Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – In what was a fairytale ending for Logan Seavey, the Californian was finally able to hold off Christopher Bell and end a streak that may very well go down in history unmatched. Bell looked to go 10 for 10 in Turnpike Challenge competition, but Seavey had other hopes and took his first career Turnpike Challenge victory with the POWRi Lucas Oil National & West Midget League.
Starting on the pole, Seavey led the field to green at I-44 Riverside Speedway, sharing the front row with eventual third place finisher, Hank Davis. While Bell started deep in the field in 14th, he immediately went to work and was up to fifth by mid-way. As Seavey meticulously worked the track and navigated traffic, Bell continued to push forward.
Earning every inch of real estate he took, Bell battled past Blake Hahn and with six to go and set his sights on Hank Davis for second. As the laps wound down, Bell worked past Davis and set Seavey in his crosshairs. With only a handful of laps remaining, it was up to both drivers to minimize any mistakes in hopes of capturing victory. Coming to the white flag, it looked like Bell might have a shot, but Seavey proved to be too strong.
In as many as the previous two seasons, Seavey has tried to dethrone Bell, most recently in 2018’s Turnpike Challenge in which Seavey took runner up both nights. In 2019, at least one night will go home with a driver besides Bell. Hank Davis finished in third after starting outside the front row, while Blake Hahn advanced to fourth. Zeb Wise completed the top five.
“I’m glad he was able to get up there and at least race me, even if it was only for a lap,” stated Logan Seavey. “It wouldn’t have felt as good if he didn’t get second and at least give me a shot for the lead. It’s cool to know we beat him straight up. We tried for so long. I have to thank the Chris Bell fan on the backstretch because the harder he cheered, I knew he was getting close and I knew I had to hit my marks on the bottom. It’s just so tough to beat this guy and hopefully we can get it done again tomorrow.”
“I’m glad we were able to put on a show for the fans,” said Christopher Bell. “Obviously I’m disappointed to break the streak, but you can’t win them all and to run second to my teammate who has been pushing me around for a couple of these races is good. The racetrack was really hard, very technical and fun to race. Ultimately, just stated too far back.”
“It’s pretty unreal,” commented Hank Davis. “Yes, we got beat, but those are probably the best two to get beat by. I couldn’t be more happy, honestly. We’ve been struggling with motor and brakes this weekend and just kind of tough to get going. If we could get a good restart, we might have been able to hang, but we just got our doors blown off.”
Midgets
Racing Electronics Heat Race Winners: Heat 1: 91T – TYLER THOMAS, Heat 2: 44S – ANDREW FELKER, Heat 3: F5 – TYE MINOCKO, Heat 4: 17E – BLAKE EDWARDS, Heat 5: 44 – WESLEY SMITH, Heat 6: 25 – JERRY COONS JR, Heat 7: 52 – BLAKE HAHN
Speed Sport C-Main Winner: 84M – ALEX DECAMP
Bell Qualifier Winners: 69K – HOLLEY HOLLAN, 67 – LOGAN SEAVEY, 95 – CHRIS ANDREWS, 32 – TREY MARCHAM
Toyota Semi Feature Winner: 9 – DAISON PURSLEY, 71K – TANNER CARRICK
Mesilla Valley Transportation Feature Winner: 67 – LOGAN SEAVEY
POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League Feature Results (30 laps): 1. 67 – LOGAN SEAVEY 2. 21 – CHRISTOPHER BELL 3. 42 – HANK DAVIS 4. 52 – BLAKE HAHN 5. 39BC – ZEB WISE 6. 95 – CHRIS ANDREWS 7. 25 – JERRY COONS JR 8. 71 – JESSE COLWELL 9. 21H – BRADY BACON 10. 32 – TREY MARCHAM 11. 71K – TANNER CARRICK 12. 28 – ACE MCARTHY 13. 9 – DAISON PURSLEY 14. 44 – WESLEY SMITH 15. 56 – ALEX BRIGHT 16. 44S – ANDREW FELKER 17. 91T – TYLER THOMAS 18. 27 – TUCKER KLAASMEYER 19. 21KS -KARTER SARFF 20. 5D – ZACH DAUM 21. 69K – HOLLEY HOLLAN 22. 11B – KAYLEE BRYSON 23. 08 – CANNON MCINTOSH
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