ARCA Midgets: In Toledo ARCA Midgets, its all AJ
18 July 1999
By Don RadebaughToledo, Ohio - Indianapolis, Indianas AJ Davis, with the aid of a caution flag, chased down Sarah McCune with less than ten laps to go Friday night at Toledo Speedway, made his winning pass off the fourth turn and rolled his Owens Racing Stealth VW powered midget to victory lane for his first ARCA Auto Value Midget Series win of the season.
"Sarah was awful strong tonight," said Davis in victory lane. "Im not sure we would have caught her if not for that caution. But after it went green again, my car really hooked up a lot better than before the yellow. I could tell Sarahs car was getting too tight off the corners and we finally found some room underneath there off number four. I really want to congratulate her though. She drove a heck of a race, and a very clean race because we were really racing close out there, but we never touched." McCune, who led 27 laps of the 30 lap main event, finished a strong second ahead of AJ Fike, Matt Westfall and Dave Baumgartner to complete the top five.
At the onset, the Perrysburg, Ohio driver, in her fathers A-1 Auto Parts-CTC Phone Center of Indy Beast, snagged the lead from her second starting position and immediately roared out to ten length advantage over polesitter Westfall, leading ARCA Rookie contender Jason Fuller, Baumgartner and Mark Boice. Halfway in, the third generation driver and recent Indiana University graduate had opened up a full straightaway advantage over the field while Davis was busy trying to crack the top five. Then the caution flag appeared for a stalled James Anderson bunching up the field for the restart and erasing McCunes healthy lead. When racing resumed, Davis hooked up to the high side, and in less than two laps raced his way into second only to find himself ten lengths away from the leader. With time running out, the eventual winner, with his new-found handle, eliminated McCunes newly-built advantage and began poking his front bumper underneath McCunes machine. The two front-runners raced inches apart until enough room became available to the low side off the fourth turn where Davis eventually took control.
Aaron Fike finished sixth in front of defending ARCA Auto Value Midget Series champion and current point leader Gene Lee Gibson with Boice, John Nervo and JD Turner trailing in eighth, ninth and tenth.
Sarah Fisher, fresh off four consecutive midget victories, set quick time of the night at 16.170 seconds and won the B-main, but fell out on lap 14 of the main event with engine troubles. Gibson, Davis and Don Carter were heat race winners.
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