201 Speedway
Harris wins again for third Battle of Bluegrass victory at 201 Speedway
From series reports
Paul Harris
SITKA, Ky. (Sept. 1) — Every driver has high hopes before feature events, but Paul Harris wasn't overconfident about his chances in O'Reilly Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series competition at 201 Speedway.
Turns out the Prestonsburg, Ky., driver should've expected more from himself as he rode the inside groove to his third career series victory. He won series events at the same track in 2004 and 2005.
"I didn't expect the old car to be this good," said Harris, who led all 40 laps and earned $3,000. "It worked well down low, so I played it safe and stayed down there."
Tim Tungate of Campbellsville, Ky., finished second followed by Anthony Adams, Jason Keltner and Brandon Kinzer as the tour made a swing to eastern Kentucky.
At the outset, Harris rolled to the lead with Tungate, Chris Combs, Victor Lee and Tyrel Todd in hot pursuit.
The first of five cautions came as the field rolled into lap two when Robert Fletcher slowed his machine exiting turn two. As the field came to a slow start, Brandon Fouts lightly rolled his machine to draw a red flag. He wasn't injured.
On the restart, Paul Harris once again got up to speed with Combs, Tungate, Lee and Todd still in pursuit. The battle broke into pairs as Tungate and Combs intensified the battle for second and Lee and Todd dueled for fourth.
As the field began to spread out on lap six, Combs, Lee, Todd and Kinzer heated up the battle for third. But by lap 10, Combs and Lee broke away from the pack and went side-by-side for third as David Webb dove to the inside of Kinzer to take fifth.
The caution flag waved again on lap 17 when Todd slowed on the frontchute.
On the restart, some drivers found traction in the high groove and began gaining positions. By lap 19, eyes had shifted focus to the middle of the pack as Harold Redman Jr. had moved into the top 10. But Redman's run was halted when Todd again slowed to bring out a caution.
On the restart, the field dove into turn one as the battle for second intensified. Kinzer used the high side around Tungate and Combs as they glued themselves to the rear deck of Kinzer's machine. As the field crossed the stripe on lap 23, Adams dove into turn one to take fifth from Keltner. One lap later, Redman made a stirring high-side charge to bypass several competitors and moved into the second spot.
As Harris dealt with lapped traffic on lap 28, his lead dwindled. Redman couldn't hold second, however, when traffic forced him into the low groove, and Tungate got back up to second at the finish. Redman faded to finish sixth.
Notebook
Harris drives a Bullock-powered Swartz Race Car sponsored by Miller Bros. Coal, Hawkeye Trucking, Twin Bridge Auto Parts, Harris Trucking and Merion Brothers Monument. ... Tom McConnell has taken over ownership of the series from founder Spencer Wilson. McConnell addressed series drivers at the Aug. 24 event at Ponderosa Speedway in Junction City, Ky. ... The series runs a $3,000-to-win event at Richmond (Ky.) Raceway on Sept. 15.
