PLEASANTON, Texas (April 22, 2023) — Regional Modified stalwart Dillon Tindall, South Texas open-wheel sensation Marcus Mikulencak and multi-class threat Jared Maupin all won features in their respective divisions, as officials hosted their annual Dirt Kings program on Saturday at I-37 Speedway.
Tindall pulled out a late-race pass to claim the opening round of the new Royal Rumble Mini Series for IMCA Modifieds; Mikulencak prevailed in a hotly-contested affair for Limited Modifieds, while Maupin won a caution-plagued Factory Stock tilt that ended seven laps early due to time constraints.
Ryan Doyon (Late Models); Dylan Budnik (Dwarf Cars); and Rod Tait (Sport Compacts) were also feature winners on a beautiful night for racing in South Texas.
Tindall, of LaGrange, started seventh on the 13-car grid, dove underneath Modified standout Chris Morris (Taylor, Texas) coming off Turn 4 to take command with just two laps remaining and hung on to claim the $1,000 payday. Morris settled for second, while Tanner Whitmire (Taft) filled out the podium.
Cameron Starry (Corpus Christi) and Logan Dinsmore (Kerrville) rounded out the top five.
“I had to make some consistent laps there at the end, for sure,” Tindall told announcer Kris Workman in Victory Lane. “The guys behind me were pretty good. I was in the right place at the right time tonight. I got on the outside of Tanner (Whitmire) after that last caution, and hoped I could get up to Chris.
“I figured maybe I could throw a slider down here, but he did it for me. He slid up, I dove under him, and was grateful for the chance. We plan to run all of these Royal Rumble races; we figured why not knock the dust off this thing and bring it out to play. I'm pretty glad we did tonight, for sure.”
Finishing sixth through 10th in the inaugural IMCA Modified 'Royal Rumble' mini series A Main were Ryan Doyon, Cotton Bowl Speedway regular Hardy Henderson, Cody Duke, Stephen Boubel and Gilbert Amezquita. Four cautions slowed the pace (1, 1, 15, 17), all for minor incidents.
Tindall's margin of victory was .705 of a second, as Morris was never far behind in the final circuits.
Mikulencak, of Corpus Christi, started fifth on the 14-car Limited Modified grid, drove to the outside of early leader Joe Aramendia coming off Turn 2 to take control at lap four and survived three restarts to claim the big trophy. Aramendia settled for second, while rising star Nathan Titzman finished third.
James Cole (San Antonio) and Elias Anderson (Austin) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
“I have some awesome people backing me with an awesome race car,” Mikulencak said. “This track and I just seem to go together well every now and then. I wish we wouldn't have had so many torn up race cars at the end of this one, I hate to see that. I have to thank my wife and family for their support.”
Finishing sixth through 10th in the Swenson Race Products Limited Modified feature were young hotshoe Jaden Edmond, Tom Grothues, veteran wheel-man Cody Beddoe, Charles Flanagan and Jack Tuttle. Five cautions slowed the pace (laps 3, 4, 6, 7, 8), forcing officials to end the race at lap 11.
Mikulencak's margin of victory was a scant .689 of a second, as Aramendia was having a stellar night.
Maupin, of College Station, started third on the 21-car Factory Stock grid, took the lead from local favorite Allen Torres on lap four and remained there until officials chopped this one off at lap 13. Johnny Torres crossed the stripe in second after starting eighth, while Allen Torres settled for third.
Brian Harbison (Floresville) and Frank Okrulik (who started way back in 20th) completed the top five.
“It was pretty tricky out there tonight,” Maupin said in Victory Lane. “There is a lot of moisture up there in Turns 1 and 2; I found it kind of early. I finally got the momentum to get around Allen (Torres). It's still all good. I was just afraid to give up the bottom, so I moved down low to protect that line.”
Finishing sixth through 10th in the All In Designs Factory Stock A Main were Kasey Krauss, Michael Keylich, Zach Freeman, Joshua Sewell and Kyle Kirkland. Five cautions slowed the pace (three on lap 1; 5, 7), all for minor spins. Maupin's margin of victory was a whopping 3.589 seconds.
This year's Dirt Kings program, combined with Round 1 of the Royal Rumble for IMCA Mods drew a respectable 91 entries spread across six divisions. Led by Factory Stocks and Dwarfs with 21 cars each, fans were entertained by plenty of competitive racing across the board.
Officials knocked out 14 qualifying Heats in short order, took a short intermission and proceeded to run their features as best as possible. While it may have seemed like a 'Full Moon' night at times, all-in-all it was solid night of short track racing highlighted by Tindall's late-race move on Morris.
You can replay all of the action from Saturday night's Dirt Kings/Royal Rumble at I-37 Speedway, presented by Bobcat of Pleasanton, with a subscription at RaceOnTexas.com. With over 450 events on the Live steaming schedule this year, it's home to some of the best short track content in the country.
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By Phil Whipple, RaceOnTexas.com Staff Writer