Fast qualifier Luke Hall scored his first NSCS win, on Saturday night, as Lakeport Speedway hosted the "Robinson Rancheria Resort and Casino 75" for the North State Challenge Series. Hall's strong performance came in a race that featured 60 consecutive green flag laps before a late caution flag on lap 72. "I thought ' Oh no! This can't be happening'!" said Hall of the yellow flag that erased a nearly 1/4 lap lead over second place Mike Doss. "I really did not want to see that yellow!"
Doss showed a fender to Hall on the late restart but was unable to make a pass and settled for second. "Luke had a great car tonight," said the defending champ. "He's had a great car in a lot of races lately, but tonight was his night. He deserves it!" Doss' second place finish allowed him to stretch his point lead to 19, over Derek Thorn, with one race remaining.
Ryan Foster finished third, after starting from the pole and leading the first 35 laps, in a car the Golden Gate Meats team recently acquired from Randy Stutesman. "We just missed it a little tonight," Foster said. "I was too loose. The #36 (Hall) was very good! We'll be back to try again at Ukiah."
CJ Bawden notched another top five finish and moved to within one point of 4th place in the point standings and is only 41 points out of 3rd place. "We were a little too tight. Top fives are good though. I'd really like to finish 3rd in the points."
Title contender Derek Thorn finished 5th after leaking power steering fluid on the track and going to the back of the pack. "We broke a power steering line and cut the belt to make it stop pumping. Then I had no power steering and it was a handful!"
Hall topped qualifying with his 12.346 to Eric Graham's 12.393. Doss was third at 12.397 and Thorn posted a 12.400. Kelseyville's Dustin Knight, a late model regular at Ukiah Speedway, laid down a strong 12.550 and just missed the dash. Thorn won the dash over Hall, Doss and Graham.
The 75-lap feature got off to a rough start when Doss and Graham made contact on lap one causing Doss to spin and scattering the pack. Berndt Akerstrom and Darin Snider took evasive action and were able to continue. Mike Bourbon and Jim Stillman Jr. suffered terminal damage. Stillman Jr. had experienced engine problems, in his #39, in qualifying and was driving a late model borrowed from Stillman Racing crewman Kevin Ostern. "That was 100% my fault," Doss would say. "I thought I was clear and I wasn't. I came down on Eric and spun my own self and caused that problem."
Officials called for a complete restart with the involved cars at the back. Foster jumped to the early lead over Thorn, Hall, Howard Ford and Knight. The yellow flag flew on the 11th circuit when fluid was reported on the track and Thorn pitted for repairs. Darin Snider retired on lap 15.
The quick Doss got by Ford and back to third on lap 28. Hall started working the outside of Foster on lap 31 and completed the pass on lap 35. Late arrival "Ironman" Junior Roddy retired on lap 36 with power steering problems. Knight's fine run ended on the 37th lap, while running 5th, when he had engine issues.
Hall continued to put the hammer down and started to check out on the field. By lap 70, he'd lapped the field all the way up to the 5th place car of Bawden. Three laps from the finish, the final yellow flag waved when Foster contacted Akerstrom and Ford was collected. Ford left on the hook and finished 10th.
Hall held off Doss on the four-lap dash to the checkers and celebrated his first victory. "This is really all about the P.O.D. Racing team," the happy winner said. "We've worked so hard for this and we finally got the car where it needed to be! I can't wait to see how it works at Ukiah!"
Time Trial - (12.346) Luke Hall, Eric Graham, Mike Doss, Derek Thorn, Dustin Knight, Ryan Foster, C.J. Bawden, Howard Ford, Darin Snider, Junior Roddy, Andrew Snider, Berndt Akerstrom, Kevin Estep, Mike Bourbon, Jim Stillman Jr.
Trophy Dash - Derek Thorn, Luke Hall, Mike Doss, Eric Graham
A Main - Luke Hall, Mike Doss, Ryan Foster, C.J. Bawden, Derek Thorn, Andrew Snider, Eric Graham, Berndt Akerstrom, Kevin Estep, Howard Ford, Dustin Knight, Junior Roddy, Darin Snider, Mike Bourbon, Jim Stillman Jr.
