In the 24th running of the Hoosier Dirt Classic presented by Bob Poynter Ford of Seymour, Don O’Neal came out victorious for the sixth time in his career. O’Neal passed Mike Marlar on lap 22 to pick up the win in the O’Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass sanctioned event.
An outstanding field of 43 entries was trimmed down to 22 cars for the $4000 to win Hoosier Dirt Classic. Jerry Rice and Mike Marlar brought the field to the green with Marlar getting the early advantage. Behind him, Rice would settle into second as Don O’Neal and Bart Hartman wrestled for third. A lap 5 caution slowed the pace and kept the field tight with Marlar at the front of the pack.
On the Delaware double-file restart, Marlar fended off the challenges of both Rice and O’Neal as Greg Johnson would join the battle after he slipped by Hartman. Rick Aukland would follow suit shortly thereafter shuffling Hartman back to sixth. Behind them, 18th-starting Brandon Kinzer and 22nd-starting Victor Lee were quietly picking their way through the field. By lap 12, Lee had worked his way around Kinzer and cracked the top ten.
Up front, the battle for the lead was getting intense as Rice, O’Neal, and Johnson had tracked down Marlar and made it a four way dance for the point. A pair of lap 15 cautions spoiled the fight for the lead, but set up a dramatic restart with Marlar leading Rice, O’Neal, Johnson, and Aukland.
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