Eric Spangler lets his emotions show after winning $10,000 in the Gene Kregear Championship.
What won the race: Controlling the action from start-to-finish, Eric Spangler of Lake City, Mich., ran away with a $10,000 victory in Sunday night's 75-lap Gene Kregear Championship at Merritt Speedway. He maintained a short edge over Travis Stemler for much of the distance before pulling away in the closing stages to win by a commanding margin of 6.508 seconds over Nick Kurtz, who overtook Stemler for second at the white flag.
Key notes: Spangler came off the outside pole to grab the lead from the polesitting Stemler at the initial green flag and never looked back. ... Stemler closed within two-tenths of a second of Spangler on lap 38, but Spangler pushed his edge to a full second by lap 50 and just continued to extend his cushion over the remaining distance. ... Kurtz's runner-up finish came after he won a preliminary feature on Saturday night to kick off the DIRTcar-sanctioned weekend. ... Stemler settled for a third-place finish. ... Dona Marcoullier finished fourth while 11th-starter Brandon Thirlby placed fifth after cracking the top five late in the race. ... The race's only caution flags flew on laps nine and 21.
On the move: Steven Hilliker of Midland, Mich., started 19th and finished 10th.
Winner's sponsors: Spangler’s MasterSbilt Race Car is sponsored by Forbes Construction & Excavation, Spangler Heating & Cooling, Senior Insurance Solutions, Taco Boy and A&L Trading Post, Babb Ford, Goodman and Vivid Vinyl.
Current weather: Clear, 59°F
Car count: 27
Fast qualifier: Logan Arntz
Time: 13.613 seconds
Polesitter: Travis Stemler
Heat race winners: Greg Gokey, Eric Spangler, Dona Marcoullier, , , , ,
Consolation race winners: Dave Baker, , ,