K-C Raceway results 2000-05-13

All Star Sprint Race Results - K-C Raceway
By Scott Hall

ALMA, OH (May 13, 2000) - The last time Rodney Duncan set foot in an All Star Circuit of Champions victory lane was June 3, 1988 at the New 96 Speedway in Michigan. Well, Saturday night at K-C Raceway in the All Star sprint 40-lap feature, Duncan led wire-to-wire for his third career All Star triumph, worth $5,000 plus a $175 TW Metals Bonus. The win came over a hard charging Frankie Kerr and a fast closing Mark Keegan.

"Al Harrison deserves to win an All Star race. He's the greatest car owner. I've never had anybody give me everything I need to race like Al Harrison has. It means a lot to give him something like this," Duncan related emotionally. "Frankie (Kerr) was awesome and I knew he was there. If you're going to lose, lose being aggressive and that's what I kept telling myself. Drive as hard as you can and if you slide off the edge, I'd rather lose that way than pussyfoot it around and get beat like that." Duncan also credited crew chief Andy Potter, Eagle Chassis, Hoosier Tires and Kistler-Chevy engines for the win.

Byron Reed started on the ButlerBuilt Hot Seat pole with Duncan alongside. Butch Schroeder and Kerr made up row two with Keegan and Jim Nier in row three.

Duncan jumped out into an immediate lead with Reed in second and Kerr third. As Duncan stretched his advantage, there was a fierce battle for second among Reed and Kerr with Schroeder lurking a length behind in fourth. Reed slipped one tire off the top lip of the backstretch on lap nine, allowing Kerr to scoot by into second and on lap 12 Schroeder took third from Reed.

By lap 15, Kerr was closing on Duncan in heavy lapped traffic, and he was right on Duncan's rear bumper on lap 18 when Marty Ling flipped off the backstretch, bringing out a red. For the restart it was Duncan, Kerr, Schroeder, Keegan, Reed and Kelly Kinser, up from 17th.

Kerr and Duncan went at it side-by-side for the lead following the restart, battling fiercely for eight circuits tooth and nail until the final caution appeared for a stopped Jimmy Stinson. Duncan pulled away from Kerr a bit after the restart, with Keegan now challenging Schroeder for third. Keegan took that spot with a high move on lap 29, and from that point on it was a three car race.

With five to go, the leaders were in dense lapped traffic, and Duncan got boxed in by two lapped cars on lap 36, but Kerr did not have a clear path to pass. Once Duncan passed the lapped machines, he pulled away to a three car length win at the end over Kerr with Keegan a length back in third.

"Right at the end the track started taking rubber and everyone was fast," Kerr recalled. "It became one lane and whoever got out front was going to win." Kerr also rode Hoosier tires on his Stan Shoff J&J.

Behind the top trio were Schroeder, Kenny Jacobs from eighth and Phil Gressman, who finished seventh, winning the Team Simpson Racing Lucky Seven award. Greg Wilson was eighth, followed by Danny Smith and Jim Nier.

It was TW Metals Bonus night, with the company paying a $175 bonus to the feature winner, $75 for 6th, 11th and 15th places plus $75 to the first feature alternate from the B Main, Todd Kane.