Gustin grabs lead late at I-80 Speedway

GREENWOOD, Neb.--A chilly Friday night at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., provided no shortage of excitement as the Lucas Oil MLRA opened their 2015 campaign at the Kosiski family's friendly confines.

Ryan Gustin made a bold pass off turn 4 on lap 20 of 25, and held off the field with a two-lap restart to secure the win.

"I was just trying to be patient there early," said Gustin. "Overall it was a really good night for us. I didn't really know if we had anything for him (Terry Phillips) until we got in lapped traffic. You've got to be there at the end and finish."

Phillips, the DirtOnDirt.com polesitter, led the majority of the race but lapped traffic slowed his pace as the race wore on.

Gustin was never challenged once he passed for the lead.

Phillips had a close call at the race's outset when outside front row starter Brian Kosiski made contact with the #75 and cost both of them the lead.

"Sometimes when you are in the lead you are a sitting duck," stated Phillips following the race. "All in all we had a good car. I haven't even run second all year, so it wasn't even a bad run for us."

Kosiski was in the midst of his best ever run with the series when he stalled exiting turn 4 and had to be towed off the track with two laps to go.

Stormy Scott rolled from eighth in the main event and bobbed in and out of lapped traffic to record a strong third-place finish in his Rowland Racing Club 29 Car.

Heat race wins went to Chris Spieker, Kosiski, Phillips, Denny Eckrich and Jeremy Payne.

Forty-five cars signed in to compete in the season-opening event.

Saturday's action gets underway right around 6 p.m. The Lucas Oil MLRA Late Models are the headlining attraction with a $5,000-to-win top prize on the line.

I-80 Speedway Contingencies 4/3/15

Andy's Frozen Custard Victory Lane - Ryan Gustin

AR Bodies - Jason O'Brien

Casey's General Stores Hard Charger - Bill Leighton Jr.

DirtOnDirt.com Pole Winner - Terry Phillips

Hooker Harness 11th Place - Kyle Berck

KRC Hard Luck - Austin Siebert

RacingJunk.com Hard Luck - Chad Simpson

Landrum Springs Race Winner - Ryan Gustin

Fast Track Photos - Ryan Gustin

Performance Bodies Performer of the Race - Ryan Gustin

RaceNote Crew Chief of the Race - Roger Munsey

Real Racing Wheels - Denny Eckrich

Sunoco Rookie of the Race - Jake O'Neil

Wehrs Machine & Racing Products - Spencer Diercks

Lucas Cattle Company A Feature (25 Laps): 1. Ryan Gustin 2. Terry Phillips, 3. Stormy Scott 4. Denny Eckrich 5. John Anderson 6. Tad Pospisil 7. R.C. Whitwell 8. Jeremy Payne 9. Bill Leighton Jr. 10. Dave Eckrich 11. Kyle Berck 12. Jason Rauen 13. Jake O'Neil 14. Ben Shaller 15. Jason Utter 16. Scott Lewis 17. Jim Sherek 18. Austin Siebert 19. Mike Stadel 20. Mark Rose 21. Dan Shepherd 22. Brian Kosiski 23. Dustin Walker 24. Jason Krohn 25. Tommy Weder Jr. 26. Spencer Diercks 27. Bill Koons 28. Jeremy Keller 29. Al Humphrey 30. Chad Simpson 31. Chris Spieker 32. Chase Junghans

Hot Rod Processiong B Feature #1 (12 Laps): 1. Tad Pospisil 2. Mike Stadel 3. Dave Eckrich 4. Jim Sherek 5. Jason O'Brien 6. Jason Rauen 7. Dustin Walker 8. Mark Rose 9. Ben Shaller 10. Andrew Kosiski 11. Bill Koons 12. Curt Drake 13. Jordan Heiman 14. Jesse Stovall 15. J.C. Wyman

Impact Signs, Awnings, Wraps B Feature #2 (12 Laps): 1. Kyle Berck 2. Tommy Weder Jr. 3. Jake O'Neil 4. Jason Utter 5. Jim Johnson 6. Doug Herrick 7. Dan Shepherd 8. Terry Boushee 9. Bill Leighton Jr. 10. Jay Johnson 11. Dan Shepherd12. Junior Coover 13. Gary Brown Jr. 14. Corey Zeitner

Hoosier Tires Heat #1 (10 Laps): 1. Chris Spieker 2. Chad Simpson 3. Scott Lewis 4. R.C. Whitwell 5. Kyle Berck 6. Tad Pospisil 7. Jim Johnson 8. Dan Shepherd 9. Jason O'Brien

RacingJunk.com Heat #2 (10 Laps): 1. Brian Kosiski 2. Stormy Scott 3. Chase Junghans 4. Dustin Walker 5. Tommy Weder Jr. 6. Jake O'Neil 7. Dave Eckrich 8. Bill Leighton Jr. 9. Ben Shaller

G2 Gemini Heat #3 (10 Laps): 1. Terry Phillips 2. Jason Krohn 3. Al Humphrey 4. Austin Siebert 5. Jason Utter 6. Mark Rose 7. Jordan Heiman 8. Terry Bouschee 9. Jesse Stovall

Chix Gear Heat #4 (10 Laps): 1. Denny Eckrich 2. Ryan Gustin 3. Andrew Kosiski 4. Jeremy Keller 5. Junior Coover 6. Curt Drake 7. Doug Herrick 8. Jason Rauen 9. Corey Zeitner

Hoosier Tires Heat #5 (10 Laps): 1. Jeremy Payne 2. John Anderson 3. Spencer Diercks 4. Jim Sherek 5. Mike Stadel 6. Jay Johnson 7. Bill Koons 8. Gary Brown 9. J.C. Wyman

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