Simon Win the 2nd Feature of the Night at Lincoln
Story By: JUSTIN SNYDER / RACERSGUIDE.COM STAFF WRITER Photos By: TOMMY HEIN / RACERSGUIDE.COM
Abbottstown Pa.- June 10, 2016-Fans attending Wednesday night’s USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Eastern Storm Tour at Lincoln Speedway were in for a bonus as they got to see extra racing at the Abbotstown 3/8-mile dirt oval.
Following the completion of the main event where Bryan Clauson captured his second feature win in as many nights and the regularly scheduled 358 feature event that saw Jeff Halligantake home the checkers, a second non points USAC feature took place that was a make-up from their 2014 visit to the speedway.
Ohio’s Landon Simon drove the Mt. Baker Vapor to his first career USAC victory from the front row, holding off a late race challenge from Brady Bacon and Aaron Farney to collect the $3,000 prize and the checkered flag
“For us, we are not just competing against drivers but I’m competing against crew chiefs that have a logged a million miles at these tracks,” said Simon. “It’s really cool to come here with these guys and actually get a win.”
The lineup was determined by a complete invert of all teams that finished on the lead lap during the nights first event and put Pennsylvania’s Carmen Perigo and Simon on the front row. Clauson would start 19th as a result of the invert in the 21-car field.
Perigo, a Super Sportsman standout, would lead the first two laps from the pole position much to the local crowds delight.
Simon was able to track down Perigo and make the pass for the lead on lap three.
“We got the lead there and we just tried to set a pace,” said Simon, who runs his shop out of Brownsburg, Ind.
He held the lead, tackling the slick track conditions and hitting his mark in the corners, and went untouched until lap 20. Bacon, who had found a little speed using the top groove, closed to his bumper with Farney not far behind.
“I heard Brady (Bacon) behind me there at the end, but I just tried to hit my marks and get it done,” said Simon.
Bacon trailed Simon through the last five laps and gave it everything he had to take the win in front of the PA crowd. He pulled alongside Simon going into turn 3 on the final circuit, but could not make the pass stick.
As a result, Farney was able to slide into second and Bacon completed the top three.
“I felt like we had a pretty good racecar in the first feature, but we just couldn’t make much ground up,” said Simon, in between congratulatory handshakes from his peers and fans. “We came back in and made some changes and this thing was a rocket ship.
Even though the race was a non-points show and not an official part of the Eastern Storm Tour, Simon believes the win can be a momentum builder for the rest of their stay in Pa.
He ran captured a seventh last year at New Egypt and led 21 laps at Port Royal before ultimately finishing third. He’s also excited about the recent improvements to Susquehanna Speedway and looking forward to visiting the upgraded track.
“I love coming (to Pennsylvania) and this is my favorite trip of the year,” said Simon, “The whole thing coming here for us is the fans. They are absolutely unbelievable and it’s standing room only. I think we will be really good here the next couple nights and I’m really excited about it.”
