Armstrong makes first visit to Springfield an exciting trip with IMCA Modified victory
Second-generation Arkansas Bad Boy Mower sIMCA Modified hot shoe Andrew Armstrong took charge from leader Bobby Pearish on lap 17 of the 20-lap IMCA Modified feature Saturday night at the "Quick-Quarter" of the Springfield Raceway while being engaged in a six-car battle for the lead in the caution-free feature.
Derek Watson grabbed the opening lead from the pole spot and stayed glued to the bottom lane while Pearish quickly jumped to the extreme top groove as drivers were moving all over the speedway with three-wide action behind which included former NASCAR driver Ken Schrader.
Armstrong, who started eighth on the grid, was running both high and low while battling with Jody Tillman, James Thompson, Schrader and points leader and opening night winner Andrew Smith. Pearish could never fully pull away from Watson as the duo left each other plenty of room as Tillman and Armstrong were coming quickly.
Pearish was finally able to pull ahead by four car-lengths from Watson as Armstrong moved around Tillman for third and set his sight on Pearish as Tillman followed closely as Watson slid back to fourth as Schrader was all over Watson for the spot. Armstrong made the winning pass on lap 17 by running through the middle of turn 1 and then tucked down low in turn two to gather the top spot and hold on for the win as Pearish held back Tillman for runner-up honors as Schrader and Watson went door to door for fourth place with Schrader pulling off the spot on lap 19 on the top side of the high-banked oval. Early contender Thompson fell back to sixth as the top six provided and exciting feature.
"This is our first time ever here and we kept getting weathered out at home, so looking around at IMCA-sanctioned tracks, Springfield looked liked it was the best pick for us," quoted the winner. "This was fun and the track was racy all over. We hope to get the chance to return as the drivers here really raced us clean. The staff really ran a good program."
Springfield is located in the Jet Racing Central Region of IMCA Modified racing.
RESULTS:
Heat 1: 1. 5W-Derek Watson, [1]; 2. 9-Ken Schrader, [5]; 3. 11T-James Thompson, [3]; 4. 49S-Andrew Smith, [4]; 5. 71-Chris Tonoli, [2].
Heat 2: 1. 85-Jody Tillman, [3]; 2. 01A-Andrew Armstrong, [4]; 3. 26P-Bobby Pearish, [1]; 4. 11K-Keith Lawson, [5]; 5. D7-Shawn Duncan, [2]; 6. 11-Phil Harris, [6].
Feature: 1. 01A-Andrew Armstrong, [8]; 2. 26P-Bobby Pearish, [2]; 3. 85-Jody Tillman, [6]; 4. 9-Ken Schrader, [9]; 5. 5W-Derek Watson, [1]; 6. 11T-James Thompson, [5]; 7. 49S-Andrew Smith, [7]; 8. 11K-Keith Lawson, [10]; 9. 11-Phil Harris, [11]; 10. D7-Shawn Duncan, [4]; 11. 71-Chris Tonoli, [3].
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