Saturday night, September 5th, the 61 lined up 4th for the heat race. Once underway, Jon battled with the 96 of Gabe Fox for several laps before taking the lead on lap 5, and going on to the checkered flag. The heat race win gave Jon a 4th place starting position for the 20 lap feature. Starting on the outside in the 2nd row meant his chances of victory were pretty good. After a few adjustments and a quick wash, we were ready to race. Jon wasted no time grabbing the 2nd position, putting pressure on the leader. He tried the inside and the outside, and each time the 96 shut the door. The yellow flag flew for a wreck in turn 1, and Jon lined up on the outside of the front row. Getting a good run, Jon completed the pass for the lead on the back straightaway. Yet another yellow came out and bunched up the field.

On the restart, Jon applied too much speed going into turn 1, and the 2nd and 3rd place cars shot by on the inside, putting the 61 back into the 3rd position. On the next lap, Jon regained the 2nd spot from John Micek. Jon set his sights on the leader and once again tried high and low to make the pass. With 8 laps to go, the 96 did a solo spin in front of the field, and the 61 grabbed the lead. Even with a few more yellow flags and restarts, Jon was able to hold off Micek’s challenges for the 3rd win of the season.

A few weeks ago, the car came up 2 pounds light on the scale. Not one to make the same mistake twice, this time the car was a whopping 58 pounds over the minimum weight requirement. After victory lane ceremonies, it was off to tech. The lengthy inspection did not uncover any problems, and we were able to enjoy the biggest win of the year. The season is winding down, and the 61 is commanding the Crate 1 division with a 72 point lead. Final Race of 2009 is October 3rd at New Egypt Speedway.

Third Win of 2009 for Haegele Racing