Outside polesitter Tim Matthews took the early lead from the top lane, but by lap four the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet of Kyle Taraska was firmly in command thanks to a push from Greg Evans in the draft.

Taraska held the point in a calm run until lap 14, when Jose Gonzalez shot to the point with a huge push from Matthews, getting both cars clear by the time they got to turn three from the end of the backstretch.

From there, a scrum between Gonzalez, Taraska and Evans would break out for the next seven laps before Evans worked clear of Taraska for the point on the 24th round. Lap traffic at quarter-distance would provide a momentary scare for the frontrunners, but would quickly resolve itself as the green flag run continued.

A three-wide battle for the lead on lap 28 handed polesitter Buie the point the next time around, marking the first time all race that the fast qualifier and Duel winner headed the field as they strung out single-file in advance of green-flag pit stops.

Those stops began on lap 34, led by Evans as half the field came down for service. Buie followed the next time by, opening up a six-lap stretch where Stephanie Lessentine used an alternate strategy to lead the field before stops cycled all the way through and a battle between Evans and David Washington came to the fore on lap 42.

Evans dominated much of the second green-flag stint after pit stops, leading 14 of the next 17 laps before losing the lead to Jason Jacoby with 36 to go. A bad block in tri-oval by Jacoby the next time by ruined Evans’ race, as he collected front end damage after spinning through the frontstretch grass with a massive moment.

A final cycle of green flag pit stops set up the run to the finish, with Washington assuming the lead at 22 to go when Seth Fouty pitted and the lead battle was one large, swarming pack all over again.

Washington and Aegis Motorsports teammate Trevor Roppolo controlled the pace, leading the field as a tandem for 15 straight circuits before the caution flew, when Jacoby blew up entering the tri-oval and was tagged around by Icebreaker champion David Comstock.

That led to the lone restart of the race, a two-lap dash for all the marbles that ended with the Aegis top-four sweep, the second time the team has done so in series history.

Taraska was the highest-finishing non-Aegis car in the final rundown, completing the top five ahead of Jeff Ward, Steve Gottschalk, Dwayne Vincent, Comstock and Lessentine.

Full results and a statistical analysis can be found on the next page…