Spring Championships bring varied storylines
May 12—ANDERSON — Several different storylines emerged during Spring Championship night Saturday at Anderson Speedway.
There was a driver winning in a borrowed car, a first-time winner and a driver closing in on a legend's record.
JP Crabtree brought an end to Jeff Marcum's seven-race feature winning streak in McGunegill Engine Performance Late Model competition.
Crabtree worked on the setup, raced in the late model campaigned by Mike Sargent and put it into the Riley & Son Victory Lane, with Marcum coming home in second.
Marcum and Crabtree started on the front row, and Crabtree took the lead with an outside move entering Turn 1.
There was a restart on the 11th circuit for a spin by Wayne Emberson, and this time Crabtree maintained the point from the preferred inside racing line.
At the finish, Crabtree won by .205 of a second over Marcum, with Nathan Greene, James Butler and Chance Gross rounding out the top five.
"I didn't even know I would be driving today," Crabtree said. "Mike (Sargent) asked if I brought my stuff, and here we are in victory lane."
Crabtree said it's always fun racing with Marcum, and before the race the team put a new setup on the car.
Anderson's Xavier King has been knocking on the door for a feature win in the Legends Division and finally got the "monkey off his back."
King set fast time during qualifying, but the caution flag waved on the first lap when he made contact with San Johnson while battling for the point. Johnson's car ended up on the outside retaining wall.
On the restart, King jumped into the lead chased by many time champion John Robbins. The two raced nose-to-tail for the 30-lap distance, with the outcome settled when the front runners encountered slower traffic late in the contest.
King was able to move around the lapped cars on the outside, while Robbins got slowed which allowed King to win by .337 of a second.
"We've run second to John (Robbins) many, many times here," King said in the Riley & Son Victory Lane. "So happy to get a win at my home track."
Anderson's Josh Poore broke a two-year winless streak in the Vores Welding & Steel Street Stocks for his 50th career win in the division.
Poore is looking to surpass the 51 feature win mark set by local racing legend Rick Fields.
Poore set fast time during qualifying, which allowed him to start on the front row with James Kirby.
The two raced the entire distance in close contact, with Poore winning by 2.7 seconds after Kirby got blocked by slower cars.
"Setting fast time was the difference," Poore said.
Greene won the Modified feature, leading all the way with Tyler DeHart and Joe Beaver rounding out the top three.
Josh Ebbert Jr. recorded his second career feature win in the Marcum's Welding Front Wheel Drive division in dominating fashion with Dylan Hoppes and Trevor Fippen rounding out the top three.
Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.
