Central Arizona Raceway
Inside move on restart lifts Anderson in finale
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com chief writer
John Anderson celebrates on Sunday. (DirtonDirt.com)
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Jan. 20) — Making the most of a restart with five laps remaining, John Anderson of Omaha, Neb., pounced in the inside groove to regain the lead from Jimmy Mars in the finale of Central Arizona's Wild West Shootout. | Slideshow
Anderson's second straight victory on the unsanctioned miniseries paid $7,500 as he led 37 laps of the 50-lap main event. The victory denied Mars his third win of the week at Central Arizona as Anderson squeezed underneath entering turn one, then took over for good.
Mars, of Menomonie, Wis., missed an opportunity to get Anderson on a lap-47 restart and faded to lose by eight lengths. Jack Sullivan of Greenbrier, Ark., rallied from 15th to finish third with Missouri drivers Terry Phillips and Will Vaught rounding out the top five.
At the outset, Anderson swept around polesitter Eric Mass exiting turn four on the first lap, and Mars followed suit to set up the two-car showdown.
Jeremy Payne took the third spot from Vaught on the 10th lap, and he was able to stay on the same straightaway as the leaders for another half-dozen laps before the frontrunners pulled away.
Anderson had a half-straightaway lead at the halfway mark, but Mars closed in over the next five laps and set up his lap-33 pass. As Mars pulled out to his own half-straightaway lead by lap 43, the third-running Payne was a half-track behind Mars.
The race's first of two cautions came out on lap 45 for Brad Looney and Will Vaught, and only nine cars remained on the lead lap. The final caution appeared on lap 47 when Payne rolled to a stop on the frontstretch.
Notebook
Tucson driver Adam Crippen made his first Wild West Shootout appearance of the year, starting on the pole of the fifth heat and finishing second. Another newcomer was Justin Dittman, who drove fellow Tangent, Ore., driver Trevor Glaser's backup car. ... Modified racer Tyson Turnbull of Estevan, Saskatchewan, the 19-year-old son of Late Model driver Ed Turnbull, made his Late Model debut in his dad's No. 10. ... Arizona driver Mike Brigner debuted his No. 0 but, like the other newcomers, failed to transfer to the feature. ... Bob Sykes, the 62-year-old modified driver injured in a flipping accident the previous night, was in Maricopa County General Hospital with two broken ribs and a broken collarbone, track promoter Benji Lyons said. Sykes was transported by a medical helicopter during last night's Late Model feature.
