BROWNSTOWN
A high side move on lap four boosted Kent Robinson to the lead of the 40-lap main event at Brownstown Speedway last Saturday night.
That move paid dividends for the Bloomington driver, as he crossed the finish line first to earn himself a $5,500 payday.
“Once I got out there, I kind of just tried to set a pace,” said the 31-year-old driver following his Born Free 40 triumph.
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Robinson led 37 of the forty laps in route to his first-ever MARS Super Late Model Series win. Devin Gilpin finished second with Tanner English rounding out the podium finishers.
Gilpin attempted a slide job pass on Robinson for the lead on lap 20, causing the two frontrunners to slightly touch in turn four. Gilpin’s efforts fell short as he settled back into the second position.
“Hats off to Kent, he had a fast hotrod tonight,” Gilpin said. “That was good racing, he was just a little better than us.”
Robinson noted that being conservative was not an option on the quarter-mile dirt oval.
“If you try to slow down at all to conserve, it messes you up and you get out of rhythm,” Robinson said. “So, I had to run hard. It’s a demanding racetrack. It looks smooth top to bottom, which it is, but the way it’s shaped and the way the racecars are now, you’ve got to be elbows up 100 percent of the time.”
The win marked Robinson’s first in 16 starts this season on his traveling campaign.
Heat race winners included Robinson, English and G.R. Smith.
Gilpin followed up his runner-up finish in the MARS event with a win in the “A&K Excavating” Modified division, his fourth win this season in the division.
Gilpin dominated the 22-car starting field, finishing ahead of Earl Plessinger, Tim Rivers, Jeremy Owens, and Roy Bruce Jr.
“This is the second night out on this car, these Elite Chassis are really good and I’m getting more comfortable in it each night,” Gilpin said.
Gilpin, Rivers, and Plessinger all scored heat race wins.
Marty O’Neal returned to victory lane in the “Print Worx” ILMS Pro Late Model division, earning his second win of the season at Brownstown.
Raymond Humphrey, Tyler Neal, Tyler Cain, Steve Peeden rounded out the top five finishers behind O’Neal. Neal, Cain, and O’Neal all scored heat race wins as well.
Colton Sullivan earned his third win of the season in the “Woolston Automotive” Super Stock division, edging Aubrey Eagan and Jason Hehman for the win.
Sullivan has won three of the past four events at Brownstown.
Jeremy Huebner picked up his second win of the season in the “Pewter Hall” Pure Stock division after regaining the lead from Troy Clark in the final stages of the event.
Clark went on to finish second with Mickey Hines, Keaton Streeval, and Derek Clegg rounding out the top five.
Racing action returns to the speedway this Saturday night, as it hosts the American Modified Series, paying $2,000 to the feature winner.
Trent Young leads the series points coming into Brownstown over Josh Harris.
“E-Z Lift” Super Late Models, Super Stocks, ILMS Pro Late Models, and Pure Stocks are also on the schedule of events for the evening. A $2,000 payout will go to the winner of the Super Late Model feature. Alan Magner currently leads the points standings over Steve Godsey and Gilpin.