Promoter Curt Mottaz upped the ante at Peoria Speedway’s “Season Championships” events Saturday night as he offered each front-row starter in all 5 classes the chance to make additional money with the “Front Row Challenge”. The front-row starters in each division were guaranteed starting money plus a bonus to start the feature from the back and were paid for each car they passed on the track. 3 of the 5 divisions accepted the offer, making for a terrific night of racing. In one of the best races of the season, Steve Lance Jr., Jason Jaggers and Billy Drake put on a line-swapping, side jobbing 30 lap feature.. John Gardner was on the pole, but chose to take the front-row challenge and a guaranteed $350 to start, along with $40 for each car passed. Gardner moving to the back allowed Mike Mullvain and Gerry Reeder to occupy the front row as Mullvain jumped to the lead at the start. Jaggers followed Mullvain on the bottom for 2nd. Erik Bruce won his 3rd straight UMP Modified feature, leading flag-to-flag. Bruce survived 5 caution periods but was never seriously challenged. Ray Bollinger had a rough night, dropping out of both the heat race and feature, but nudged Mark Johnson for the Track Championship for the Modifieds. Jack Siegel lead all 15 laps of the Limited Late Model feature, cementing his Track Championship.
-Bob
