Reigel Promotions E-Sports would dabble in the League of Outlaws world for a night as the LoO “IMCA Style” Modified setups were put to good use Thursday night at the Lernerville Speedway. Originally intended to be a simulator Prelude to The Empire State Showdown (as it was appropriately named) where the NY/Penn IMCA Modified Series would take to the 5/8 Mile Utica-Rome Speedway in New York, the IMCA Modified portion of its’ real life counterpart was unfortunately cancelled, but that meant it was time for RPES to shine! (And boy did they!)
Heat 1 would see a crazy first lap as Dakota Denyou would lead the field to the green flag, but would see him get loose in turn one and give up the lead to Tyler Bickford. As the field hit turns 3 and 4, drivers Dakota Denyou and Jonathan Smith would slide off the top and bring out the first caution. The field would restart and race off to a close finish with a textbook slide job and it would be Jason McManus taking the checkered flag by a whisker.
Trevor Doyle and James Rooney would lead the field to the green flag in heat race 2. We would see the cushion claim another victim on lap 2 as Trevor Doyle would lose the lead in turn 4 due to it, but he regained his composure and rejoined traffic safely to prevent a caution. The remainder of the heat race would see Austin Furman pull away from the field and take the checkered flag.
League of Outlaws Owner AJ Hunsinger would lead the field to the green for the third and final heat race. Blade Wisdom would see the wrong side of the cushion twice in two laps, but each time he regained his composure and kept the race under green flag conditions. Hunsinger would lead the heat from start to finish.
With no break between all the racing action, the cars would set up for the A main, led by Jason McManus and Austin Furman. The race would kick off with a solid start and become a three way battle between Furman, Denyou and James Murphy all making advances for the lead but it was Furman with the advantage at the time of the caution on lap 10.
Caution 2 would occur shortly after the half-way mark after a racing incident involving League of Outlaws regular Trevor Doyle in the 024 car would lead to an untimely tire hop late in turn 4 which would send him head-on into the front stretch wall just outside of the turn 4 cushion. Furman and James Murphy would lead the field back to racing conditions, but it was short lived as a caution on lap 25 would involve James Rooney and Troy Dishong in an all-too-familiar wheel hop incident on the entry to turn 3. This would lead to Rooney ramping off of turn 3 in an involuntary Dukes of Hazzard impression as he landed head on into the barriers outside of the corner.
A pileup in turn 4 would bring on the fourth caution shortly after the green flag, and a spun car would be the cause of the fifth caution. Once the field had time to settle down under the caution, they took the green flag with 8 laps remaining as Furman brought the now single file field to the green. McManus would slip off the top of the track shortly after the restart but would recover quickly, keeping the field under green flag conditions and salvaging a 5th place finish as the leader Austin Furman pulled away with James Murphy holding strong in second place with a -0.76 deficit under the leader. Tyler Bickford would pull through with a 3rd place finish, holding off the hard charging Blade Wisdom.
You can click the image below to view the full race broadcast on SpeedZone TV’s YouTube channel.
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