MERIDIAN, Idaho — Kyle Alberding traveled more than nine hours from his Oregon home to capture the Speed Tour Regional Sprint Car Series 40-lap feature victory Saturday night at Meridian Speedway.

Alberding’s victory came amid no fans as it was pay-per-view only due to current Idaho state regulations due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

When the green flag waved Rob Grice took the top spot and lead the first 21laps with Hunter Stanley glued to his rear bumper. Just as the duo crossed the start finish line on lap 22, Stanley moved to the high side of Grice and the two made contact.

The altercation sent Stanley’s car hurling towards the turn one retaining wall. Stanley careened into the water barrels lined in front of the concrete wall. The water barrels exploded and rained water all over the racing surface bringing out a red flag. During the cleanup process, race leader Grice went to the pits for repairs.

When the race resumed, third-place Colton Nelson and Alberding comprised the front row for the double-file restart. Alberding was able to beat Nelson into the corner to take the top spot. Alberding would go the rest of the way uncontested to take the victory although lapped traffic allowed Nelson to close the gap slightly at the finish.

“The first 20 laps there wasn’t a lot going on” explained Alberding. “I knew that restart was gonna be key with eighteen to go. I knew that might be my only chance. My car was good on restarts. I just tried to time it just right. My car was good on restarts. I made it happen on that restart. It got a little hairy with lapped traffic late in the race. I was able to hold on to get the win with not the best car. But we’ll take it.”

When asked about winning a race with no fans he responded “It was a little weird. It kinda felt a little less nerve wracking but it felt the same on the track. The biggest difference was having two races in one day with the light out in the first one. But it was still a fun day,” concluded Alberding.

Following Alberding were Nelson, Casey Tillman, Bryan Warf, and Cory Lockwood.

Alberding picked up $3,500 for his efforts.

Alberding’s win was the second Speed Tour feature event of the day. Lockwood won a 30-lap feature earlier in the day.

The finish:

Kyle Alberding, Colton Nelson, Casey Tillman, Bryan Warf, Cory Lockwood, Austin Carter, Justin Segura, Matt Elliott, Randy Dubois, Mike Anderson, Rob Grice, Rob Taylor, Hunter Stanley, Zach Webster, Mike Straub.