4/21/2023
Mike Marlar
Marlar nets $23,023 Castrol FloRacing Night in America opener at Eldora
Mike Marlar piloted his Delk Equipment Sales / Petroff Towing No. 157 Can-Am Auto Salvage / Mesilla Valley Transportation / Longhorn Race Car / Clements Racing Engine to the $23,023 Castrol FloRacing Night in America victory last Tuesday night at Eldora Speedway.
The win was his second of the year and his first-ever with the miniseries.
“I’ve had so many heartbreaks up here at this track,” Marlar said in Victory Lane at Eldora Speedway, “and now I feel like I finally had one go my way there. My car started to go away there late in the race, and Hudson (O’Neal) got past me. He ran into trouble late and we got back to the lead and got the win.”
Mike Marlar made a mid-week trip to Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, Ohio) on Tuesday afternoon to pilot his Delk Equipment Sales No. 157 Super Late Model in the Castrol FloRacing Night in America tour opener.
Among a massive field of 54 Super Late Models, Mike claimed the fast time honors in qualifying with a 15.223-second lap before picking up a flag-to-flag victory in his heat race.
Rolling off from the pole for the feature, Marlar shot out to an early lead and led laps 1-43 but surrendered the top spot to Hudson O’Neal as the duo battled lapped traffic. Staying within striking distance, Mike regained the lead with three laps remaining and went onto claim his second win of the season and a $23,023 payday.
He took the checkers 1.034 seconds ahead of Tim McCreadie with Tanner English, Jonathan Davenport, and Brandon Sheppard rounding out the top-five.
With 56 Castrol FloRacing Night in America Super Late Models on the grounds on Wednesday at Brownstown Speedway (Brownstown, Ind.), Marlar followed up a convincing heat race win with a fourth-to-second run in the feature. He chased race-long pacesetter Ricky Thornton Jr. across the line with Devin Moran rounding out the podium.
The following night at 411 Motor Speedway (Seymour, Tenn.) for the World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series-sanctioned Seymour Showdown, Mike secured his spot into the $20,000-to-win A-Main with an eight-lap heat victory. After leading laps 15-29, Marlar ran over a piece of debris while out front that ended his night early.
The team invaded Talladega Short Track (Eastaboga, Ala.) on Friday afternoon for the two-day Alabama Gang 100 but ended up scratching from their $4,000-to-win preliminary following his time trial session after recent weather made for rough track conditions.
“We were in contention there at Brownstown (Speedway) on Wednesday night, but the track started cleaning up just before halfway and Ricky (Thornton Jr.) was just a tick better. Thursday night at 411 (Motor Speedway) was a heartbreaker because I think we had the car to beat but got a flat. Just one of those deals,” Marlar shared.
Full results from the events are available at www.FloSeries.com and www.WorldofOutlaws.com.
The upcoming weekend has Mike slated to be away from the driver’s seat as he will be assisting Delk Marlar Racing Development driver, Carson Brown at a pair of Super Late Model events.
As the team finalizes more events they’ll be posted at www.MikeMarlar.com.
Article Credit: Josh James image
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