Green flag action began again with 32 laps left, but it wasn’t a full circuit before carnage broke loose and the proverbial ‘Big One’ happened coming through the tri-oval.
Mark Thompson got hit from behind by Justin Fontaine and turned down into Gus Dean, sending Dean up into traffic and sparking a multi-car melee that also collected the likes of A.J. Fike, Eric Caudell, David LeBeau, Michael Lira and Caesar Bacarella before all was said and done.
All drivers involved were able to walk away, but it was Dean who took the hardest blows, receiving heavy damage to the front and rear of his No. 32 Win-Tron Racing entry before coming to rest against the inside wall at pit exit.
Following a red flag period of nearly 20 minutes, plus a slight drizzle that extended caution conditions further, the field rolled again and got back underway with 24 to go and the mad scramble for the win began.
Jones was able to escape with the lead after a big push from Theriault, while Sargeant moved to third and was split from his Cunningham Motorsports teammate Shane Lee. Quickly, the field moved into double-file formation from third on back, with the intensity ramping up inside the final 20 laps.
At 18 to go, Lee had finally worked up to a side-by-side battle with Theriault for second, thanks to a huge push from Hessert. A lap later, he was going for the lead on the backstretch before his run stalled out and he had to fall back behind Jones and regroup up top.
But the carnage wasn’t done. With 15 laps left, contact between Bo Lemastus and Leilani Munter back in the pack sent Munter up into traffic on the backstretch, eliminating contenders like Michael Self and early leader Houff from contention in a seven-car pileup.
That set up the night’s final restart with nine to go, leaving Jones and Theriault door-to-door for the lead and the win for two complete circuits before Theriault used a push from Sargeant to clear Jones for the lead on lap 73.
The move came just prior to the melee with five to go that ultimately ended the race, leaving Jones to finish a bitter, but still career-best, second after leading a race-high 25 laps.
“I was praying for rain late in the race,” said Jones. “This was my best superspeedway finish. We had a good clean run … stayed up front all day and out of trouble. It would have been so cool to bring the trophy back to Canada. We were just a few laps from winning. We’re not done trying, I’ll tell you that.”
Lee and Sargeant were third and fourth, with Hessert rallying late in the race to notch a fifth-place finish.
Bret Holmes, Ricky Sanders, Kyle Weatherman, King and Kaz Grala were the rest of the top 10.
The ARCA Racing Series continues their 2017 season at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville on April 8.
Full results can be viewed on the next page…
