Paducah International Raceway
Feger exorcises demons, earns $5,000 at Paducah
From track reports
Jason Feger (25) outran Terry English (96). (kohlsracingphotos.com)
PADUCAH, Ky. (Sept. 12) — Jason Feger had it up to here with near-misses at Paducah International Raceway in 2008. The 30-year-old driver from Bloomington, Ill., put a couple of bad memories behind him at PIR by earning $5,000 with a dramatic Northern Allstars Late Model victory in the Wayne Coakley Memorial at the 3/8-mile oval in western Kentucky.
The fourth-starting Feger hounded Brad Neat of Dunnville, Ky., in the late stages of the 40-lap feature, going ahead amid traffic on the final lap for his first victory of the season at PIR in four special-event visits.
Former track champion Terry English of Benton, Ky., who started sixth, swapped the second spot with Feger in the second half of the race before settling for second while Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., Ken Schrader of Fenton, Mo., and hometown driver Jeff Walston, who started 14th, rounded out the top five in the race honoring the famed Ohio County driver killed in a highway accident nearly 20 years ago.
Neat, who started outside the front row and led most of the way in looking for his second victory of the season in the western part of his home state, limped to the finish with a flat tire on the last lap and ended up sixth.
For Feger, it was doubly sweet redemption after Schrader and Shirley snatched victories away from him earlier this season. On May 30, Feger was battling Schrader for the lead in a $6,000-to-win Northern Allstars event when he got into the wall on the final lap and finished second. On Aug. 22, Feger was in control in the waning laps when a flat tire knocked him out of contention, handing a $5,000 O'Reilly MARS DIRTcar Series victory to Shirley.
Notes: Feger drives a Pierce Race Car sponsored by Campbell Construction, SVC Construction, Advanced Racing Suspension and Mulligans. ... Polesitter Dennis Erb Jr., the Northern Allstars points leader, spun on the 15th lap after contact with Feger while they battled for second. ... Brad Neat survived a first-lap spin after a tangle with Feger when officials called for a complete restart, returning everyone to their original spots. ...� Randy Korte of Highland, Ill., who started 15th in a Scott Riggs-owned car, dropped out on lap 20. ... Next up for Northern Allstars competitors is a pair of $2,000-to-win events on Sept. 26-27 at La Salle (Ill.) Speedway and Kamp Motor Speedway in Boswell, Ind.
Northern Allstars @ Paducah: (1) Jason Feger, (2) Terry English, (3) Brian Shirley, (4) Ken Schrader, (5) Jeff Walston, (6) Brad Neat, (7) Randy Sellars, (8) Kevin Claycomb, (9) Tim Brown, (10) Dylan Thompson, (11) Jason McBride, (12) Brandon Sheppard, (13) Rodney Melvin, (14) Jason Riggs, (15) Jamey Cook, (16) Jayme Zidar, (17) Randy Korte, (18) Dennis Erb Jr., (19) Mark Voigt, (20), Kevin Cole, (21) Steve Sheppard Jr. Fast qualifier (among 33 cars): Feger, 15.594 seconds. Heat race winners: Feger, Claycomb, Neat, Erb. Consolation winners: S. Sheppard, Walston.
