Rain halts spirited Paragon racing
By Ken de la Bastide
PARAGON – Mother Nature interrupted the first ever visit of the Kenyon Midget Series to Paragon Speedway, but what racing that took place left those in attendance impressed. For the third time this year current point leader Kyle Ford claimed the K&K Marketing Fast Qualifier award by barely topping the lap turned by Ayrton Houk.
“We're here to win,” Ford said of his quick time. “Quick time is just the start of the night, still have the heat races.”
In the first of the two heat races, Ford jumped into the lead at the start chased by Logan Prickett and Dave Osborn. Despite the first ever appearance on oval kicking off Dirty August, the competitors quickly realized that running the rim was the fast way around the track. Prickett took the lead from Ford with an outside pass on the second lap. The caution flag waved on lap four when Jalen Cox rolled to a stop. Prickett maintained the lead on the restart with Ford and Osborn swapping the second spot twice on the seventh circuit. At the finish Prickett scored his first career heat race victory followed by Ford, Osborn, Kyle Sheard and Buddy Hollmeyer.
“I like the track a lot,” Prickett said. “It's a technical track but I didn't expect to be able to run the top like that. It's definitely hot up on the top.”
The second heat race provided even more thrilling racing with the drivers running three-wide on the opening lap on the back straight with Ryan Huggler emerging as the leader. Clayton Gaines who from his third starting spot challenged for the lead, spun on the front straight bringing out the caution flag. While challenging Huggler for the lead Houk spun in turn one on the fourth lap and was relegated to the tail of the field. The restart once again saw three-wide racing on the back straight with Tanner Tecco and Dameron Taylor challenging for the lead. Houk recovered from the early spin to pass Taylor for second place on the seventh circuit. Huggler was followed to the checkers by Houk, Taylor, Tanner Tecco and Gaines.
“I remember splitting between two guys,” Huggler said of the tight racing. “Once I got out front, I didn't really know what was going on behind me. I wasn't expecting to be able to run the outside,” he said. “I thought we would have to be bottom feeding. In the first race I saw the guys running up high.”
With rain putting an end to the night after heat races, the Kenyon Midgets will make up the feature when they return to Paragon Speedway on August 19.
This Friday August 11, the Kenyon Midget Series returns to Circle City Speedway for the second of four consecutive races on dirt tracks.