Taylor Miinch saw an opening and went for it.
The Blossom Valley, Calif., driver passed race leader Dylan Cappello on lap 66 of the Lucas Oil Modifieds General Tire 75 presented by Sunoco Fuel and held on for a big win at The Bullring on Saturday night. Miinch's victory capped an exciting evening of racing at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway 3/8-mile paved oval on Military and Veterans Appreciation Night presented by Lucas Oil.
Miinch pulled off the late-race pass, then held off Austin Barnes by 1.086 seconds to claim the $2,000 winner's check. Scott Winters was third, Trevor Cristiani finished fourth, Jason Irwin crossed the line fifth, and Cappello faded to a sixth-place finish.
"I saw a hole, I took it and it worked out," said Miinch, who also won a 75-lap feature at The Bullring on Nov. 21, 2015. "I saw Dylan making some mistakes, and he was getting loose about five laps before that. So, I knew if I could get to him I could hopefully put some pressure on him and make him make a mistake.
"It's always fun racing here."
Derek Thorn of Bakersfield, Calif., added to his Bullring legacy by claiming career victory No. 8 at the LVMS short track. Thorn led the majority of the 121-lap SPEARS Southwest Tour "Blackjack 121" race and survived a number of late-race re-starts to cross the line .706 of a second ahead of Bobby Hodges for the win.
"Tonight was the night for us," said Thorn, who set the class' track record in November of last year. "It's just one of those places that suits our style and suits the kind of car and setups we run. With the 21 (Blaine Rocha) and 89 (Hodges) behind me, every re-start was nerve-racking, so to be able to bring it home feels good."
Darren Amidon ended a winless draught of more than nine years by holding off Tyler Fabozzi in the 25-lap USLCI Legends feature. Amidon, whose first Bullring win came on March 29, 2008, passed Michael Todd Glazier for the lead on Lap 20 and withstood a re-start with four laps remaining en route to the big win.
"The last time I won here was back in 2008, so it's really cool to come back and finally get another one," said Amidon, who finished .159 of a second ahead of Fabozzi. "I lost my mom a couple months ago, so this one's for her and this season is for her.
"My car got tight on that re-start, and I've got to thank Tyler Fabozzi for racing me clean. He's a real class act."
Points leader Ron Reed continued his USLCI Thunder Car dominance, winning for the fourth time this season. Reed finished .496 of a second ahead of Ed Hohman in the 15-lap feature that kicked off the evening's racing schedule.
"It's a family sport, and I want to say thank you to my family," Reed said. "(The Bullring) is a great spot, and it's going to be a great night of racing. I'm looking forward to being a spectator the rest of the night."
Cappello won a six-lap Lucas Oil Modifieds dash earlier in the night to earn $500. Amilleo Thomson took the checkered flag in the 12-lap USLCI Bandolero Bandits feature, while Jesse Love picked up his first win of 2017 in the 12-lap USLCI Bandolero Outlaws race.
NEXT RACE: Racing returns to The Bullring on Saturday, June 3, for the Chris Trickle Classic, named in honor of the former Bullring star who was the victim of a still unsolved drive-by shooting. There will be a pre-race autograph session on the track, and children 12 and under will be admitted free with a ticketed adult.
Military and Veterans Appreciation Night presented by Lucas Oil
Complete results
USLCI Thunder Cars 15-lap feature
1. Ron Reed; 2. Ed Hohman (-.496 of a second); 3. Doug Germano (-1 lap).
Lucas Oil Modifieds 6-lap dash
1. Dylan Cappello; 2. Scott Winters (-.846 of a second); 3. Taylor Miinch (-1.326); 4. Linny White (-1.721); 5. Austin Barnes (-1.952); 6. Jason Irwin (-2.362).
USLCI Bandolero Bandits 12-lap feature
1. Amilleo Thomson; 2. Braden Connor (-2.900 seconds); 3. Landon Gresser (-3.476); 4. Tuscan Nuccitelli (-8.691); 5. Owen Romzek (-1 lap); 6. Levi Johnson (-2 laps); 7. Sabastian Lafia (-11 laps).
USLCI Bandolero Outlaws 12-lap feature
1. Jesse Love; 2. Camden Larsen (-2.677 seconds); 3. R.J. Smotherman (-3.408); 4. Adam Lemke (-5.332); 5. Kaden Crouch (-5.659); 6. Ethan Deguevara (-5.962); 7. Jaron Giannini (-6.146); 8. Matthew Cunningham (-6.231); 9. Cody Brown (-8.719).
SPEARS Southwest Tour Series Blackjack 121
1. Derek Thorn; 2. Bobby Hodges (-.706 of a second); 3. Blaine Rocha (-.740); 4. Ricky Schlick (-1.128); 5. Carlos Viera (-1.924); 6. Jacob Gomes (-2.252); 7. Eric Schmidt (-2.823); 8. Lance Wilson (-3.142); 9. Craig Raudman (-3.545); 10. Chris Clyne (-5.082); 11. Jace Hansen (-1 lap); 12. Scott Sanchez (-1 lap); 13. Dennis Furden (-2 laps); 14. Andre Prescott (-2 laps); 15. Cale Kanke (-50 laps); 16. Luke Hall (-52 laps); 17. Donny St. Ours (-65 laps); 18. Billy Mitchell (-101 laps); 19. Keith Spangler (-119 laps).
USLCI Legends 25-lap feature
1. Darren Amidon; 2. Tyler Fabozzi (-.159 of a second); 3. Michael Todd Glazier (-.910); 4. T.J. Clark (-1.464); 5. Gary Scheurell (-1.841); 6. Devin Lane (-2.076); 7. Colton Page (-2.297); 8. Brian Williams (-2.794); 9. Dylan Fabozzi (-3.435); 10. Gary Wegener Jr. (-4.728); 11. Ricky Leigh (-4.856); 12. Jace Jones (-5.224); 13. Matthew Cunningham (-5.417); 14. Don Williams (-2 laps); 15. Payton Garafalo (-5 laps); 16. Brian Lane (-8 laps); 17. Michael Anderson (-9 laps); 18. Ricky De Le Ree (-24 laps); 19. Jesse Love (-24 laps).
Lucas Oil Modifieds General Tire Bullring 75 presented by Sunoco Fuel
1. Taylor Miinch; 2. Austin Barnes (-1.086 seconds); 3. Scott Winters (-2.455); 4. Trevor Cristiani (-3.211); 5. Jason Irwin (-3.594); 6. Dylan Cappello (-4.155); 7. Doug Hamm (-5.961); 8. Dustin Tilbury (-6.482); 9. Shelby Stroebel (-7.676); 10. Larry Gerchman (-8.793); 11. Mike Womack (-10.837); 12. Michael Mitchell (-11.440); 13. Blake Rogers (-12.405); 14. William Camara (-12.865); 15. Travis Thirkettle (-13.195); 16. Linny White (-13.408); 17. Eddie Secord (-14.023); 18. Scott Osborne (-15.244); 19. Mark Allison (-1 lap); 20. Cameron Morga; 21. Chris Cook (-9 laps); 22. Jim Mardis (-24 laps); 23. Eric Hamilton (-26 laps); 24. A.J. Dimarzo (-45 laps); 25. Dave Arce (-50 laps); 26. Aaron McMorran (-64 laps); 27. William Guevara (-74 laps).