WHITE CITY, Ore. — New team? New Track? No problem at all! That was the story for Australian star James McFadden on Wednesday night when he won NARC’s opening feature of the Fastest Five Days in Motorsports at Southern Oregon Speedway.
McFadden ran second early in the 30-lap feature and on Lap 14 muscled past early leader Landon Brooks, running the bottom of turns one and two as Brooks got into the cushion at the top of the racetrack.
McFadden took off and never looked back from there to take the win in his first race in the American Rock & Rent-sponsored Tarlton Motorsports No. 21 Kistler-powered Maxim.
After taking the checkered flag, McFadden parked his car on the frontstretch and gave the fans his signature “Shoey” celebration, pouring a beer into his shoe and drinking from it atop his car.
McFadden said that early on he felt he couldn’t match Brooks running the top side and worked to make the bottom of the racetrack work and developed a rhythm to eventually get by the leader. McFadden praised his car and the Tarlton Motorsports team, expressing his excitement at winning the first night out with a new team at a track he had never been on.
Brooks, with damage to his car following contact with other cars, had to surrender the second position and go to the work area during a red flag with 18 laps completed. That gave the second spot to Dominic Scelzi, who had been racing with Justin Sanders for third just a few laps earlier.
Though he was unable to challenge McFadden for the lead in the closing laps, the former series champion still earned his best NARC finish of the season with a runner-up aboard the Red Rose Transportation-sponsored Scelzi Enterprises No. 41 Kistler-powered Maxim.
Sanders finished third aboard the Yuba Sutter Aviation-sponsored Mittry Motorsports No. 2x Fisher-powered KPC.
A pair of red flags, the first coming with just one lap completed, halted the action along the way and both took out cars that were running in the top. The lap two crash eliminated Robbie Price, who was running second, as well as Tanner Holmes who was in sixth place.
Former series champion D.J. Netto brought out the red flag with 18 laps down when he found himself upside down after running fifth.
Billy Aton was one of the drivers in the Top 10 who stayed out of trouble throughout the race and finished fourth in the Legacy Glass-sponsored Billy Aton Racing No. 26 Kistler-powered Triple X.
Washington visitor Jesse Schlotfeldt, in his first visit to Southern Oregon Speedway, came from ninth to finish fifth in the Grinder’s Automotive & Marine-sponsored JRS Motorsports No. 21s Shark-powered Triple X.
The finish:
Feature (30 laps): 1. 21 James McFadden (3), 2. 41 Dominic Scelzi (4), 3. 2x Justin Sanders (5), 4. 26 Billy Aton (7), 5. 21s Jesse Schlotfeldt (9), 6. 10 Dominic Gorden (11), 7. 2k Gauge Garcia (18), 8. 7b Sean Becker (12), 9. 29 Bud Kaeding (15), 10. 2xm Max Mittry (8), 11. 121 Caeden Steele (14), 12. 21L Landon Brooks (1), 13. 14 Mariah Ede (21), 14. 35km Tyler Thompson (16), 15. 15 Nick Parker (13), 16. 12j John Clark (17), 17. 551 Angelique Bell (24), 18. 5k Blain Cory (22), 19. 77 Levi Klatt (23), 20. 88n D.J. Netto (10), 21. 22k Jake Wheeler (21), 22. 21p Robbie Price (2), 23. 18t Tanner Holmes (6), DNS – 27c Camden Robustelli.
