Their starting spots were less than ideal, but a pair of drivers managed to find ways to overcome that at Brown County Speedway Friday night.
Dawson Zabel of Selby and Trevor Nelson of Warner each got into contention before making moves that put them ahead of their competition en route to feature victories.
Zabel somehow squeezed through a group of cars early in the race and took the lead a few laps later in the Midwest Modified feature.
When asked how he was able shoot through a cluster of cars, Zabel responded, “I don’t know. I just knew that if I didn’t do it right there, the way to the front would be a lot harder.”
While Zabel was able to grab a lead, the race was far from over. He was tested by Kyle Anderson of Jamestown, N.D., who actually passed Zabel on the low side for a brief moment late in the race.
“I got tight on the cushion,” Zabel said. “I think he got his nose underneath me for a lap or so, but I just knew that I had to lock in and hit my mark.”
Despite losing his advantage for a moment, Zabel was confident he could finish what he started.
“I just knew that I didn’t hit my mark and I got tight coming out, and I knew that it was all up to me,” Zabel said. “I had the race and it was up to me to win it.”
The victory was a bit more special considering that Zabel started on the inside of the fourth row.
“It’s always cool to win a race,” Zabel said. “It’s a lot more fun to come from seventh or wherever I started, to do it.”
Nelson started even further back in the Super Stock feature, but quickly worked his way to the front of the pack.
“I started ninth. I was a little worried, actually,” Nelson said. “All the doors just kind of opened up for us at the right times, and our car was very maneuverable which really helped in that race.”
Nelson trailed Groton’s Mark Abeln before darting to the low side of the track to take the lead.
“You can’t pass them if they’re in that top line,” Nelson said, “so you’ve got to go where they’re not.”
The race was far from over, though. A late caution bunched the field and when the race resumed Nelson found himself side-by-side with Abeln before eventually taking control.
“He actually messed me up. I didn’t realize he was going to get that good of a start and he made me overdrive into one,” Nelson said. “I kind of just settled myself back down and hit my marks. I knew eventually we were going to be able to get off the corner better than he was.”
Mike Stearns of Aberdeen led the Modified feature from near start to finish after he was able to run on the high side of the oval.
“There was just some pretty good traction up there, and there was actually a pretty good ring around the bottom, too,” Stearns said. “Sometimes when you get that ring around the bottom here, it’s hard to beat it, just because it’s the shortest way around, but I thought, well if we can just get our momentum up and just get going, it’s tough to beat the cushion here.”
Naturally, there is risk running around the top of the track because there is little margin for error.
“It is a high risk and high reward,” Stearns said, “but when your car is good and you’ve got confidence in your car, and you’ve just got a little confidence going, it’s a lot easier to rail around that top.”
Stearns was able to stay clear of lap traffic, but a late caution made things interesting with just a handful of laps remaining.
“When you’ve got what you feel like is a comfortable lead, you don’t want to see a yellow. Lap cars were playing out where they were running the bottom, I was running the top. I was fine with that,” Stearns said. “I would have been fine if it would have gone green to checkered, but it probably made for a little excitement for the fans anyway. That’s really what it’s all about.”
Aberdeen’s Chad Becker continued his solid summer by winning another Late Model feature. Recently Becker won back-to-back features at the local track.
Billie Christ of Jamestown led from start to finish to win the Street Stock feature.
Racing now takes a three-week break before returning for the season championships on Friday, Aug. 22.
To see Friday’s results, click on the following link:
