By Shawn Brouse
MECHANICSBURG -- Thomasville's Greg Hodnett turned in a flawless performance to win the 47th annual National Open for sprint cars at Williams Grove Speedway Saturday night, besting a 60-car field for the most prestigious and lucrative victory of his stellar career, worth $50,000.
Hodnett turned in second-quick time in qualifying, then won his heat to earn the pole for the feature. He never wavered despite consistent and at times heavy pressure from four-time World of Outlaws champion Donny Schatz of Fargo, N.D.
In the end Hodnett was the leader of all 40 laps, but Schatz, a four-time Open winner himself, made repeated bids for the lead after starting the race in fourth. Driving for Tony Stewart, Schatz came to second on the 10th circuit after second-place runner Brian Montieth of Phoenixville blew a tire in the third corner and flipped.
On the restart, Schatz went to work trying to overtake Hodnett and was nearly successful on the 26th tour when he briefly took the lead in the second corner with a move to the inside. But Hodnett, in a quest for his first career National Open, rode the outside cushion back into control in the blink of an eye and led the lap before a caution period regrouped the field.
Throughout his tenure as the leader, Hodnett changed lanes at will around the speedway, keeping Schatz on the defensive, forcing him to guess what route he should take to try and steal the win. The strategy worked for Hodnett, who was just a half-lap away from taking the checkers when another red flag stalled action, this time for a third-turn fracas involving Grove points leader Todd Shaffer, Craig Dollansky and Brooke Tatnell.
Hodnett proved unshakable on the restart and ran the final distance with a comfortable advantage over Schatz while pushing his 2009 record against the Outlaws at the track to 3-0, having also turned them away on May 15 and July 24.
"I hope you enjoyed it," Hodnett said. "It feels really good. This car's been good all year. We had to take advantage of the spots we were given. We're just very happy to be up here. I can't say enough for our crew. We're very fortunate; this is the most prestigious race on the East Coast. We've been trying for a long time and always had so many quirky things happen."
Schatz settled for second, followed by Jason Meyers, Colvis, Calif.; Fred Rahmer, Salfordville; and Danny Lasoski, Dover, Mo.
Pat Cannon set quick time. Heats were taken by Meyers, Lasoski, Paul McMahan and Jac Haudenschild. AJ Michael won the D Main, Rick Lafferty took the C Main and Brian Leppo scored the B.
At the close of the night, Red Lion's Cody Darrah also defeated the Outlaws drivers by scoring a dominating, flag-to-flag $20,000 victory in the postponed Summer National feature, held over from July 25. Darrah picked up the win over Saldana, Lance Dewease, Fayetteville, and Lasoski.
