McGahan Jr. Earns First Win
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McGahan Jr. Earns First Career Sprint Car Win
(Marysville, CA 4/15/23)…Nothing is more special than seeing a driver pick up their first career win. Corning’s Brian McGahan Jr. led the final seven laps to secure his first career win in the winged 360 sprint car race Saturday night at Marysville Raceway. The win wasn’t easy as McGahan had to survive “overtime” when a yellow was needed on the final lap. McGahan had to keep his composure, which he did, restarting the race without stumbling. Nothing seemed to phase him tonight and he led the final two laps with style and ease. William Fielding led the first 17 laps. Driving the familiar No. 8 Jim Richardson car, Fielding was up front running a solid race. Yet, on lap 17, a mechanical issue slowed him going through turns one and two that ultimately forced him to pull into the infield unable to continue. McGahan Jr. was next in line and never faltered in the remainder of the 26-lap race. Second place went to Nick Larsen of Oroville. Larsen passed Bobby Butler late in the race. Starting 12th was Dawson Hammes. After struggling in qualifying and his heat race, the team found something in the main event. Hammes charged towards the front throughout the main event. Hammes followed Larsen around Butler late in the race. Butler ran in the third spot most of the race. When Fielding broke, Butler moved into second. He had a spirited battle with Larsen the final six laps. Tyler Thompson was fast all night and rounded out the top five. Koa Crane won the first eight lap heat race. Carson Hammes dominated heat two. Fielding won the third and final heat. Larsen started the night off by earning the fastest lap with a 12. 711. A nice field of 18 cars attending point race No. 4.
A big positive tonight was the early ending to the night of racing. The final checkered flag was waived at 9:15 pm. Four divisions, good close racing combined with limited yellows, provided the best night of racing seen in a long time. It allowed the fans to stick around for all the race, and it was nice to see so many young kids roaming the pit area tonight. A big part of this was the IMCA Sport Mod 20-lap race to go non-stop.
Matthew Kaiser returned to victory lane after leading 19 of the 20 laps during the Crate Sprint feature event. Mike Hall was credited with leading lap one, but after that, it was all Kaiser. Britton Bock charged into the second spot late in the race. Jason Ballentine ran second until lap 16. He was then passed by Bock and Hall. Ballentine finished fourth. Kelly Hicks had an impressive night and finished fifth. Kaiser was up front and in cruise control. At the finish line, Kaiser held almost a five-second lead. Carl Droivold and Mike Ballentine each scored impressive wins during their individual heat races. It was a great night for the Crate Sprints. Good close racing, only three yellows during their entertaining 20-lap main event. A total of 15 drivers attended the nights race.
The IMCA Sport Mod main event went 20 laps nonstop. It was refreshing to see this group of drivers put on that kind of a race. The on-track race was won by Jace Wright. Jace led 18 of the 20 laps. However, his car failed a post-race tech inspection, and he was disqualified. This moved second place finishing Raymond Lindeman into the win. Lindeman was fast all night and was all smiles in victory lane after all the races were completed. It also should be noted that Shaun Merritt finished second, but he too was dinged for a post-race deck height violation. This resulted in him losing two finishing spots. This dropped him to a fourth-place finish. Jimmy Ford was credited with a second-place finish. Phillip Shelby started 10th. He struggled a bit getting towards the front early in the race, but never gave up, and was credited with a third place finish. Scott Savell enjoyed another solid night and rounded out the top five. Jason Clayton Jr. won the second heat race. Wright led all eight laps in heat race one. Overall, 13 cars competed throughout the evening.
Roger McShain won the 15-lap vintage hard top race. Ron Ruiz was second. Jason Clifford was third and finished one lap behind.
Full results are found here: https://speedhive.com/Events/2163716
Updated, current point standings are available at www.marysvilleraceway.com
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