White City, Oregon...May 4...Tanner Holmes won a spirited duel with 2004 champion TJ Winningham to collect the victory in the 25 lap Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Car Main Event Saturday night at Southern Oregon Speedway. The win was the third straight for Holmes going back to last year and it came after a thrilling side-by-side battle with Winningham for several laps. There were 11 Sprinters for the show, and fans got a peek of what was to come in the Main Event when David Marble made a similar outside groove effort to his uncle Winningham. Marble moved around Mike Wheeler to get the lead in their 10 lap heat race. For a few laps, the two would go into the turns side by side, but Marble would get the grip he needed coming out of the turns as he brought it home to a victory. Reigning champion David Hibbard won the other heat race and then picked up the victory in the six lap Scramble ahead of Winningham. With the outside front row starting position, Winningham moved into the lead at the start of the Main Event ahead of Hibbard and Wheeler. Contact on the front stretch between Anissa Curtice and Bailey Hibbard saw Curtice spin with fellow rookie Jared Hood spinning in the first turn. Winningham continued to lead David Hibbard and Wheeler on the restart. Winningham seemed to have the right combination and led to the lap eight caution flag, which waived for Aaron Miller and Enrique Jaime in Turn 2. Winningham maintained the lead over Hibbard on the restart as Holmes moved past Wheeler for third. An inside move on the backstretch on lap 10 gained Holmes second from Hibbard, and things began to get interesting at the front of the pack. Winningham continued to make excellent use of the outside groove, but Holmes was running strong on the inside. They began a side-by-side battle through the turns, but Winningham continued to have the grip he needed to move ahead on exit. Just as Holmes was about to take the lead from Winningham working what would have been lap 22, a yellow flag fell for Bailey Hibbard. On the restart, Holmes made a strong move on the inside and drifted up on the exit of Turn 2 to make that pass stick. A final yellow flag fell on left 23. However, Holmes wouldn't let the lead get away from him as he led the final two laps for the victory. Winningham settled for second, followed by David Hibbard, Wheeler, Charlie Thompson, Enrique Jaime, Aaron Miller and Jared Hood. The Kendell Oil Winged Sprint Cars return for their second appearance on May 18th. For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.
Unofficial Race Results
Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Cars
Heat 1-David Hibbard, Tanner Holmes, Charlie Thompson, Anissa Curtice, Jared Hood. Heat 2-David Marble, Mike Wheeler, TJ Winningham, Bailey Hibbard, Enrique Jaime. Scramble-David Hibbard, TJ Winningham, Tanner Holmes, Mike Wheeler, Charlie Thompson. Main Event-Tanner Holmes, TJ Winningham, David Hibbard, Mike Wheeler, Charlie Thompson, Enrique Jaime, Aaron Miller, Jared Hood, Bailey Hibbard, Anissa Curtice, David Marble.
