ST: Griffin Powell scores Autumn Colors Classic Four Fun 40 victory

Griffin Powell would grab the lead early the event and never looked back as he scored the victory in the Autumn Colors Classic Four Fun 40.

When the feature started, it was the 31 starting on pole ahead of Ray Schroer, ‘Pop’ MacDonald, Sean Kennedy, Tiffany Vandebelt, Griffin Powell, the 86, the 99, the 46, Jeremy Kelly, the 0, Willow Barberstock, the 3, Keith Parkes, Scott Brooks, Marilyn Junkin, the 347, Connor Parkes, the 81, Brandon Feeney, Jordan Desroches, Ray Smith, John Carr, Kenny Ohno, the 09, Daniel Williams, the 88x and the 90.

Kennedy would jump out to the early lead ahead of the field on lap two, though would see his run come to an end with a trip down pit road for mechanical problems under green at lap 10. As a result, it’d be Powell jumping into the lead and setting sail. With more laps counting up on the board, the racing would get closer and contact would ensue with Matt Vandebelt losing a part off of his car. As a result, the caution would fly for debris on the track at lap 22. Vandebelt would head down pit road to address his part issues, as well as Scott and Andrew Massey. With 18 laps to go, Powell led MacDonald, the 31, Barberstock, Tiffany Vandebelt, Schroer, the 3, Kelly, the 347, Williams, the 99, the 90, Matt Vandebelt, Scott and Massey. Carr ran as the first car one-lap down in 16^th, ahead of Connor Parkes, the 0, 81, Keith Parkes, Junkin, Feeney, Desroches, Smith and Brooks. Ohno and the 09 rounded out the field on-track, both two laps down.

The first attempt at a restart brought forth the second caution with Smith getting spun by Williams. With the race reaching it’s scheduled time limit, caution laps would begin to be counted by officials. The second attempt at a restart came at lap 25, resulting in Feeney going for a spin – but no caution. Instead, the caution would fly on lap 26 for the 99 and Feeney tangling together with lots of debris spread across the track; Desroches would go for the spin after the caution flew. The 99 would then be blackflagged for rough driving, done for the day.

Track officials quickly cleaned up the debris, putting the green flack back out at lap 28. However, it wouldn’t last for long with the caution flying at lap 29 for Desroches spinning in turn one, with the 0 going over the big tractor tire that sits at the end of turn one wall and off the track. The 0 would return to the racing surface, heading for a trip down pit road. With 11 laps to go, Griffin led the 31, MacDonald, Tiffany Vandebelt, Barberstock, Matt Vandebelt, the 90, Schorer, the 3, Scott, the 347, Kelly, Massey and the 65. Carr ran as the first car one lap down in 15^th ahead of Connor Parkes, Keith Parkes, the 81, Feeney, Smith, Junkin, Brooks, the 0. the 09 and Ohno rounded out the field, both two laps down.

The restart would come at lap 31 and brought forth lots of action, including cars four-wide at points. With contact throughout the field, both Tiffany Vandebelt and the 09 would be sent for a trip through the grass at lap 35. The caution would then fly two laps later for Massey stopping in turn two.

Griffin Powell would lead the final three laps en route to scoring the victory. The 31 would finish second, followed by MacDonald. In post-race technical inspection, though, MacDonald would be DQ’d, therefore losing his podium finish. Instead, it’d be the 90 getting third, ahead of Barberstock and the 3. Ray Schorer would get sixth, ahead of Matt Vandebelt, the 347, Jeff Scott, Jeremy Kelly and the 89. The 0 would get 12^th as the first car one lap down, ahead of Connor Parkes, Keith Parkes, the 81, Ray Smith, Scott Brooks and Jordan Desroches.  Marilyn Junkin would finish 19^th as the first car two laps down ahead of the 09 and Kenny Ohno. These results are highly unofficial, though, so please check the official Peterborough Speedway result for more accurate results.