Marlar wins Rocky Top Rumble at 'The Gap'

BULLS GAP — Mike Marlar has cut back on his racing schedule, but he added a huge win in the "Rocky Top Rumble" and its $12,000 winner's purse. The 48-year-old Scott County, Tenn., driver behind the wheel of the No. 157 outdueled the top stars of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series to win Friday's 40-lap feature at Volunteer Speedway. Marlar, the 2018 World of Outlaws LM Champion, was on the front row after an illegal start by defending Lucas Oil Series champion Ricky Thornton Jr. Then, Marlar and Chris Madden swapped the lead multiple times over the first few laps before the 157 pulled ahead. Once in the lead at the 4/10-mile clay oval, Marlar stayed out front the rest of the way. Marlar, nicknamed the "Winfield Warrior," said getting the lead early was key with Thornton and other fast cars behind him. "I knew I had to get by Chris and get out front of Ricky," Marlar said. "I really pushed the issue trying to pass him. Once I got by him, I knew it was a matter of fending the rest of them off." Thornton, the Arizona driver in the No. 20, felt he had the best car. But, it was hard to pass as the track was fast and top-groove dominant. Also, he had his own challenger for second with defending World of Outlaws champion Bobby Pierce closing fast. "They ruled against the initial start and I don't know why," Thornton said. "I actually felt like I started better there than my heat race. When you get up top and get racing in the rubber, that's sort of the nature of it. They've worked hard on the track, now it's too fast where other times it's more slow." There wasn't anything slow about Illinois racer Pierce in the No. 32 Late Model. He charged from seventh to third and had his sights set on Thornton for the runner-up spot. Pierce had struggled in previous visits to Volunteer's high-banked track. This time, he was able to pass Madden, who finished fourth, and fifth-place Dale McDowell, a frequent winner of big races at Bulls Gap. "It was great to come here and have a run like that," Pierce said. "I said earlier if I had a top-five I'd be happy. I'm still getting the hang of this race track as there's nowhere similar to this. But, the car was really fast." North Carolina racers Daulton Wilson and Chris Ferguson finished sixth and seventh, followed by Iowa driver Ryan Gustin. Nick Hoffman and Zack Mitchell, a former Outlaws winner at Bulls Gap, rounded out the top 10. Four-time national champion Jimmy Owens from Newport crashed and flipped on the second lap of the feature. Kyle Strickler also had a hard crash and flip in his heat race. Both drivers walked away without serious injury. SPORTSMAN LATE MODEL Heath Alvey led flag-to-flag in the 20-lap Sportsman Late Model race, but the action got quite heated behind him. The Dandridge driver in the No. 7 fended off challenges from Josh Henry and Cody Courtney to grab the victory. Courtney and Henry clashed in a battle for second with Henry's car making a hard impact with the big truck tire at the end of the turn 1 wall. It severely bent the right side of the car, as Henry made a gesture to Courtney to show his displeasure. Laps earlier, Johnson City driver Tim Maupin and Rogersville racer Jesse Helton wrecked on the track and then had a confrontation in the pits. "I didn't know what was going on behind me, just glad to be out of it," Alvey said. "Josh and I had a good race going. Next thing I knew, they were telling us to slow down for the fights. I was hoping it'd stay green." It still worked out for Alvey with a good-handling race car without a mark on it or him. Courtney finished second, ahead of Jared Delk, Kyle Courtney and Warren McMahan.