Part-time CRA Street Stock competitor Ryan Amonett survived a three-lap shoot-out to the finish to capture the Knapp Supply 150 at Anderson Speedway.
Amonett posted the second fastest time during qualifying Saturday topped only by Jimmy Kirby in which 16 drivers posted times within a half-second.
The inversion put Andrew Cook and Dalton Conner on the front row for the start with Cook taking the lead at the start.
Conner, the defending CRA champion, tangled with Josh Poore on lap six sending both drivers to the tail of the field. Both would soldier on through the night to post top five finishes.
Cook gave way to Alan Williams Jr. on the restart with Cook dropping back through the field.
Amonett moved into the third spot on the restart and took control of the race on lap 45 with an inside pass of Williams coming off the fourth corner.
Andrew Teepe moved into the second spot on lap 53 with Kirby cracking the top five for the first time.
Williams night ended on lap 66 when his ride went up in smoke.
Teepe kept Amonett in view until there was less than 38 remaining when Conner claimed the second spot with an inside move following a caution period when Poore spun after contact with James Kirby.
Jimmy Kirby’s night came to an end on lap 148 setting up the run to the checkers.
Amonett was able to hold off Conner on the start to win by 7-tenths of a second with Teepe, Poore and first-time competitor Austin Tunny rounding out the top five.
Amonett said in the Riley&Sons Victory Lane he last won a long CRA race at Mt. Lawn Speedway several years ago.
Qualifying was close here,” Amonett said. “There were six or seven cars that you could cover with a blanket.
“We got lucky tonight and was able to take it to the front,” he said. “I didn’t expect to see that last caution, we had a good car and I wasn’t worried about the last restart.”
Conner said he got into Poore early in the race and had to use the first 75 laps to regain track position.
“The car was overheating, I was overheating on the last restart,” he said. “It was all about survival.”
Conner opened the night as the series point leader and with Blaine Akin and James Swan not competing at Anderson extended his advantage.
Teepe said his car was better on short runs and would get tight on the long runs.
“It was a long night and I was hoping to get on the inside of him (Amonett), but it didn’t work out,” he said.
The first 75 laps were run with only two caution periods.
There were four caution periods in the final 50 laps all involving the Kirby family. Two involved Jimmy Kirby, the first for a flat tire on lap 101 and then wall contact on lap 148.
James Kirby tangled with Poore on lap 110 when he spun in turn two and two laps later Kirby turned Poore in turn two and was parked for the night.
Tunny making his first ever Street Stock start was the hard charger of the race driving to a fifth place finish after starting 16th in the field.
Race Statistics: Time of Race: 1 hour, 42 minutes, 25.425-seconds; Winning margin: .700-seconds; Lead changes: 2 among 3 drivers; Lap Leaders; Andrew Cook, 1-5; Alan Williams Jr., 6-44; Ryan Amonett, 45-150; Cautions: 7
