MILSTADT, Ill. — Brent Anderson led off the 2008 O’Reilly POWRi National Midget  Series presented by Lucas Oil season with a victory in Saturday’s opener at Macon (Ill.) Speedway.
Anderson bested 21 others on the quarter-mile track for his first victory in the series, including Gary “Bubba” Altig, whom he passed on a restart on lap 18. The pair shared the front row and Altig surged into the lead on the start, running the high and middle grooves early.
Anderson made the winning move on the inside and never looked back, beating Altig across the line by about four car-lengths for his first-career triumph.
Rounding out the top five were Davey Ray, Brent Beauchamp and Danny Stratton, all of whom are former midget driving champions in other Midwest-based series.
In Saturday’s O’Reilly POWRi Micro-Sprint race at Macon, Eric Edwards topped a 22-car field for his first-career series victory.
The finish:
Brent Anderson, Gary “Bubba” Altig, Davey Ray, Brent Beauchamp, Danny Stratton, Zach Daum, Jerry Coons, Jr., Rich Camfield, Derrick Myers, Donnie Lehmann, Brad Loyet, Tony Roney, Daniel Robinson, Mike Riley, Hud Cone, Nick Knepper, Tyler Robbins, Justin Allgaier, Mike Hess, Robert Ballou, Tim Siner, David Camfield, Jr.