Mercer Raceway Park
Blair tops Grand Nationals opener at Mercer
By Mike Leone
Fastrak Northeast
Blair gets up to speed at Mercer. (Frank Wilson)
MERCER, Pa. (Oct. 4) — Max Blair's chances in the Fastrak Racing Series Grand Nationals got a boost with his victory in the Fastrak Northeast opener of the season-ending series of specials. The 18-year-old from Centerville, Pa., overtook veteran Dick Barton of Ashville, N.Y., on the 19th of 30 laps at Mercer Raceway Park for a $2,000 victory on a chilly autumn evening.
Blair, who picked up $5,000 with his Fastrak Northeast touring championship, now heads to the final two Grand Nationals events on Oct. 15-16 at Friendship Motor Speedway in Elkin, N.C., and Oct. 17-18 at Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, Va.
"If I can go down and compete with those boys, I'll be happy, but man is this the way to start it out," the son of Late Model standout Rob Blair said following his Mercer victory. "When I started this year I wanted to win and race or two. I never ever dreamed it would work out the way it did this year."
Mike Pegher Jr. of Wexford, Pa., led two laps before the fourth-starting Barton took the lead, and the fifth-starting Blair immediately moved up to challenge for the point and the top five cars were all within striking distance at the halfway point. Barton stretched his lead amid traffic, but Andy Buckley's lap-16 spin bunched the field.
Pegher got sideways on the 19th lap to trigger a 10-car melee, and after the cleanup, Blair got alongside Barton on the restart. The frontrunners were side-by-side with Blair eventually using the high groove to take a lead he'd never give up as the rest of the race ran green. Barton settled for second with Tom Snyder Jr., Dennis Lunger Jr. and Butch Lambert rounding out the top five. Fast qualifier Bobby Powell ran as high as third but began fading on lap 21 and ended up seventh.
"The No. 1 cool thing about winning this race is I passed Dick Barton," Blair said. "He's one of the best drivers in the country and that makes this 10 times more special if I hadn't had to pass him."
Notes: Blair's Rocket Chassis is sponsored by Specialty Products, Loney Timber, Moody Welding and Eagle Hoist & Winch. ... Blair's father, Rob, parked his Late Model for the weekend to lend his son a hand. He considered running in Mercer's Super Late Model event (won by John Mollick), "but I didn't want my deal on the back burner and he said OK," Max Blair said. "He never asked a question and just said I'm going to go and help you." ... Temperatures dipped into the 30s by night's end at Mercer. ... Twenty-seven of the 43 regional drivers eligible for Grand Nationals competition were on hand. .... Barton finished fifth in 2007 Grand National points.
Fastrak @ Mercer: (1) Max Blair, (2) Dick Barton, (3) Tom Snyder Jr., (4) Dennis Lunger Jr., (5) Butch Lambert, (6) Steve Hollabaugh, (7) Bobby Powell, (8) Jay Watson, (9) Brian Booher, (10) Kevin Meadows, (11) Chris Haines, (12) Dan Angelicchio, (13) John Lackie, (14) Bob Diver, (15) Andy Buckley, (16) Chris Angelicchio, (17) Rusty Moore, (18) Alex Anderson, (19) Dave Lyon, (20) Mike Pegher Jr., (21) Carl McKinney, (22) Mike Anderson Jr., (23) Jim Frank, (24) Dereck Frank. Fast qualifier (among 27 cars): Powell, 17.594 seconds. Heat race winners: Lambert, Watson, Frank. Consolation winner: Moore.
