal Ready Mix, CR feeds & Fibers, Liebe trucking, Simpson Farms, and Five Star Shop Service.
The Lucas Oil MLRA will now get a jump start on the upcoming Independence Holiday when they head to the Salina Highbanks Speedway this coming Friday and Saturday June 28th - 29th. Located just outside of Pryor Creek, OK the 6th Annual "Freedom Classic" will be a co-sanctioned event with the Comp Cams SuperDirt Series, Presented by Lucas Oil. Two complete shows will find drivers competing for $3,000 on Friday night before Saturday nights $5,000 to win finale.
For all of the latest news and information fans are encouraged to visit the series website at www.MLRARacing.com.
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Article Credit: Ernie Leftwich
