Smoky Mountain Speedway (Maryville, TN) – Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series – Mountain Moonshine Classic – June 17th-18th, 2022. (Heath Lawson photo)
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6/25/2022

6/25/2022

Mike Marlar


Marlar sweeps Firecracker prelims, finishes third in finale

Mike Marlar raced to back-to-back Firecracker 100 prelim wins on Thursday and Friday in his Delk Equipment Sales / Tri-Rivers Enterprises No. 157 Can-Am Auto Salvage / Longhorn Chassis / Cornett Racing Engine Super Late Model. (Heath Lawson photo)

Each victory paid $6,000, and he added a third-place finish in Saturday night’s $50,000-to-win finale.

“Even though we came up short in our bid for the win on Saturday night it was still a great weekend for our team. We were fast off the trailer both Thursday and Friday and got the wins. On Saturday we finished second in the heat race and that put us starting seventh, which was a little further back than I would’ve liked to have been in a field this tough. I rallied late to get to third, but that was about all we had. Tim (McCreadie) did a great job getting the win,” Marlar commented. “Thank you to all of our great marketing partners for making it possible for me to get to do what I love to do.”

Mike Marlar returned to the driver's seat of the Delk Equipment Sales No. 157 Late Model on Thursday afternoon for the Firecracker 100 weekend at Lernerville Speedway (Sarver, Pa.).

In a stout field of 54 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) entries, Marlar topped him time trial group in qualifying with a 15.346-second lap before picking up a convincing heat race victory.

Soaring past early pacesetter Ashton Winger on the fourth circuit of the feature, Mike led the remaining distance of the 30-lapper to capture his fifth win of the season and $6,000 prize. He finished ahead of Brandon Overton, Earl Pearson Jr., Brandon Sheppard, and Tyler Erb.

On Friday evening, Mike laid down the second-fastest time in his qualifying group before placing first in his heat. After overtaking Ricky Thornton Jr. for the top spot on lap 14 of the preliminary feature, Marlar fended off a charging Tim McCreadie in the waning laps to register his second-straight victory and sixth of the 2022 campaign.

Rolling off from the front row of his heat race on Saturday evening, Marlar secured his spot into the $50,000-to-win Firecracker 100 with a second-place finish. Starting in seventh, Mike gained momentum late in the 100-lapper to finish third.

He followed Tim McCreadie and Brandon Overton across the line with Brandon Sheppard and Earl Pearson Jr. completing the Top-5 finishers.

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