ANDERSON, IN– During a 25-lap stretch of the Madison County 200 eventual race winner Jeff Marcum was on a mission.
It was Marcum’s 15th win with the Champion Racing Association Vore’s Welding Sportsman Late Models equaling the mark of Jason Atkinson.
Marcum drove most of the first half of the Indiana Liquor Group Madison County 200 Saturday at Anderson Speedway in a tire saving strategy.
He was running third following the halfway break behind race leader JP Crabtree and Brent Jack.
The lead pack was shuffled on lap 130 when Crabtree spun following contact with Jack, sending both cars to the rear of the field.
That put Marcum in the lead but on the restart hi scar slowed on lap 133 with a flat right rear tire.
Caleb Rescher led Canadian Jay Palumbo and Crabtree on the restart. Marcum rejoined the field in seventh and by lap 144 was running second.
The ninth and final caution flag waved on lab 150 when Rescher spun on the front straight.
Marcum passed Crabtree for the lead on lap 157 and pulled away to win by 6.2-seconds with Jack, Rescher and Logan Huckeba rounding out the top five.
“Our conversation before the race was to take what we could get on the restarts and see where we fell in,” Marcum said in the Riley & Sons Victory Lane. “We just wanted to maintain. We wanted to keep sight of the leader.”
Marcum said he owed the win to his crew for making a quick tire change.
“Any race with CRA is a big one,” he said. “There is always a good field of cars, but this is the crown jewel.”
Crabtree said it helped Marcum to be able to put on a fresh right rear tire after experiencing a flat tire.
“It probably helped that he had a newer right rear tire,” Crabtree said. “The crew gave me a great car tonight, all I did was hop in.”
Crabtree led the race three times for 112 laps.
The race became one of attrition early in the race when four of the lead pack cars tangled in turn three on lap 33.
The incident collected fast qualifier Billy Hutson, CRA point leader Zach Stacy, Russ Blakeley, Glynn Neal and Pendleton’s John Stapleton.
Hutson was running second at the time, Stacy sixth and Blakeley was seventh.
Crabtree, Marcum and Reschar were able to avoid the mayhem and were able to continue to compete for the win.
Race Statistics: Time of Race; 2:11:14.068; Winning margin, 6.226-seconds; Lead changes, 9 among 5 drivers; Lap leaders, Brent Jack, 1-5; Cassten Everidge, 6-28; Jack, 29-37; JP Crabtree, 38; Jack, 39; Crabtree, 40-129; Caleb Reschar, 130-135; Crabtree, 136-156; Jeff Marcum, 157-200; Cautions, 9; Red flags, 2
