For the first time in 2009, Matt Maring found himself in Victory Lane at Bethel Motor Speedway at the conclusion of the 25-lap Legends feature. Maring, who has been consistently fast at Bethel all season and who has looked to be in contention for a win several times, has fallen victim to bad luck and mechanical woes that have prevented him from scoring a win sooner. This past Saturday, he seemed to have finally shaken the monkey from his back.
Maring started the race on the outside of the front row, with his teammate and seven-time 2009 Bethel feature event winner Mike Alcaro. Alcaro ironically was not driving his familiar #8 Chevrolet, which has been dubbed "Captain America". Alcaro decided instead to pilot the #88 out of his stable, opting to save "Captain America" for the upcoming $1,500-to-win LegendStock 2009 race, scheduled for Saturday, August 15th.
Alcaro got out front on the start, and Maring settled into second, as Joe DeGracia grabbed third. Caution waved on lap seven when Joe Graf and Michael Blaskey made contact and Graf spun, giving Maring a second attempt on the front row with Alcaro. Alcaro grabbed the lead again. Two laps later, however, Alcaro's car suddenly slowed coming off of turn four. As the field checked up behind him, Alcaro took his car to the infield, and the caution was out. Alcaro initially stated that he thought it may have been a bad ground or a short, but his team later identified the problem as a broken motor mount. When Alcaro took his car to the pits, Maring inherited the lead.
Maring powered his way to the front on the restart with DeGracia in second. Behind them, Mike Carroll and Blaskey fought side-by-side for third, swapping the spot several times. Maring kept his car in the lead through the subsequent restarts and the remainder of the event, leaving the rest of the field behind him to battle for position. Maring crossed the line first, with DeGracia in tow. Carroll and John Demarmels crossed the line side-by-side, and Carroll took third by a slim margin.
Mikey Policastro took the checkers in the Bandolero class.
Legends Feature Finish (25 laps): 1. Matt Maring, 2. Joe DeGracia, 3. Mike Carroll, 4. John Demarmels, 5. Raven Schrantz, 6. Jim Sylvester, 7. Joe Fresco, 8. Joe Graf, 9. Michael Blaskey, 10. Mike Alcaro, 11. John Hugate. DNS - Justin Strumpf.
