Tecco scores 1st career win
By Ken de la Bastide
INDIANAPOLIS – Ohio driver Tanner Tecco made the right moves to capture his first Kenyon Midget Series feature win at Circle City Raceway. “It's amazing,” Tecco said of his win. “I finished third and second at the last two features, so I'm moving up the ladder.”
Three drivers were using different lines around Circle City Raceway with Tecco making the right decisions to hold off current point leader Kyle Ford and defending champion Dameron Taylor.
Tecco completed an impressive “Dirty August” run with three podium finishes to go along with a fifth place showing.
Starting on the inside of row two for the feature, Tecco dove to the bottom of the track coming off the fourth corner to pass the front row starters of Kyle Sheard and Taylor.
The caution flag waved on the second circuit for a spin by John Robbins in turn three.
With the invert of six for the feature fast qualifier Ford started fourth and first heat winner Aryton Houk started back in the third row. On the restart Ford was the only driver to move to the top of the track and started a charge to the front of the field. Taylor passed Ryan Huggler for second and by the sixth circuit Ford was up to second.
The fans were treated to exceptional racing on the quarter-mile oval with the three front runners all using different lines in search of grip.
The race was red-flagged on lap 12 for an incident involving Evan Hammond.
For the final run to the checkers, Tanner Tecco remained glued to the low groove, Ford continued to run the rim and Taylor was utilizing the middle of the track. With Ford closing on Tecco, he slipped high in turn two which ended his threat for a fourth win. At the finish it was Tecco winning by less than a second over Ford followed by Taylor, Houk and Ryan Huggler.
“I was glued to the bottom,'' an elated Tecco said following his win. “I went to the top on the back stretch and it was really slick. I heard him (Ford) a couple of times,” he said of the battle for the point. “I slid up on the front straight to see if I could block him going into one. I stuck to my guns.”
Ford said he decided to use the high groove during the feature race because no one else was running that line. “You go where everyone isn't,” he said. “If you can't catch them on the bottom, you move to the top. It was working, but the car was a little tight.”
Taylor bounced back from two disappointing runs at Paragon Speedway to record the podium finish. “Probably the best run I've had on dirt in years,” he said. “I tried to run on the bottom and tried to stay upfront. I was using the middle on the entry to turn one to get some grip and it kept me underneath Ford.”
Taylor said he considered running the top but saw that Ford was jumping the cushion. “It was definitely neat,” he said of Tecco's first win.
Tecco also earned the Advanced Racing Suspensions Hard Charger award for the race.
Ford captured the K&K Marketing Fast Qualifier award edging out Huggler and Houk.
Houk and Huggler scored the KRJ Race Products heat race wins. Huggler won a heat race at all four Dirty August events.
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Next up, the Kenyon Midget Series will join the 500 Sprint Car Tour at Lorain Raceway Park on September 9th.