On a night with non-stop side-by-side racing at the front of the field at Slinger Super Speedway, Marco Andretti prevailed over local hero Luke Fenhaus and points leader Tony Stewart for his first career Camping World SRX Series win Saturday night.
Andretti took the lead for the final time on a green-white-checkered restart, pulling ahead of Fenhaus after opting to restart in fourth gear.
“I went into the taller gear because I was getting wheelspin,” said Andretti. “I went to fourth gear and it just had the perfect drive off the corner. I think he may have had to shift from third to fourth. When he shifted, I was able to pin him down.”
Over the five weeks in the Camping World SRX Series, Andretti has fallen in love with racing on short tracks in fendered cars.
I love the short tracks, anticipation, seeing where someone’s going to end up and being one step ahead of them. It’s so much fun.
Fenhaus, who earned the seat of SRX’s “Balboa” car by winning the Slinger Nationals Tuesday, finished second after the battle with Andretti. The 17-year-old from Wausau, Wisconsin spent most of the 150-lap feature battling with Andretti and Stewart for the lead, rarely getting a break from the hard-nosed racing.
“Incredibly hard, to say the least,” said Fenhaus. “These cars weigh a lot, the tires are rock solid. It was tough to manage the tire wear, but to race against those guys, they’re the best of the best.
“Tony ran me clean, I ran him clean. We ran a good race and finished top three, so we can’t complain.”
While Fenhaus etched his name in the Slinger history books and undoubtedly made a name for himself in front of a nationwide audience during the SRX race, he admits he hasn’t had much time to soak in the excitement of his whirlwind week.
“I was so wound up for the Slinger Nationals. The next day, interviews started. I haven’t had much time to soak it all in, for sure. I didn’t have much time to soak in the Slinger Nationals, really.”
Stewart left pleased with a third-place finish, adding to his points advantage in the series. He also sang Fenhaus’ praises following the race.
"Getting to spend the day with that kid has been the highlight of my day, to be honest," said Stewart. "My buddy Marco winning the race, getting another podium and adding to this points lead, that’s a big deal to me."
The Camping World SRX Series concludes next week at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, wrapping up the six-week season.
-Story by: Zach Evans, Speed51 Content Supervisor – Twitter: @ztevans
-Photo credit: Speed51 Photo
Camping World SRX Series at Slinger Results
- Marco Andretti
- Luke Fenhaus
- Tony Stewart
- Hailie Deegan
- Bobby Labonte
- Ernie Francis, Jr.
- Willy T. Ribbs
- Greg Biffle
- Bill Elliott
- Helio Castroneves
- Paul Tracy
- Michael Waltrip