May 13
Longdale Speedway,
Longdale, OK
Sanction: MARS DIRTcar Series West - $2,000
Information provided by: Kyle Bean and series reports (last updated May 17, 4:59 pm)
Gustin wins Longdale's weekend opener
- Ryan Gustin
- Justin Asplin
- Tony Jackson Jr.
- Payton Looney
- Randy Timms
- Brandon McCormick
- Sloppy Hogg
- Joe Gorby
- Jacob Magee
- Jeff Roth
- Jason Redman
- Mark Harrison
- Randy Roth
- Leroy Johnson
- Damian Patocka
- Brandon Mitchell
- Kip Hughes
- David Hennan
Ryan Gustin gets rolling before the first MARS event in Longdale.
What won the race: Fourth-starting Ryan Gustin of Marshalltown, Iowa, took the lead from Justin Asplin of Birch Tree, Mo., on the seventh lap and never looked back en route to a $2,000 MARS DIRTcar Series triumph in the tour's first-ever event at Longdale Speedway.
Quotable: "We got his new (Rocket) XR1 Chassis here that's awesome, man. It's been fast ever since we unloaded it to begin with. The motor ran great," Gustin said. "We started off and got to second there behind Asplin, rode around there for a while, and finally was able to capitalize on a mistake he made and drove by him."
Key notes: The victory was the eighth of Gustin's career on the MARS circuit; his previous came Aug. 29, 2015, in Pevely, Mo. ... Polesitter Kip Hughes lost a motor with about 10 laps remaining and retired. ... Rodney Sanders didn't start the feature after discovering engine troubles following his heat race. ... The purse is upped to $3,000-to-win for Saturday's finale of the doubleheader weekend for MARS at Longdale, which marks the tour's first visit to the Oklahoma oval. ... Jesse Stovall and Terry Phillips arrived in town late Friday and plan to compete Saturday; they'd been in eastern Iowa for Lucas Oil Midwest LateModel Racing Association action that was rained out.
Winner's sponsors: Gustin’s Ed and Cinde Gressel-owned Rocket Chassis has a Mullins Race Engine and is sponsored by Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, CPD Racing Tools, Eibach Springs, FastShafts, Henryetta Ford, Integra Racing Shocks, Larry's Performance Carburetors, Midwest Sheet Metal, R2C Performance Products, Sybesma Graphics and VP Race Fuels.
Points chase: Entering the Longdale doubleheader, Tony Jackson Jr. of Lebanon, Mo., had 476 points to lead Brian Shirley (377) and Payton Looney (367); Shirley isn't expected to compete.
Car count: 19
Polesitter: Kip Hughes
Heat race winners: Ryan Gustin, Tony Jackson Jr., Justin Asplin
Next series race: May 21, Springfield Raceway (Springfield, MO) $2,000
Editor's note: Corrects Magee as ninth-place finisher sted 17th.