Mullen crowned king at The ‘Burg

BY JOE ORSINI

FOR STAR-NEWS SPORTS

LUXEMBURG – Two dozen WABAM Dirt Kings Tour late models returned to Luxemburg for the first time since 2018, with each driver hoping to be crowned “King of the Village.”

Nick Anvelink, the reigning king from that 2018 visit, liked his chances to retain the crown with his 15 machine on the outside front row to start.

Pole sitter, Mike Mullen, had other plans as he launched his 99 iron chariot to the immediate lead.

These two battled for the crown the entire 30 lap event with Mullen holding off a last lap charge from Anvelink while working three wide with lap traffic to claim his first career Dirt Kings Tour victory in Luxemburg.

Daniel Wilcox took advantage of pole position to grab the lead on the opening lap of the Village Kitchen IMCA Modified feature event.

Wilcox’s time at the front was limited as Todd Dart wasted no time darting around Wilcox and into the top position.

A lap later, Jeremy Jacobs snuck by for second and Benji LaCrosse stole third, shuffling Wilcox back to fourth.

LaCrosse was not content running third and put pressure on Jacobs for the runner up spot.

Once LaCrosse secured second he began to reel in the leader.

When caution flew with 11 laps remaining, Dart was still atop the leaderboard, LaCrosse second, Jacobs third, Russ Reinwald fourth and Kyle Kudick fifth.

The restart saw Jacobs run low while LaCrosse was rim riding around the top as the pair battled for second.

The duo never lost sight of Dart and once LaCrosse cleared Jacobs, it turned into a battle for first.

Dar noticed the nose of LaCrosse’s 54 car peaking on the outside and altered his line to run higher, trying to break the momentum of the second place car.

LaCrosse saw the opening and dove to the bottom before pulling even with Dart and looked to hug the infield tires on his way to the lead when his left front clipped one of the barriers coming out of turn four.

That contact broke the left front suspension and sent car 54 into spin that drew the caution with five laps remaining.

The action heated up on the restart as Reinwald and Kudick fought for third.

When the checkers flew, it was Dart sealing the deal with the win. Jacobs was second and Reinwald locked up third.

The Quietwoods RV IMCA Stock Car feature race had action galore from the drop of the green until the flying of the checkers.

Jamison MacDonald started things off by grabbing the lead on the opening lap but the real action was the three-wide battle for second.

Dave Bouche hugged the inside, Tyler Wilson tickled the topside and Aaron Karcz was the meat in the stock car sandwich working through the middle.

Wilson eventually found the momentum on top to grab second and set about running down MacDonald at the front, proving his K9 ride grips equally well on the bottom as he ran the low line to slide past MacDonald into the lead.

With laps winding down Karcz, Dylan Stedjee and Cody Patten put on an exhibition in close-quarters racing as the trio battled for fourth.

When the dust settled, it was Wilson picking up his second win of the season, Bouche had a strong second place run and MacDonald held on for a solid third place finish.

The IMCA Northern Sport Mod A-feature saw Cole Slezewski lead the opening laps until Jeff Vlies showed his nose on the inside and muscled past into the top spot.

Slezewski, in an effort to recapture the lead, pushed his 36C machine too hard coming out of turn four and lost the handle on his racer.

Caution slowed the field with 5 laps complete.

On the restart, Vlies led Cody Rass, Randy LeMieux Jr., Coy Vlies and Andy Klosterman back to racing speeds.

With laps clicking off, Rass threw caution to the wind and put his 14 car to the topside in an effort to move around Pepe, all while Coy Vlies lurked in the wings, running the low side right behind his father in the top spot.

That trio continued to battle for the lead until a yellow flag bunched the field once more with five laps to go.

The restart still had Pepe Vlies out front, Coy Vlies second, Rass third, LeMieux fourth and Klosterman fifth.

That’s how they would finish after closing out the final five laps.

 Vlies scored his first win of the season but the third for the Vlies family as Coy had already claimed two on the year.

The NEW Tech Metals Unified Dirt Street Stock A-main event kicked off with pole sitter Michael Czarapata grabbing the opening-lap lead while Ford Malvitz worked the inside line to second.

Czarapata paced the opening 3 laps before losing the handle coming out of turn four, bringing out the yellow flag.

The restart moved Malvitz to the lead with Jake Binash, Jared Spaulding, Garrett Geyer and Jason Geyer  right behind.

Spaulding wasted no time and moved to the lead by lap five while Travis Zirbel moved into third.

As laps wound down, Garrett Geyer, Zirbel, and Malvitz went three wide out of turn four in a heated brawl for second place.

Spaulding hung on for the win, Zirbel snatched second and Garrett Geyer finished third.

Brandon Kaye shot from the second row to lead the opening lap of the Murder Hornet A-main event.

It wasn’t long before the No. 7 car of Scott Schlafke worked around Kaye into the top spot.

Schlafke’s efforts to run away and hide were for naught as Nathan Lisowe raced past into the lead in turn three.

Lisowe led the rest of the way, capturing the win and earning a trip to the Quietwood RV Victory Lane. Trever Cronick ended up second and Schlafke had to settle for third.