ALGER - Travis Rilat knew it was only a matter of time until he could make a pass on Toni Lutar.
Through the first nine laps of the 30-lap A-Main feature Lutar did everything possible to keep Rilat behind him.
Even when Rilat finally passed Lutar on lap nine, he was forced to file behind Lutar's 4X car after a yellow flag went up before all the 410 sprint cars could finish their lap.
"I didn't care which lap I passed him," Rilat said. "I knew I had to pass him at some point."
Sure enough, on the lap nine restart, Rilat went high on Turn 3 as Lutar went low, and Rilat made the move into first place.
"This dirt is real silty, and it makes things very hard to see," said Rilat, who won a qualifying race in 2006's Dirt Cup. "These guys did a hell of a job to get this car ready. I knew (Lutar) likes to run a low line, so I just wanted to keep up on top. My guys just told me to stay up top, so that's what I did."
Rilat avoided a yellow caution on lap 17, an open red caution on lap 21 that swallowed up six cars, and he ran away from the rest of the A-Main field to easily win Friday night's feature race during day two of the 41st Annual Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup June 15, at Skagit Speedway.
Although Rilat, who calls Forney, Texas, home, won the A-Main, he knows the win means nothing if he doesn't perform Saturday night when the $25,000 purse will be awarded to the A-Main winner.
"I'll tell you what, this win doesn't mean nothing," said Rilat moments after he won the feature race. "Tomorrow is what matters, and baby needs a new pair of shoes."
Shane Stewart, who started the A-Main in 15th, maneuvered though the field up to second place. Mitch Olson took third, Peter Murphy placed fourth after winning the 30-lap feature Thursday night and Tim Kaeding rounded out the top five with a fifth-place finish.
Sam Hafertepe was one of several big movers Friday. He ran in the B-Main after failing to finish his qualifying heat, placed second, and then finished eighth in the A-Main.
The most important move, however, went to Tim Kaeding, who finished third in the B-Main and transferred to the A-Main where he finished in fifth place.
His movement bumped him into first place in the overall standings with 1,103 points. Hafertepe rests at second in the point standings with 1,088 points, Jason Solwold is in third with 1,077 points, Jonathan Allard sits fourth with 1,065 points and Murphy rounds out the top five with 1,064 points.
Each driver will be in prime position to contend for the A-Main win Saturday night.
Trevor Turnbull started on the pole in the 15-lap B-Main. He relinquished his first place position just once after Hafertepe, who made repairs in time to get back into the feature after failing to finish his qualifying heat, passed Turnbull on a lap 2 restart.
But Turnbull quickly regained his lead and controlled his first-place position the rest of the 13 laps, including a green-white-checkered restart, to win the B-Main feature. Hafertepe settled for second, Kaeding placed third, Marc Duperron placed fourth, Eric Fisher took fifth, Trey Starks took sixth, and Scott Parker held off hard-charging Kevin Smith and Dean Brindle to claim the final transfer spot to the A-Main.
Western Washington student Jonathan Jorgenson's day two of Dirt Cup action ended in heartbreak, after his 8X car locked up with Josh Edson's car right before a lap 14 restart. Jorgenson wasn't able to make repairs in time and his night ended.
Mike Melwicks led the majority of the 10-lap C-Main, but his 44 car lost power on the final lap and Daniel Anderson took advantage to claim first place in the C-Main feature. Making matters worse for Melwicks, he was forced to take a scratch, which allowed fifth-place finisher Kelleigh Johnson to grab the final transfer spot to the B-Main.
The final day of the 41st Annual Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup begins at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 16, at Skagit Speedway. Gates open at 5 p.m.
Reach Andrew Lang at andrew.lang@bellinghamherald.com or call 360-756-2862.
41ST ANNUAL JIM RAPER MEMORIAL DIRT CUP
Friday's results
At Skagit Speedway
A-Main results: 1. Travis Rilat (39C), 2. Shane Stewart (57S), 3. Mitch Olson (98M), 4. Peter Murphy (11M), 5. Tim Kaeding (83K), 6. Jason Solwold (7K), 7. Jesse Whitney (88W), 8. Sam Hafertepe (26), 9. Jayme Barnes (7N), 10. Jonathan Allard (0), 11. Willie Croft (29C), 12. Toni Lutar (4X), 13. Trey Starks (55), 14. Roger Crockett (77), 15. Marc Duperron (11D), 16. Eric Fisher (59), 17. Trevor Turnbull (38), 18. Craig Stidham (3), 19. Chad Hillier (24C), 20. Scott Parker (12), 21. Barry Martinez (66), 22. Jac Haudenschild (18)
B-Main results: 1. Trevor Turnbull (38), 2. Sam Hafertepe (26), 3.Tim Kaeding (83K), 4. Marc Duperron (11D), 5. Eric Fisher (59), 6. Trey Starks (55), 7. Scott Parker (12), 8. Kevin Smith (7), 9. Dean Brindle (22), 10. Jeff Westergard (9), 11. Clayton Sibley (8S), 12. Shane Valiant (8), 13. Daniel Anderson (44), 14. Luke Didiuk (90A), 15. Kelleigh Johnson (14), 16. Jonathan Jorgeson (8X), 17. Henry Vandam (33V), 18. Josh Edson (83)
C-Main results: 1. Daniel Anderson (44), 2. Mike Melwicks (88M), 3. Clayton Sibley (85), Jeff Westergard (9), Kelleigh Johnson (14)
Heat 1 winner: Chad Hillier (24C). Heat 2 winner: Roger Crockett (77). Heat 3 winner: Mitch Olson (98M). Heat 4 winner: Toni Lutar (4X). Heat 5 winner: Jesse Whitney (88W). Top qualifier: Shane Stewart (57S) 99.394 mph.
Points: 1. Tim Kaeding 1,103, 2. Sam Hafertepe 1,088, 3. Jason Solwold 1,077, 4. Jonathan Allard 1,065, 5. Peter Murphy 1,064, 6. Shane Stewart 1,051, 7. Mitch Olson 1,049, 8. Roger Crockett 1,046, 9. Travis Rilat 1,031, 10. Jayme Barnes 1,025, 11. Jesse Whitney 1,021, 12. Eric Fisher 1,013, 13. Willie Croft 1,011, 14. Toni Lutar 1,006, 15. Chad Hillier 1,001, 16. Marc Duperron 997, 17. Craig Stidham 991, 18. Trey Starks 972, 19. Jac Haudenschild 958, 20. Barry Martinez 944, 21. Trevor Turnbull 935, 22. Henry Vandam 928, 23. Scott Parker 913, 24. Dean Brindle 912, 25. Shane Valiant 884, 26. Kevin Smith 879, 27. Jonathan Jorgenson 876, 28. Jeff Westergard (861), 29. Josh Edson (860), 30. Daniel Anderson 850, 31. Clayton Sibley 849, 32. Mike Melwicks 827, 33. Kelleigh Johnson 820, 34. Bud Ashe 636, 35. Luke Didiuk 428, 36. Alan Munn 209, 37. Brock Lemley 178
Reach ANDREW LANG atandrew.lang@bellinghamherald.com or call ext. 862.
