NEWTON, N.C. — Audio, recap and photo by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman –

Matt Lundstrom took his momentum south from Ace Speedway on Friday and cleaned house during the USAC HPD Eastern Midget Series stop on Saturday night at the “Birthplace of NASCAR Stars”, Hickory Motor Speedway.

Lundstrom started Saturday’s feature from the outside of the front row and powered past polesitter Steven Hutchinson on the opening lap to take the top spot on the scoreboard. Once he was in clean air, the No. 2 was in its own league, running off to a straightaway advantage and a second win in two nights in a caution-free feature event.

“It definitely helped us to have that track position,” Lundstrom said in victory lane. “The car’s balance was awesome when we finished our last practice session. Getting ready for qualifying I just ran a few laps and then pulled off because I knew the balance was going to be good. Starting out front, I don’t know how fast the other guys were coming earlier tonight but track position is always key. You can’t beat that.”

Scott Hunter charged through the field to finish second behind Lundstrom, with USAC Eastern Midget stalwart Chris Lamb rounding out the podium in third. Mike Ward and Jessica Bean made up the rest of the top five.

After falling back from the pole starting spot, Hutchinson finished eighth at the end of the 35-lap run.

Earlier in the day, Hunter set quick time in qualifying with a lap of 15.264 seconds () at the controls of his No. 14 Brown/Noffsinger mount.

The USAC HPD Eastern Midgets return to action next on May 1 when they return to the Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, N.C.

For more information, visit www.usacracing.com.

Audio with race winner Matt Lundstrom:

RESULTS: USAC HPD Eastern Midget Series; Hickory, N.C.; Hickory Motor Speedway; April 4, 2015

QUALIFYING: 1. Scott Hunter, 14, Brown/Noffsinger-15.264; 2. Chris Lamb,9, Lamb-15.311; 3. Calvin Carroll, 24, Carroll-15.322; 4. Jessica Bean, 6, Radical-15.406; 5. Mike Ward, 80, Ward-15.473; 6. Sam Hatfield, 8, Hatfield-15.520; 7. Matt Lundstrom, 2, Lundstrom-15.550; 8. Steven Hutchinson, 7, Lamb-15.640; 9. Andrew Layser, 35. Layser-15.656; 10. Jake Nelke, 00, Nelke-15.679; 11. Kyle Craker, 12c, Craker-15.710; 12. Nikki Carroll, 5, Carroll-15.722; 13. Nolan Allison, 16, Allison-15.764; 14. Carson Hocevar, 41, Hocevar-NT.

FEATURE: (35 laps): 1. Matt Lundstrom, 2. Scott Hunter, 3. Chris Lamb, 4. Mike Ward, 5. Jessica Bean, 6. Calvin Carroll, 7. Nikki Carroll, 8. Steven Hutchison, 9. Sam Hatfield, 10. Andrew Layser, 11. Jake Nelke, 12. Kyle Craker, 13. Nolan Allison.