On a night when favorable track conditions gave drivers ample opportunity to race to the front no matter their starting position, Kyle Strickler remained the class of the field.
Strickler, of Mooresville, N.C., led all 30 laps to win Thursday night's preliminary feature at the Mark Martin Race for Hope 74 IMCA modified event at Batesville Motor Speedway in Locust Grove.
Last year, Strickler sat on the pole and finished second in the main event. His victory Thursday secured him the No. 2 starting spot in tonight's 74-lap feature, which pays $20,000 to win.
Slick track conditions put passing at a premium in Wednesday night's first preliminary feature, which was won by Ricky Thornton Jr. of Chandler, Ariz.
"The track was pretty racy tonight, and that's all you can ask for in these types of conditions," said Strickler, referring to the rain that had saturated the track the previous night. "The track was a lot better tonight. It didn't lock down around the bottom."
Strickler took the lead at the green flag, but the rest of the field battled three- and four-wide behind him. Batesville's Peyton Taylor settled into second before giving up the spot to former NASCAR regular David Stremme of Mooresville, N.C., in the final laps.
The top-eight finishers secured starting spots in tonight's main event. Behind Stremme in second was Taylor, Bryant's Robert Baker and Kelly Shryock of Fertile, Iowa. Other qualifiers were Terry Phillips of Springfield, Mo.; Jason Wolla of Ray, N.D., who started 26th; and Ricky Engles Jr. of Mount Pleasant.
The rest of the 30-car starting field will be completed by the top eight finishers from Friday night's prelim and from tonight's last-chance qualifiers. Also tonight, there will be a manufacturers dash and a state's race.
Gates open at 5 p.m. today and racing starts at 7:30 p.m. Grandstand admission is $25 and pit passes are $40.
Sports on 09/29/2018