Coons Pounds Toledo Pavement

by NSSN Staff

TOLEDO, Ohio — Jerry Coons Jr. took his second Traxxas Silver Crown Series victory of the season and second Toledo Speedway win in three races after taking the lead late and winning Friday night’s Rollie Beale 100.

Bobby East led from the pole position and set a torrid pace. Only one caution slowed the pace, as Taylor Ferns slowed to a stop on lap 24.

East led Bobby Santos and Coons into traffic as the top-three pulled away from the rest of the field. With Santos continually pressuring East for the lead, Coons kept the pair in sight. Santos nudged East from behind on a couple occasions before pulling alongside on lap 67.

Santos again pulled alongside East for the lead in traffic, and as Santos looked for the lead a third time, Coons pinned him behind a lapped car to take the second spot.

It didn’t take long after that for Coons to grab the lead, as he jumped to the outside lane and circled East for the top spot on lap 87. He pulled away to capture the win in the Rotondo Weirich – Joe Gibbs Driven Racing Oil No. 27 Beast/Wallace Toyota.

“I didn’t qualify where I wanted, but we started on the outside and I kept it out there to pick up some spots at the beginning. I knew the top was okay, and my car rolled really nice. I tried Santos a little bit and felt like I lost some grip after that, and they pulled away a little, but my car seemed to level off and their cars were going away. I was able to use traffic to my advantage, and Bobby (East) was obviously getting pretty loose, so I knew if I could beat him to the center of the corner, I could get him,” Coons said of his winning move.

East had his hands full over the final few laps as Santos still worked him over for the runner-up spot, but East held on in the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing – Chevy Performance No. 22 Beast/Kistler.

“I knew I wasn’t good enough to have a comfortable lead, so I was just trying to make up any ground that I could in traffic. At times, I cut through it really well, and other times I got slowed up a little. I felt Santos back there a couple times, but I was just holding on there. Still, we were only fifteen laps short of pulling it off. Another good night with this team,” East said.

Santos joined his teammate Coons on the podium as Santos took home third in the Rotondo Weirich – Curb Records No. 17 Beast/Wallace Toyota.

“Bobby (East) did a good job. I was just too tight to get by him and couldn’t ever find a way by him. I wish there was more traffic to figure something out on him, because I couldn’t roll around the outside. I had the advantage of being behind him, but Jerry was able to figure things out from behind us, and it looked like he had the best car at the end and drove a great race,” Santos said.

Kody Swanson, who won the Rollie Beale 100 in 2011, came home fourth and Tracy Hines rounded out the top five.

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Posted by NSSN Staff on Jun 30 2012 Filed under Latest Headlines, Sprints & Midgets, USAC. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.