NEWTON, N.C. – After differing trials and tribulations kept him out of victory lane in the past, 14-year-old George Kurtz finally collected his first career USAC Eastern Midget Ass’n victory on Saturday night at Hickory Motor Speedway.
Kurtz led the 35-lap feature from start to finish, pulling out to nearly a half-track advantage over Radical Racing teammate Jessica Bean by the time the checkered flag flew.
“Man, I knew we had a fast car, but I didn’t think we’d half-track the field,” Kurtz said with a big grin. “It’s such a great feeling and it’s been a long time coming. Our piece was on a rail today. To beat Jessica … it’s just amazing and a dream scenario. Those cars are virtually identical and I’m thankful we came out with a trophy tonight.”
The race ran non-stop, with no cautions to slow the pace.
Bean came home second and lamented her car’s handling after climbing out at the end of the race.
“His car was rolling and mine was just wicked loose the entire race,” she explained. “I’m worn out after this one. I thought we had it right in practice, and we just obviously didn’t make the right change for the race. Congrats to George on his first win and hopefully we can get one back when we’re here again next week.”
Nolan Allison, Sam Hatfield and Jagger Parker completed the top five finishers.
Multi-time series champion and all-time series wins leader Chris Lamb was running third on lap 11 when he pulled to the pit area with overheating issues, ending his bid for another victory at the ‘Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars’.
RESULTS: USAC Eastern Midget Association; Hickory Motor Speedway; April 15, 2017
Qualifying: 1. Chris Lamb, 9, Lamb-15.109; 2. Nolan Allison, 16, Allison-15.159; 3. George Kurtz, 4, Kurtz-15.222; 4. Sam Hatfield, 8, Hatfield-15.224; 5. Jessica Bean, 5, Radical-15.231; 6. Neal Allison, 15, Allison-15.281; 7. Jagger Parker, 20, Parker-15.401; 8. Jake Garcia, 35, Garcia-15.432; 9. Kyle Resco, 56, Resco-15.526; 10. Jake Smith, 93, Smith-15.527; 11. Jesse Love IV, 99, Radical-15.536; 12. Eric Lewis, 28, Radical-15.592; 13. Mike Ward, 80, Ward-NT.
Feature (35 laps): 1. George Kurtz, 2. Jessica Bean, 3. Nolan Allison, 4. Sam Hatfield, 5. Jagger Parker, 6. Neal Allison, 7. Kyle Resco, 8. Jake Smith, 9. Jake Garcia, 10. Eric Lewis, 11. Jesse Love, 12. Chris Lamb.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
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