Macri Doubles Down For $13,600 At The Grove
Written by I Dig Sports
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. Anthony Macri swept both 410 sprint car races at Williams Grove Speedway on Friday night, taking home just shy of $13,600 for his night of work.
The wins were the 11th and 12th of his career at the oval, coming in the make-up season opener held over from April 4 and in the regularly scheduled Tommy Hinnershitz Classic.
Macri set fast time on the night with a lap of 16.555 seconds before starting on the pole of the 30-lap Hinnershitz race.
He would end up wiring the field for the victory in a race that was marred by a lap-three red flag for Cale Thomas aboard the Bobby Allen No. 1a.
Thomas was working around Lance Dewease for the fifth spot on the backstretch when he clouted the outside wall, sending his car careening out of control underneath the bridge before digging in and turning over.
Flames erupted from the car as it twisted to a stop only to find seventh runner Danny Dietrich jump from his car and rush to Thomas aid.
Dietrich was able to pull Thomas from the car and away from the wreckage with both drivers avoiding injury.
The restart had Brock Zearfoss lining up second but Macri motored away when action resumed and by lap seven he had built up a 1.2 second lead.
Macri entered the rear of the field with 14 laps to go and worked perfectly to the finish to pick up the win by 5.843 seconds over Zearfoss.
Fourth-starter Ryan Smith surged late to drive by Freddie Rahmer for third and challenge Zearfoss to the line for the runner-up position.
Rahmer settled for fourth followed by Dietrich.
Macri scored $8,088 for his win in the Tommy Classic.
In the make-up opening night feature that restarted with five laps completed, Macri was trailing early leader Matt Campbell when the green flag unfurled.
He quickly ducked under Campbell in the first turn only to see Campbell turn his car down off of the cushion and race to his inside on the backstretch and reclaim control.
And after that Campbell drove a smart race, keeping Macri from within striking distance while entering the rear of the field on the 16th tour.
In fact, Campbell appeared home free as the final five laps began to play out but fortunes changed when Cameron Smith stopped with four laps to go, bunching the field.
The caution flag wiped out a near one second lead that Campbell had over the field and the new green seemed to breath new life into Macri.
The challenger stuck with the leader on lap 22 and then was close enough to plaster a deep dive for the lead on Campbell in the third corner with two laps to go.
And once in front, Macri jetted away to the win by 1.455 seconds.
Dietrich rode home third followed by Zearfoss and Dietz.
Jasen Geesaman took the win in the 15-lap street stock feature to close the night.
The finishes:
Tommy Classic (30 laps): 1. Anthony Macri, 2. Brock Zearfoss, 3. Ryan Smith, 4. Freddie Rahmer, 5. Danny Dietrich, 6. Lance Dewease, 7. Chase Dietz, 8. Troy Wagman Jr., 9. Justin Whittall, 10. Kody Hartlaub, 11. TJ Stutts, 12. Steve Buckwalter, 13. Jake Karklin, 14. Aaron Bollinger, 15. Ryan Taylor, 16. Lucas Wolfe, 17. Derek Hauck, 18. Doug Hammaker, 19. Cameron Smith, 20. Derek Locke, 21. Rick Lafferty, 22. Cale Thomas, 23. Chad Trout
Opening Night (25 laps): 1. Anthony Macri, 2. Matt Campbell, 3. Danny Dietrich, 4. Brock Zearfoss, 5. Chase Dietz, 6. TJ Stutts, 7. Lance Dewease, 8. Troy Wagaman Jr., 9. Freddie Rahmer, 10. Billy Dietrich,11. Chad Trout, 12. Doug Hammaker, 13. Ryan Taylor, 14. Justin Whittall, 15. Lucas Wolfe, 16. Preston Lattomus, 17. Dave Grube, 18. Camerson Smith, 19. Mike Thompson, 20. Steve Buckwalter, 21. Austin Bishop, 22. Jeff Halligan, 23. JT Ferry, 24. Dylan Cisney