That big sigh of relief you heard late Friday night at Desert Thunder Raceway came from Aaron Spangler.
The checkered flag was in sight when Spangler edged back in front of Ricky Alvarado to win the EQ Cylinder Heads Wild West Tour main event for IMCA Modifieds.
Alvarado, winner of the series opener two weeks ago at Diamond Mountain Speedway, had slipped ahead going into the final set of turns but Spangler eked back in front to win the 30-lapper by half a car length.
“Ricky is quick, but he’s clean and we pulled it off, ” Spangler said, following his 108th IMCA career feature win. “I ran the top all night. I’ve raced at this track a lot but tonight was the first time I ever saw it get a cushion around the top. ”
Jeep Berry followed the lead pair across the stripe, with Dan Fitzgerald and Derek Kopp rounding out the top five.
Spangler and Alvarado set the tone for the feature by running 1-2 in their heat race. Spangler drew the pole start while Alvarado took the initial green eight spots back, negotiating his way toward the front through four early cautions and finally catching Berry for second just before midway.
Racing bumper to bumper, the lead duo was half a straightaway ahead of Berry, Fitzgerald and Kopp before the final yellow bunched the field back up with four laps to go.
Alvarado stayed game to the finish, charging ahead on the white flag circuit before Spangler found that extra bite coming to the line.
Fifty-eight Modifieds were on hand for opening night of the tour twinbill at Price, with the top two from each of six heat races and the top four from each of three “B” features making up the starting grid for the main event.
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