MESQUITE, Texas — Gary Wright captured his first O’Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National victory of the season in the most dramatic of fashions, charging past an unsuspecting Tony Bruce, Jr., in the final corner during Saturday night’s 35th annual Spring Nationals at Devil’s Bowl Speedway.
Denying Bruce a sweep of the weekend’s action, Wright brought the crowd to its feet with the electrifying victory as he collected his second-career Devil’s Bowl Spring Nationals title and the first since 1995.
“This place has been awful good to us over the years,” Wright said.  “I knew if I could get close enough that I could get him, we were way better in three and four.  That lapped car let us close up and then when he went into three up high, I knew we had him.”
Most of the way, however, it appeared Bruce was going to collect his second victory in as many nights.
Bruce started from the pole and the race went without a yellow flag. Bruce set the pace with Trey Robb giving chase. The 15-year-old Robb grabbed the lead on lap 10 and quickly pulled away on the half-mile oval. However, his engine let go two laps later.
Bruce was back in the lead, but Wright was up to second.
When Bruce went to the top side of turns three and four with the checkered flag awaiting, Wright drove to the low side and powered by to snare his 120th career ASCS National Tour win.
Bruce settled for second, while Jason Sides, Wayne Johnson and Zach Chappell, who started 13th, rounded out the top five.
The finish:
Gary Wright, Tony Bruce, Jr., Jason Sides, Wayne Johnson, Zach Chappell, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Jason Johnson, Kevin Ramey, Travis Rilat, Kenneth Walker, Scott Winters, Nick Smith, Natalie Sather, Don Droud, Jr., Garry Lee Maier, Ryan Roberts, Josh Higday, Don Young, Brandon Erwin, Eric Baldaccini, Brian Brown, Trey Robb, Matt Covington.