Bryan Hulbert – TULSA, Okla. (January 4, 2020) Wrapping up the 35th annual Lucas Oil Tulsa Shootout with 55 laps in the Outlaw A-Feature, three different leaders and a first-time winner capped off a run of five first time winners on Saturday night.Thomas Kunzman to the early lead with Jonathan Beason in second, Kunzmen rolled to a half-second advantage before finding traffic on Lap 8, allowing Beason to close to his back bumper before the caution while working Lap 9. Glued to the bottom, Beason stayed close to Kunzman as the field worked into traffic again on Lap 19. Bobbling on the exit of turn four, the misstep allowed Beason to sneak by on the bottom.
Caution on Lap 20, Kunzman was collected by the spinning No. 61 of Eli Bookout. On the restart, Beason was able to steadily pull away. Racing to the mid-point of the feature, the cushion started to come into play as the remainder of the top five moved to the top. Starting to match speed with Beason, the No. 721 worked into traffic on Lap 31.Slowed again on Lap 34 as fourth running Anton Hernandez flipped and collected Kyle Spence, the restart saw Emerson Axsom on the hunt, getting the lead on Lap 40. Putting distance on Beason, the closing laps saw the bottom come back into play with Beason taking a shot at the lead in the closing laps, but without the speed to pull it off, Axsom adjusted his line and was able to hold off the Broken Arrow driver by 0.262 seconds at the line. Harley Hollan from 12th was able to claw his way to a podium finish. Layden Pearson in fourth was followed by 11th starting Blake Hahn to complete the top five.
Picking up his first Outlaw Non-Wing Golden Driller, Brady Bacon charged from seventh to add to his legacy with his fourth career Tulsa Shootout victory. Trey Marcham to the early lead, the race for second was all over the track the first few laps with Cannon McIntosh finally getting ahead of the battle. Railing the cushion with Thomas Kunsman in tow, the pair began reeling in the No. 32x before the caution flew on Lap 5. Battling on the restart, McIntosh ripped the cushion to the lead on Lap 7 with the caution following soon after. Challenged by Marcham on the restart, the No. 51 held pace. Under caution again a couple laps later, a new challenger was up as Brady Bacon set his sights on the No. 51. Rolling wheel to wheel, McIntosh held off the charge, but it was not in the cards as the engine let go on Lap 19, handing the lead by Bacon with Johnny Boland nipping on his heels. Working all over the Tulsa Expo Raceway, Boland with Kris Carroll in tow missed the line on Lap 25, moving the No, 3k into second. Caution with four to go, Carroll gave it his best shot, but it was Bacon by 0.291 seconds at the line. Kris Carroll in second was followed by 15th starting Dylan Kadous. Using every inch of cushion around the Tulsa Expo Raceway, Daison Pursley crossed fourth with Johnny Boland crossing fifth.
In Stock Non-Wing, Pennsylvania’s Alex Bright sailed to his first Tulsa Shootout victory. Trailing the first pair of laps, a restart on Lap 2 saw leader Daison Pursley drop to the deck to block the charge of Brian Carber in turn three, only to leave the cushion open for Bright to shoot past the pair off the fourth turn. Hunted by Pursley into traffic, the Locust Grove driver took a shot at the lead but was denied. Caution on Lap 16, Bright pulled away as Pursley bobbled a couple laps later; relegating the No. 5p to fifth as the caution flew for a driver stopped entering the third turn. Able to keep pace to the checkered flag, Bright held a 1.139 second advantage at the finish as Pursley fought back to a runner-up finish. Curtis Jones crossed third with Kyle Spence and Cannon McIntosh coming from ninth to complete the top five.
Picking up his second Golden Driller, and first in A-Class, Kyle Spence led start to finish win the winged division. Untouched the first third of the race, Spence found traffic on Lap 11 with a 3.001 second advantage on Joe B. Miller as the caution came on for Miller who stopped in the second turn. Trey Robb to second with Emerson Axsom in tow, the pair proceeded to trade the position several times before the No. 42a took the spot on Lap 16. Caution on Lap 19 as Spence again found traffic, the restart saw Axsom go for the lead, but was unable to pull off the slide in time. Caution on Lap 20 then Lap 23, Spence was able to fend off all advances. Taking back second, Robb rolled the the hub with Spence within striking distance. Nearly side by side as the No. 59 moved off the cushion on Lap 26, the final lap became a green, white, checkered run with Spence hold on to win by 0.465 seconds. Trey Robb in second was trailed by Emerson Axsom with Brian Carber and Frank Flud coming from 18th to complete the top five.
Dedicating her win to her Mother, Jade Avedisian picked up her first career Tulsa Shootout win. Side by side to start off the Restricted A-Feature, the advantage went to Lubbock’s Brenham Crouch with Ryan Timms settling into second. Working through a trio of early restarts, Crouch kept pace over Timms with Avedisian and Gauge Garcia in tow. Easing away from the field, Crouch found the back of the field on Lap 15. Holding just over a second advantage on the No. 5t as he worked into slower traffic, that breathing room was quickly choked away as a slower car nearly tangled with the top three on Lap 19, opening the door for Jade Avedisian to slip from third to the lead. Keeping free from traffic in the closing laps, Avedisian crossed the line 0.566 seconds ahead of Brenham Crouch with Ryan Timms round out the podium. Mason Daugherty and Gauge Garcia made up the top five.
In Junior Sprints, Jett Barnes picked up his first career Golden Driller. Taking the lead from the right of the front row with Cash Lovenburg in tow. Caution early, the pair were inseparable with Lovenburg looking at the lead on Lap 11. Not able to complete the pass, the No. 21 worked back into Barnes’ tire tracks as traffic came into play on Lap 14. Three-wide through traffic, the two California racers navigated the hub with no more than a pair of car lengths separating the two. Caution on Lap 17, two attempts at the restart saw Barnes able to hold off the charge of Lovenburg by 0.181 seconds. Garett Benson, Levi Hillier, and Lathe Griggs completed the top five.
Taking the win in the 600cc Modifieds, Chad Dugan dominated for his first career Golden Driller. Caution taking the field back to Lap 1, the Iowa racer quickly ran away before the caution lights came on again on Lap 6. Pulling away once more, the red lights came on as the No. 73 of Steven Shebester flipped with Abbi Buntin with nowhere to go slamming nose to nose with Shebester. Both drivers were ok. Running away once more on the restart, Dugan continued to work the hub of the Tulsa Expo Raceway with North Dakota’s Timothy Estenson advancing from seventh to second. Able to keep pace following a Lap 15 restart, the margin at the finish was 1.403 seconds.the 35th Lucas Oil Tulsa Shootout officially received 1,397 entries with 1,364 of those entries checking in among 608 drivers. Dates for the 2021 event will be announced in the coming weeks.The Lucas Oil Tulsa Shootout takes place at the Tulsa Expo Raceway, located inside the River Spirit Expo Center in Tulsa, Okla. More information on the event will be released as the event draws closer. All official rules, event information, and dates are online at http://www.tulsashootout.com. Fans can also follow the Tulsa Shootout at https://www.facebook.com/TulsaShootout and on Twitter (@TulsaShootout).
Tulsa Shootout PR
