By: Kevin Ramsell
OVID, MI – Blake Rowe, who ended his two-year winless drought at Berlin Raceway, picked up his second win in a row by taking the checkered flag in the Turn One CRA Pro Series Presented by Chevrolet Performance Owosso Nationals 100 at Owosso Speedway in Owosso, MI.
The Ortonville, MI driver, with the help of lap traffic, was able to sneak by current series point leader Chase Pinsonneault on lap 33 to go on to the victory.
The victory gives Rowe some hope that he can go for the championship on the season finale at Winchester Speedway on October 9th. He came into Saturday night’s event only 50 points behind Pinsonneault.
“We ain’t gonna go down without a lot of fight, man, but I’ll tell you what, it’s a whole lot more fun not thinking about it, just coming out here and racing for wins,” Rowe said in victory lane. “Chase and the 14 team have just had an absolute stellar season. I mean, they’ve made it hard on all of us that are trying to compete with them, but it feels good to finally get some of them going here.”
The only caution in the race came on lap 40 when JP Crabtree spun and made contact with the turn four wall. Crabtree was done for the day for leaking fluid on the track.
As the race resumed, it was clear sailing for Rowe, who drove off to a 7.299-second victory.
Behind Rowe, Pinsonneault was in a heavy battle with Seth Christensen and Billy VanMeter for the runner-up spot. The battle got very interesting in the final five laps as the three encountered heavy lap traffic.
On the last lap, Christensen spun and VanMeter was able to sneak by Pinsonneault for the second spot.
Tyler Lupton would finish fourth while Christensen would recover to finish fifth.
Pinsonneault was hoping for a better night, but he would take the podium.
“Yeah, definitely not the night we were looking for, but the car was at speed,” Pinsonneault said. “Props to Blake; he was fast all weekend long, and he just beat us there, got caught up around lap traffic, and he navigated a little bit better than me.”
Expect a great battle for the title at the Winchester 100 on Friday, October 9th at Winchester Speedway in Winchester, IN.