A pair of lap 16 cautions would slow the pace and, on the second restart, 12th-starting Don O’Neal began to make his move. O’Neal would use the Delaware double-file restart to jump from 10th to 7th. The Martinsville, IN hotshoe didn’t stop there as he would then go door-to-door with Rattliff and Hartman in a three-wide battle for 5th at the halfway point. “The Real Deal” would take the 5th spot and he didn’t stop there. On lap 22 he powered past Barnett to grab 4th where he would set his sights on Lee. Just ahead of them, second-runner Mike Marlar would break a rear end, ending his night and bringing out a caution. On the restart, the same fate would befall upon 5th-running Barnett, as the yellow was displayed for the final time.
The 15 lap dash to the finish saw Aukland leading Lee, Don O’Neal, Rattliff, and Hartman back to the green. O’Neal would bolt ahead of Lee to take second and set his sights on race leader Aukland. Behind them, Rattliff and Hartman would dance for fourth with Rattliff eventually settling into the position with just ten laps to go. Over the final ten circuits, Rattliff would hound Lee in an entertaining battle for third.
But this all happened behind race leaders Aukland and O’Neal. With just six laps to go, Aukland put the lapped car of Chris Combs between himself and O’Neal. That buffer as well as Aukland’s smooth, mistake-free driving was enough to allow him to go on and take the checkered flag, his very first with the nation’s most competitive regional racing series. Aukland’s Malcuit powered MasterSbilt Monte Carlo carries sponsorship from K&E Trucking, Malcuit Racing Engines, Sweeney Services, and MasterSbilt Race Cars.
“Our weather back home hasn’t been all that great so it’s nice to actually have a good weekend to race! ” Aukland joked in victory lane. “My car was really good all night and track really came around to my liking. When I first started racing, I wasn’t very good on this kind of track, but after growing up racing on those tracks back in North Dakota, you learn really quickly how to adapt. “
Second spot went to the hard charging Don O’Neal driving his Jay Dickens/Rayburn Monte Carlo sponsored by Jones Core and Hancock Core Supply. Stanford, KY’s Victor Lee finished third in the Revel Motorsports, Budda Bert Transmission/Ado’s Auto Parts sponsored Jay Dickens/Rayburn Grand Prix. Finishing fourth was Campbellsville, KY native Justin Rattliff in a Pro Power/Rayburn Monte Carlo sponsored by the Medicine Centre and Rattliff Motors. Zanesville, OH’s Bart Hartman rounded out the top five in his Urgent Cash/Jarrett’s Body Shop sponsored Cornett/Rocket GTO.
Of the 49 entries on hand for the event, Victor Lee set fast time during Racing Optics Time Trials with a quick lap of 14.44 and drew an “invert one” for the heats. Rick Aukland, Bart Hartman, Steve Barnett, Mike Marlar, David Webb, and Patrick Sheltra won the Mason Racin’/Arizona Sport Shirts Heats while Cody Mahoney and Brad Neat won the Design 500 B-Mains.
Race Statistics
Entries: 49
Lap Leaders: Aukland 1-40
Cautions: 6
PPM Racing Products Hard Charger of the Race: Don O’Neal (started 12th, finished 2nd)
Cruise With Champions Rookie of the Race: Jason Keltner
Series Provisionals: Mike Jewell, Tim Tungate
O’Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series Points after Twin Cities
1. Victor Lee (Stanford, KY) - 451
2. Jerry Rice (Verona, KY) - 437
3. Mike Marlar (Winfield, TN) - 378
4. Justin Rattliff (Campbellsville, KY) - 358
5. Mike Jewell (Scottsburg, IN) - 349
6. Brad Neat (Dunnville, KY) - 332
7. Michael Chilton (Salvisa, KY) - 328
8. Tim Tungate (Campbellsville, KY) - 323
9. Chris Combs (Isom, KY) - 322
10. Scott James (Bright, IN) - 317
Upcoming O’Reilly NARA Battle of the Bluegrass Series Schedule
April 21 - Brownstown Speedway - $4000
April 27 - Ponderosa Speedway - $3000
April 28 - Bluegrass Speedway - $3000
May 12 - Tazewell Speedway - $4000
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