Brian Montieth wins World of Outlaws tune-up at Lincoln

Brian Montieth would say, when within striking distance at Lincoln Speedway, you better attack fast and bold.

“You just have to go,” Montieth, the seven-time track champion, said. “You just can’t screw around with the leader. You have to take that chance. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t.”

Nine circuits into Saturday’s 25-lap World of Outlaws tune-up feature at Lincoln, Montieth hounded leader Alan Krimes. Then, as the two slung into Turn 1 on Lap 10, Montieth dove hard and slid up the track, pulling the classic slide job to move ahead of Krimes and slam the door.

Even though things were dicey in the closing laps, that bold move landed Montieth in Victory Lane for the first time in Central Pennsylvania this season.

Danny Dietrich finished second, 0.635 seconds behind. Krimes, Freddie Rahmer, and Anthony Macri rounded out the top five. The race was completed without a stoppage and moved at a record pace: six minutes, 19 seconds, which is the quickest 25-lap 410 winged sprint car feature ever at Lincoln.

After Montieth snatched the lead from Krimes with 10 to go, he opened up a one-second cushion on Dietrich. But with two laps remaining, things nearly turned disastrous for Montieth when his car snapped coming off Turn 2.

“I don’t know [what happened]. It freed up and it kept coming around and coming around and coming around,” Montieth said. “I thought I was actually going to go in the infield. It straightened back out and I didn’t get hit by nobody so it was good.”

This allowed Dietrich, who struggled to navigate lapped traffic, to close quickly and pull alongside Montieth in the middle of Turns 3 and 4, coming to take the white flag.

“I could see Danny,” Montieth said. “I saw his nose a couple times. … It was mine to lose.”

HIGHLIGHTS: https://www.facebook.com/speedshifttv/videos/1635082856623493/

Fortunately for Montieth, he didn’t lose it. It’s a pivotal win for Montieth and Premier Racing, which hasn’t had the smoothest start to 2019. Going into Saturday, Monteith and crew were dissecting a brake issue that had hampered recent outings. Comfortability hasn’t quite been up to par, either.

“It’s been up and down. We haven’t been the best,” Montieth said. “I haven’t been comfortable and the guys just keep working away, trying to get me comfortable.”

In 13 Central Pa. features, Montieth now has one win, four podiums, and eight finishes in the top 25 percent.

Jimmy Siegel, Cory Haas, Adam Wilt, Ryan Smith, and Chase Dietz rounded out the top 10.

Up next: the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Gettysburg Clash on Wednesday at Lincoln.