Craig Ronk Races to Second-Career POWRi Victory at Jacksonville Speedway!

(Allen Horcher Photo) Jacksonville, IL | September 8, 2017 —– Earning his second career victory with the Speedway Motors POWRi 600cc Outlaw Micro League, Warsaw, Indiana’s Craig Ronk found himself in victory lane on Friday night as the latest micro champion of the Herb Barlow Memorial at Jacksonville Speedway. D

With 25 entries checking into the Jacksonville, Illinois facility, POWRi would call for three heat races to begin the night. A trio of out-of-state competitors would win the eight-lappers as Missouri’s Nathan Benson, Oklahoma’s Harley Hollan and Kansas’ Matt Howard split heat wins. Piloting his BOSS Chassis No. 2B from fourth-to-first, Benson would secure high point man honors and land himself on the pole of the 20-lap feature.

As the main event went green, Benson rocketed into the early lead as Ronk quickly shot into second from the third starting position. After waiting out several cautions in the early running, Ronk finally made his move as the crossflags waved on lap ten. Shifting his CS9 No. 5R to the top of the 1/4 mile as rubber started to come in, Ronk was able to power right around Benson and into the lead. Immediately switching to the top behind Ronk, Benson made the right call, but just a lap too late. The 17-year old would go on to score his second-career POWRi Micro victory at a track he has come to master of late.

“I was just trying to focus,” noted Ronk. “Good job to Nathan, I knew he was going to be tough to beat. I didn’t know if I would be able to get around him, but I found the rubber and it stuck perfect. This track is really fun! It is so fast and so race-y, you can basically go wherever.”

Nathan Benson, the four-time POWRi Micro champion from Concordia, Missouri, led the opening half of the feature, but finished with runner-up honors in his BOSS Chassis No. 2B.

“We had a good car, but I just stayed on the bottom too long,” commented Benson. “Actually, when he passed us and we moved up to the top, we ran him back down. I should have just gone to the top sooner. I felt the bottom slowing down, but the car is really good and we have the motor running great. I’m excited for the rest of the season.”

Rounding out the podium with a third-place finisher was a “Sooner State” traveler in Harley Hollan. The Broken Arrow, Oklahoma native started his Illinois trip with a strong run in his Driven Midwest No. 14H.

“It was a good night for us,” said Hollan. “We just haven’t had the experience here, so we are still trying to figure things out. We weren’t quite ready for the rough stuff and all the bottoming out, but overall it was a good night. We learned something to take away for the next time.”

Coming home with a fourth-place finish was Lawrence, Kansas racer, Matt Howard in his Pace Chassis No. 8H. Rounding out the top five was local Weldon, Illinois native Garrett Duff. Closing out the top ten would be Jacob Tipton (6th), Holley Hollan (7th), Kurt Westerfield (8th). Trevin Littleton (9th), and Nick Howard (10th). Jacob Tipton scored hard charger honors with a 16th-to-6th run.

The Speedway Motors POWRi 600cc Outlaw Micro League will continue their 2017 season next weekend with a much-anticipated return to Southern Illinois Raceway in Marion, Illinois. The Southern Illinois Shootout will feature the micro sprints and for the first-time in history, the Lucas Oil POWRi National Midgets will compete at the bullring 1/8th mile.

Feature Results (20 Laps): 1. 5R – Craig Ronk (3), 2. 2B – Nathan Benson (1), 3. 14H – Harley Hollan (2), 4. 8H – Matt Howard (5), 5. 66J – Garrett Duff (6), 6. 10 – Jacob Tipton (16), 7. 14JR – Holley Hollan (12), 8. 14 – Kurt Westerfield (7), 9. 44 – Trevin Littleton (10), 10. 37H – Nick Howard (19), 11. 38 – Jackson Frisbie (9), 12. 11 – Riley Goodno (20), 13. 1 – Cailin Hunt (11), 14. 51B – Joe B. Miller (21), 15. 59 – Luke Vaughn (25), 16. 8 – Gabe Veradi (22), 17. 99 – Alec Long (14), 18. 5T – Tim Muchow (15), 19. 14T – Evan Turner (23), 20. 53 – Mike Muchon (17), 21. 27 – Colby Sheppard (13), 22. 37 – Aidan Purdue (4), 23. 28 – Luke Veradi (9), 24. 9T – Tyler Duff (18), 25. 52 – Josh White (24).

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