Rothbury, MI (Friday, April 30, 2021) - On a night that marked new changes for Winston Speedway in Rothbury, Michigan, several new faces rolled onto the speedway for the first DIRTcar UMP sanctioned event of 2021. Due to a shortage of American Racer tires, Winston Speedway has adapted the UMP rule book and the Hoosier Tire rule for Super Late Models for the remainder of the season. Because of that, some of the top names in Great Lakes Region Late Model Racing converged on western Michigan with a new-to-Winston-face taking home the glory.
Bill Bray and Curtas Roberts lead the 20 car field to the green flag with Roberts jumping out to the early and comfortable lead. Bray settled in for the second spot while the battle was on for third. The ‘Illini Invaider’ Rich Bell went to work trying to hold down his third starting position, while former track champion Rich Neiser tried to crack into a podium spot. The caution would fly near the halfway point setting up a complete change in complexion for the entire race.
On the restart, Bell lined up on the inside of Bray and cleared him for the second spot by the time they exited turn two. Then, the hunt was on to chase down Roberts. By the next rotation, Bell had displaced Roberts, again using the middle of the race track to power by on the exit of turn two. Once Bell took the lead, he set it on cruise control and never looked back en route to his first win of the new year.
Roberts would hold on for second while Neiser worked by Bray for the third spot, Bray settled for fourth, and VanderMark got by Schlenk on the final lap for a top-five finish. The next event for Winston Speedway is Fan Appreciation Night on Friday, May 7th featuring Super Late Models and IMCA Modifieds with a special $5 ticket price. For more details, check out Winston Speedway on Facebook, or log onto www.RaceWinstonSpeedway.com.
Story - Zach Hiser, Horsepower Happenings
Photo - Just Shoot Me: Photography by Katie