Lucas Oil Late Model Sim Series
MAGNOLIA, MS (JULY 30, 2015)- Jesse Enterkin of Harold, Florida made the short trip from the Florida panhandle up to the magnificent Magnolia Motor Speedway facility tonight and walked away with a huge win in the "Clash at the Mag 100" presented by the Lucas Oil Sim Series.
The talented driver just celebrated his 22nd birthday 8 days ago, and looked poised to have a great run in the prestigious 100 lap event. Enterkin and teammate, Josh Weems, from just up the road in West Point, MS, both were late to the drivers meeting and were forced to start tail of the heat race.
Tennessee driver, and teammate of Enterkin and Weems, Howard Weaver, of Crossville, TN., set fast time in qualifying with a blistering 12.57 lap. Series point leader Jared Kane, of Pennsylvania, was second.
In the heat race JJ powered from last to first, proving that he had a fast car, but his tire compound quickly proved to be too soft as he drifted back to finish sixth once the carnage settled. Jared Kane ended up winning the heat race to start first for the 100 lap feature. Local favorite Josh Weems crossed the line second in the heat race. The furthest traveler of the night, Jeremy McGaffin, of Albany, New York came home with a strong third in the heat.
The A Main finally got underway and the action was nothing short of spectacular from start to finish. Kane got the early jump from the pole, but Weems would not let him get away. The two fierce competitors battled side by side lap after lap for the first twenty-five circuits. Kane powered on the low line, while Weems ran inches from the outside wall as the fans had not returned to their seats since the green flag waved.
After thirty caution free circuits, Weaver had adjusted his line to match Weems on the high side. The 26-year old began to make ground up quickly on the front two drivers, who were still battling side-by-side and swapping the lead nearly every lap.
Suddenly it was a three car battle for the lead after 35 laps, and Enterkin was closing in on the top three as he ran fourth. The battle for the lead turned even more intense as Kane, Weaver, and Weems went three wide on the exit of turn two on lap 54. This chaotic racing continued for several laps before Kane finally jumped back into the lead on the low side.
By lap 60, Enterkin had closed to the back bumpers of the front three drivers, and he too utilized the powerful top line to his advantage during his slow ascent to the front of the field.
The top four drivers all swapped the lead multiple times before Enterkin used several different lines to make a nifty move to get by Kane and Weems on the low side. He quickly powered out to a three car length lead whilst leaving Kane, Weems, and Weaver to battle for second.
The three drivers would do exactly that as neither Josh Weems or Howard Weaver could seem to clear Jared Kane despite using the momentum from the high line. The three continued to battle while Enterkin slowly extended his lead. The only question was if his tires would fade and cost him the race.
On lap 81, Weems and Weaver finally moved into second and third place as Kane's tires slowly fell off. The two veterans were unable to reel in Enterkin over the races final laps, but still found themselves bumper to bumper as they had been for most of the race.
Enterkin would go on to cruise to a nearly three second lead after starting towards the back of the pack. Weaver made a bold move in turn four on the final lap in an attempt to grab second, but the home crowd roared as Weems made a fantastic move to cross under Weaver's slidejob and beat him to the line by .004 to finish second.
Team VLR drivers snagged the top three finish positions on the 11th Anniversary of the teams existence.
Kane, the Lucas Oil Sim Series point leader crossed the line fourth. He was followed by McGaffin, Eric Wilke, of Genesse, WI, Jarrett Miller, of Cullman, AL, and Mike Eskelin, of Ashtabula, OH.
Next week the series takes on a southern swing three nights in a row. Wed., August 5th, the series hits the Talladega Short track. On Thursday, the tour visits Cherokee Speedway. The three race swing ends on Friday night, August 7th, at the Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville, Tennessee. You won't wanna miss it!