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By NSSN

SALEM, Ind. – Ken Schrader held onto the lead during several late-race restarts and pulled away from the rest of the field to win Sunday’s Federated Auto Parts 200 at Salem Speedway.

Schrader, 59, won for the first time at Salem since 1999, picking up his 18th all-time ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards victory. He led the final 138 laps.

“Just winning anywhere feels good,” Schrader said. “It had been so long since we’ve been able to win here. We’ve had a good car here several times, but for whatever reason we didn’t win it.”

Driving the No. 22 Cunningham Motorsports Ford, Kyle Weatherman charged in front of Dominic Ursetta on the final lap to finish second. Fifteen-year-old J.J. Haley was fourth in the Braun Auto Chevrolet and Austin Wayne Self finished fifth in the AM Technical Solutions Ford.

The first of six cautions came out on lap five, scrambling the field.

“That early wreck put us off the whole race,” Weatherman said. “I had to fight back from bad track position. It was hard to pass. I never give up and always race to the end.”

Ursetta’s Venturini Motorsports teammate, Brandon Jones, finished sixth, with three-time Salem Speedway winner Tom Hessert bringing the Barbera’s Autoland Ford home seventh. Clayton Weatherman placed eighth in his first ARCA race in the United Nissan-St. Charles Glass Ford while SCOTT Rookie Challenge leader David Levine was ninth in the Gary Yeomans-Ford Perforance-TraqGear Ford. James Swanson scored his first career top 10 in the Kan Do Dodge. Swanson was the final car on the lead lap.

Haley gave Schrader a battle for the lead with 50 laps to go, before getting passed.

“We had to start 26th, so it was a challenge,” Haley said. “I could have ended my day really early. I was up to seventh by lap eight, so that was really good. On my second pit stop, I went from ninth to second, so I have to thank my pit crew for that track position. We could have contended for the win, it’s just some things didn’t play into our favor.”

Josh Williams, who entered the race second in driver points, finished 19th after leaving the race for handling issues at lap 111.

The win for Schrader saw the end of Grant Enfinger’s three-race winning streak. It was the second consecutive season that Enfinger started the year with three straight wins – the first ARCA Racing Series driver to do so.

Enfinger was battling Schrader for the lead with 26 laps to go when he made it up to second place. But, he said, he drove the car a little too hard and ending up breaking a rear track bar mount. He finished 13th, eight laps down.

“We didn’t have that great of car to be racing with Kenny at the end,” Enfinger said. “We were giving it all we had there at the end. I’m trying not to get too down on it. We’ve still had a great start to the year.

“I have to say congratulations to Kenny,” he said. “It’s always great racing with him.”

In addition to Schrader, Enfinger led 23 laps and Hessert 39.

Schrader’s last ARCA win came at DuQuoin in 2013, when he was 58, giving him the distinction of being the oldest winner in series history. Schrader, who turns 60 on May 29, surpasses his own mark now as the oldest winner in series history.

FIN STR NO DRIVER/HOMETOWN TEAM & CAR LAPS STATUS
1 6 52 Ken Schrader/Fenton MO Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet 200 Running
2 9 22 Kyle Weatherman/Wentzville MO Cunningham Motorsports Ford 200 Running
3 8 55 Dominic Ursetta/Arvada CO Renton Coil Springs-Arvada Excavating-PDS Toyota 200 Running
4 26 74 J.J. Haley/Winamac IN Braun Auto Chevrolet 200 Running
5 1 98 Austin Wayne Self/Austin TX AM Technical Solutions Ford 200 Running
6 7 25 Brandon Jones/Atlanta GA Ansell-Menards Toyota 200 Running
7 3 77 Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ Barbera’s Autoland Ford 200 Running
8 20 10 Clayton Weatherman/Wentzville MO United Nissan-St. Charles Glass Ford 200 Running
9 25 59 David Levine/Highland Park IL Gary Yeomans-Ford Perf. Parts-TraqGear Ford 200 Running
10 15 06 James Swanson/Clarksboro NJ Kan Do Dodge 200 Running
11 24 58 Michael Lira/Port Orange FL TraqGear-Ford Perf. Parts-Gary Yeoman Ford 196 Running
12 12 2 Sarah Cornett-Ching/Summerland BC Race 101 Chevrolet 196 Running
13 2 23 Grant Enfinger/Fairhope AL GMS Racing Chevrolet 192 Running
14 22 34 Darrell Basham/Henryville IN Darrell Basham Racing Chevrolet 191 Running
15 5 9 Thomas Praytor/Mobile AL DK-LOK Ford 183 Running
16 17 40 Brandon McKenzie/Asheboro NC Carter 2 Motorsports Dodge 182 Running
17 13 48 Brad Smith/Shelby Township MI Radon.com Ford 180 Running
18 19 97 Bobby Hamilton Jr./Greenbrier TN Carter 2 Motorsports Dodge 140 Drive Shaft
19 18 6 Josh Williams/Port Charlotte FL Southwest Florida Cable Construction Ford 111 Handling
20 10 69 Will Kimmel/Sellersburg IN Eddie Gilstrap Motors Ford 65 Electrical
21 23 42 Bo LeMastus/Louisville KY Crosley Brands-T&T Constr-Glad Precision Dodge 63 Accident
22 14 0 Con Nicolopoulos/Columbus MI Wayne Peterson Racing Ford 49 Transmssn
23 11 3 Josh White/Charleston WV Hixson Construction Chevrolet 6 Electrical
24 4 15 Frank Kimmel II/Jeffersonville IN Venturini Motorsports Toyota 5 Handling
25 16 68 Mark Meunier/Louisville KY Kimmel Racing Ford 1 Rear End
26 21 00 Wayne Peterson/Pulaski  TN Wayne Peterson Racing Ford 0 Handling
Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell:  None, rained out
Margin of Victory:  0.830 seconds Cautions:  6 for 43 laps
Time of Race:  1:29:23 Average Speed:  74.509 mph
Lap Leaders:  Enfinger 1-23 (23); Hessert 24-62 (39); Schrader 63-200 (138)