ELDON, Mo. — Aaron Berryhill’s tenacity on the low side of Lake Ozark Speedway’s third-mile clay oval paid dividends Saturday night. Berryhill made a white-flag pass of Jason Johnson en route to his first-career O’Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National series victory.
Berryhill and Johnson dueled for the lead over more than half the distance before Berryhill took command on the 29th of 30 laps. Point-leader Gary Wright, who started 17th, took second from Johnson on the final lap.
“Wow, I’m pretty fired up right now!” Berryhill said. “This is my first ASCS win. It’s been a long time coming.”
Johnson led from the start, while Berryhill slowly worked his way forward from seventh on the grid.
“I kept working and working on the bottom and then I caught up to him (Johnson). That’s when I started thinking he was beatable,” Berryhill explained.
Berryhill went on to become the ninth different winner in 11 ASCOT events this season. Wright, Johnson, Zach Chappell and Wayne Johnson rounded out the top five.
The finish:
Aaron Berryhill, Gary Wright, Jason Johnson, Zach Chappell, Wayne Johnson, Jack Dover, Tim Montgomery, Travis Rilat, Garry Lee Maier, Jonathan Cornell, J. Kinder, Austin Alumbaugh, Nick Smith, Bryan Grimes, Josh Fisher, Kenneth Walker, Eric Baldaccini, Brad Greer, Tim Newman, Randy Martin, Curtis Evans, Terry Hinck, Mark Shirshekan, Kathryne Minter, Eric Todd.