Defending IMCA Modified Regional Champion, PJ Egbert worked his way up from mid-pack and passed early leader Jason Hoffman near halfway. From there Egbert eased away from the field to add yet another Texas Thunder Speedway victory to his impressive total.
Hoffman got the top spot when polesitter Jason Hubert got sideways at the drop of green and backed up the inside row. Egbert, who started outside row 5, was battling for fourth with Scotty Heintzman by the end of lap 1. Egbert took the position on lap 3, while Keith Green and Keith White ran side by side for fifth. Heintzman s top five run ended when he bicycled his modified going into turn 3.
Egbert was still on the charge getting around Allen Waltermire and Andrew Simmerman to move into second. Simmerman fought back retaking his spot, while current points leader Pat McGuire moved into fifth. Egbert snagged second for good on lap 6 and went in search of leader, Hoffman. Egbert found Hoffman when yellow for Wesley Hamilton s stalled car re-racked the pack.
As green waved for the restart, Egbert jumped around Hoffman leaving him wheel to wheel with McGuire for second. At halfway the top five were Egbert, McGuire, Hoffman, Simmerman and Green. Green took fourth from Simmerman on lap 14 with White following through for fifth. Yellow waved again on lap 15 when Waltermire expired a motor.
Egbert got away clean on green, with Hoffman retaking second from McGuire. As Egbert eased away, White and Green battled for fourth. As the white was shown, Egbert had built a nice margin over Hoffman and McGuire while Simmerman and Ken Old were fighting for sixth. At the checkers it was Egbert driving the Phils Motorsports, Connell Chevrolet, D & D Cabinets, Wel Ran Construction, Pflugerville Engine & Machine, Donnie Moore Race Cars taking the victory. “We finally got the car dialed in, ” replied Egbert. ”I just maneuvered around everybody and tried to stay out of the ruts. Starting back that far you just see what everyone else does and try to get the front as fast as possible. ” “You kind of worry about things on track like this. I ve lost races at Texas Thunder from breaking stuff while leading a race. I try to stay out of them(ruts) the best I can. Running two cars gives you a heads up over people that aren t. I can get feel for what the track is actually doing. ”
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