LAS VEGAS, Nevada - Through three races, there seemed to be someone missing from the top ten of the 4 wide racing driver standings.
But like a lost dog returning home, Drinking Bros Racing driver Lawson Peel returned to where he feels at home in 4 wide racing: leading laps and doing winner's burnouts on the front stretch. The win vaults the league's winningest driver to 9th in the points after a placing outside the top 30 the first two races of season 7.
RELATED: Race results | Standings
"It feels really good" he said after the race, "I knew I could use the win after my slow start to the season." Peel also noted Season 7's high level of competition and wins by rookie drivers. "We call them 'rookies' but they're not rookies to me, to me they're experienced drivers".
TOP 3 FINISHERS
A strong starting spot of ninth on the grid helped Peel get to the front quickly, where he would go on the lead 62 of the race's 134 total laps. What was shaping up to be a more dominate run was abruptly thwarted at lap 103 when the caution flags began to fly. Peel then lost the lead on a lap 113 restart but was able to wrestle it back on the final restart of the race. "Getting the lead and clean air was the difference maker" Peel said, "I had a clutch restart and timed it right to get back around Jayden".
WATCH: Race Replay
Peel said the win gives him 'confidence' and 'peace of mind' going into Watkins Glen: He also expressed that the Glen was "not going to be a cake walk". "We have multiple other drivers that are really fast at that track" he said, "I'll do my best but you can't sleep on these guys."
STAT REPORT
While the fast paced intermediate track would produce significantly fewer cautions (12 vs 5) than the high banks of the Bristol short track last week: a significant number of drivers were involved in incidents and finished laps down. A mere 22 of the race's 37 entries would finish on the lead lap. Shortly after the race's only green flag fuel stop: Kevin Delia got loose battling with CJ Meunier on lap 102, slamming both cars into the backstretch wall and ending what was a nearly caution free race to that point. They would both limp to a 24th and 34th place finish respectively.
'Kinda STONKS but actually not STONKS' driver Curtis Kelly overcame a 29th place qualifying effort, flying through the field to take the lead on lap 45. He stayed within the top five the remainder of the race and had a strong final restart to finish third place. "Early on in the race we had good short run speed and worked really hard on the long run to be there at the end" he said.
Austin Reedy, of Murray-Reedy Motorsports matched Kelly for biggest mover of the race, improving 26 spots and taking 2nd place from him on the race's final lap. Reedy said that he" needed a better restart" to have a shot at the win but also acknowledged "it was a good night after a rough start to the season". His performance moves him to 11th in the standings and he has high hopes for Watkins Glen in two weeks. "I want to beat Lawson" he said, "Watkins Glen is one of my favorite road courses". Like Peel he also suggested that there might be strong road racers lurking amongst the rookie drivers.
Bacallao-Bueno racing's Jayden Porter stole the regular season points lead from Reedy's teammate Kyle Benson with a 4th place finish at Vegas. Benson, who was involved in a hellacious accident coming to the checkered flag, saw a strong early run turn into a 21st place finish.
The 4 Wide Racing League will continue it's regular season at Watkins Glen on Wednesday October 24th (9PM EST, Kbueno Racing Network on YouTube).
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