Bo Hoelscher an Excited Winner, Proud Father in Vores Compacts Bowl Classic

Bo Hoelscher had plenty of reasons to celebrate after the SERVPRO Bowl Classic at Shadybowl Speedway on Sunday.

Firstly, Hoelscher won the season-opening event for the Vores Compact Touring Series powered by Mercer County Electric. It is the 13th career victory for Hoelscher, who won the 2017 championship for the series.

He did so by holding off a hard-charging Karter Stark in the closing laps, with Stark drawing all the way to Hoelscher's rear bumper on a prolonged green-flag run to end the 50-lap race. At the checkered flag, Hoelscher's margin of victory was just 0.147 seconds.

"Towards the end, Karter started catching me really, really fast," said Hoelscher in victory lane. "I think I ran a little harder than I needed to in the beginning."

Beyond all of that, Hoelscher was also a proud father. His son, Jayson, made his Vores Compact Touring Series debut on Sunday at Shadybowl. Jayson did much more than turn laps - he ran as high as second place in the event before finishing fourth.

"I don't know how much you guys realize this, but my boy was in the red car," Bo Hoelscher added. "This is the first time he's ever ran this class, and probably the fifth time he's ever driven a manual. For him to finish fourth, I am excited as hell.

"It was nerve-wracking. I tried not to slide up into him, mess him up, mess me up. I drove a little too cautious, but it all worked out."

Karter Stark knew he faced an uphill climb battling with Hoelscher for a win at Shadybowl, but he put forth a valiant effort in his runner-up finish.

"I knew it was gonna be tough. It's one of his home tracks," said Stark. "We gave it all she had. It was getting close at the end, I started catching him. I think both of our cars weren't very good at all the whole race. We struggled a little bit that whole race, and I just couldn't find a good line. I caught them, and if it wasn't for that lapped car, it probably would have been pretty close. It was still close, and I had a lot of fun."

Ron Sagers rounded out the podium, passing Jayson Hoelscher with 17 laps to go for third. He offered praise of his own for the young Hoelscher after battling with him on track, while also battling some adversity of his own.

"First of all, congrats to Jayson over there," Sagers said. "Hell of a first race, man. If he wouldn't have slipped up coming out of four, I probably wouldn't have gotten him. It was a good race, only one caution. I was actually surprised, the cars were really loose. The gear shifter kept popping out. Last 20 laps, I had to race with one hand while I was holding the gear shifter in third."

Next on the Vores Compact Touring Series schedule is a visit to Anderson Speedway on April 11. The Vores Compacts will be joined on track by Anderson's Knapp Supply Ford Divisions, USA Tire Modifieds, and Beaver Contracting Legends.

-Photo credit: Shadybowl Speedway

SERVPRO Bowl Classic Unofficial Results