Meyers wins Bakersfield ...
Bakersfield Speedway took rubber Saturday night, rendering the normally hectic 1/4 mile into a one-lane express way for the winged 410 sprint cars running the annual Thanksgiving Classic. In non-stop fashion, Jason Meyers won the 30-lap feature after taking advantage of one miscue by previous leader, Jason Statler. Statler slipped out of the rubber once, and Meyers pounced to earn the $10,000 top prize.
Statler got the jump on the 22 car field, and led until lap 17, when Meyers made the pass. "We had a great car and the guys did a great job tonight," said Meyers, who hit the wall in a race at Tulare Friday night. "I had to make up for last night."
Meyers started on the outside of the second row, but moved behind Statler into second place on the opening lap. After shadowing Statler the next 17 laps, he took advantage of lapped traffic and eventually made his winning move.
"Jason drove a helluva race," Statler said. "I got up a little bit and gave him just enough room to get by us. That was all it took."
The race ran without a caution, sending Meyers to the winner's circle in seven and half minutes. "I don't know what it looked like behind us, but it was great as far as I was concerned," Meyers said. "Obviously the preferred line was down low, but the car was working great tonight."
Statler finished three car lengths back in second, followed by Australian Peter Murphy and Brent Kaeding from Campbell. Joey Saldana of Brownsburg, Ind. was fifth.
Thirty cars timed-in, led by Iowa's Dennis Moore Jr.
In an unfortunate situation, race teams endured a two hour wait to be paid after the Jim Smith Promotions event. When they were paid, they only received half of their earnings in cash, and the other half issued as a postdated check. The promoter 'guaranteed' the teams that the checks would be good in 10 days. However, the same promoter also 'guarenteed' the teams would be paid in cash immediately following the race.
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