May 23—Greg Hamilton led every lap of Saturday’s 360 action at Skagit Speedway, but don’t be fooled … he had pursuers every inch of the way to the checkered flag.
Hamilton led wire-to-wire to win the feature, Justin Youngquist battled to his second win of the season in the sportsman sprints and B.J. Wild grabbed a lead early and never relented to win in the modified class.
Hamilton had to battle through lapped traffic around the halfway mark of the 25-lap main, chased by a tough field including Trey Starks. Starks and a lapped car eventually collided, which meant a restart and another challenge for Hamilton; he warded off a fierce challenge from eventual second-place finisher Jason Solwold for the win.
Brock Lemley, Colton Heath and Cam Smith took third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
Youngquist became the first repeat winner of the season after a race that saw him secure an early lead, then watch it slip away. He led the first 10 laps before Kelsey Carpenter passed him. A crash sent Carpenter out of the lead, meaning Youngquist had it back.
Youngquist wasn’t challenged again as he made his way to win No. 2 on the season. Malachi Gemmer, Corey Summers, Joe Lyon and Steve Parker made up the rest of the top five.
In the modifieds race, Wild grabbed the lead in the second lap, then fended off challenges over the course of six restarts for the victory in the 25-lapper. Tyson Blood, Blair Shoemaker, Craig Moore and Rick Smith made up the rest of the top five.
Chase Goetz set the fast time (11.265) in the 360 class; Carpenter earned the same honor (12.155) in the sports sprint division.
Four classes are slated to be in action Saturday for the John Carroll Classic, to be followed by a fireworks show.
— Reporter Trevor Pyle: 360-416-2156, tpyle@skagitpublishing.com, Twitter: @goskagit, Facebook.com/bytrevorpyle