(THOMPSON, CT) When ASRS drivers came to Thompson Speedway, they had two more shots to close the points gap between them and points leader Justin Blackdeer before the season finale next week. Jim Foose (-31), Allan Young (-32), Tim Knott (-55) and Matt Vaade (-61) had a huge mountain to climb at the start of the twin events. Allan Young would start race 1 with a leg up on Blackdeer when he put his 24 car on the pole. Rex Hoyle qualified 2nd, Travis Wright 3rd, AJ McCall started 4th and the points leader Blackdeer rounded out the top 5. Race 1 was chock full of fireworks.

On lap 3 Justin Blackdeer was spun off the right front fender of Tom Giannini’s 33 car. Neither car received much damage and both continued on. On the ensuing restart, Jim Foose would also be involved in an incident which would bring out another caution. That caution was followed by yet another caution involving Tim Knott. In 13 laps, four of the top 6 drivers in the points standings were involved in crashes. Knott would receive the worst damage and his 41 car would remain in the pit area for the remainder of the race. Allan Young would capitalize on the calamity and lead all but 7 laps on route to the win. The win would be redemption for last week when the 24 was leading late in the race when he was spun by Jacob Cochran. Rex Hoyle finished 2nd in race 1. Travis Wright finished 3rd, Justin Vaughn 4th and Jason Stewart finished 5th after a thrilling battle with Tom Giannini and Justin Blackdeer.

Race 2 would be much cleaner but no less full of storylines. AJ McCall qualified on the pole for this event. Tim Knott qualified fast enough to start on the outside of the front row. Jason Stewart followed up his top 5 finish with a top 5 starting spot in race 2. Zac Coyer started 4th and Rex Hoyle rounded out the top 5.

AJ McCall was fast, really fast, but the driver of the 32 Toyota would be penalized when he changed lanes on the race’s initial start. Tim Knott jumped out to the lead when McCall ducked down pit road to serve his penalty. Knott would not look back. The race would go caution free only seeing a few incidents that were not serious enough to warrant a race stoppage.

The win would be Tim Knott’s first in ASRS competition, a huge break for the driver who has been in a cold spell, mired by bad luck for months. Fans and drivers alike were happy to see the driver of the 41 snap his winless streak after having many opportunities to win squandered by incidents outside of his control.

Even with the wins by pursuing drivers, Justin Blackeer put his stamp on the 2017 ASRS Super Late Model season.  He now leads the series by 23 points over Allan Young with one race remaining. Jim Foose is in 3rd with an insurmountable point deficit of 40. Allan Young will need a miracle. Assuming the series gets more than 23 entries, a rarity this late in a season, it is still unlikely the 24 can be crowned champion. Blackdeer dominated the season and can rightfully coast to a championship when the series rolls into Five Flags Speedway for the series finale next Wednsday night. Make sure to tune in!