The Ken Ten Pro Late Model Series opened its third season with a bang Saturday night as local hero Sterling Marlin charged from the back of the field to take the victory at Nashville’s Fairgrounds Speedway USA. Marlin had been involved in a practice incident, forcing the Columbia, Tenn., native to use a backup car for the race. Work on the backup car wasn’t completed by qualifying, and because he didn’t complete a qualifying run, Marlin had to start at the rear of the field.
“I wasn’t really worried about the backup,” Marlin said. “It is a good car. We tested it last week.”
Bobby Knox, Jr. captured the AR Bodies fast time award for his qualifying run.
Dakota Stroup was awarded the pole in the post-qualifying re-draw, and led the field to the green flag. On the third lap, Ken Ten veteran Davey Coble lost an engine in turn 4 and backed his car into the wall. Martin Belcher also spun in the incident but received no damage.
From there, the race went green until the 65th lap when Tyler Miles looped his car in turn 2 and Josh Weston pounded the wall trying to avoid him. Miles was able to continue and Weston was unhurt.
The final incident of the day happened on lap 83 as Knox and Michael House collided on the backstretch. House was able to continue, but Knox’s race was finished.
While incidents were happening around him, Marlin was quietly working his way through the field. By mid-race he was running in the top five.
“My crew was giving me lap times, so I knew I was gaining on the leader. The car was working well, so I was confident that I was going to catch them,” Marlin said.
By the time the final caution came out, Marlin had worked his way up to second place, putting him on the outside of leader Stroup as the cars came to the green flag. Marlin rocketed to the lead on the restart and never looked back.
“I’d like to think that we could have run with him if we had another restart, but I don’t know,” Stroup said. “I guess if you have to finish second, a Daytona 500 winner isn’t too bad to finish second to,” he added.
Marlin thanked his team after the victory, adding that they are essentially the same guys who helped him get his start racing at the Fairgrounds in the mid-1970s.
Ken Ten’s next race is at the historic Salem Speedway in Salem, Ind., on June 18.
Official Results:
1. Sterling Marlin
100
2. Dakota Stroup
100
3. Greg Boone
100
4. Michael House
100
5. Daniel Bolden
100
6. Dillon Oliver
100
7. Josh Brock
100
8. Tyler Miles
100
9. Jeff Berg
100
10. Brian Royalty
99
11. Tony Conway
99
12. Brandon Ussery
99
13. Kraig Hall
99
14. Bobby Wingo
99
15. Bobby Knox, Jr.
82
16. Mike Murray
68
17. Josh Weston
65
18. Jimmy Victory
63
19. Brian Bentley
61
20. Martin Belcher
55
21. Jeremy Levenson
50
22. Jared Smith
49
23. Ronnie Campbell
40
24. Chase Knox
8
25. Terry Smith
3
26. Reed White
3
27. Davey Coble
2
Points Standings:
1. Sterling Marlin
120
2. Dakota Stroup
116
3. Greg Boone
112
4. Michael House
108
5. Daniel Bolden
104
6. Dillon Oliver
100
7. Josh Brock
96
8. Tyler Miles
92
9. Jeff Berg
88
10. Brian Royalty
84
11. Tony Conway
80
12. Brandon Ussery
76
13. Kraig Hall
72
14. Bobby Wingo
68
14. Bobby Knox, Jr.
68
16. Mike Murray
60
17. Josh Weston
56
18. Jimmy Victory
52
19. Brian Bentley
48
20. Martin Belcher
44
21. Jeremy Levenson
40
22. Jared Smith
36
23. Ronnie Campbell
32
24. Chase Knox
28
25. Terry Smith
24
26. Reed White
20
27. Davey Coble
16