POLSON — Nickelback’s “Rockstar” blared in the Mission Valley Super Oval pits as midnight approached and racers assessed beat-up race cars from a marathon 33rd annual Montana 200 on Saturday night.
Twenty-nine cars started Montana’s premier stock car race, only 11 finished, and just five completed all 200 laps.
Jason Jefferson of Naches, Washington, hoisted the $10,000 check, while Spokane’s Dave Garber finished runner-up, and Danica Dart of Ephrata, Washington, took third.
Kalispell’s Alex Lessor was the top Montana finisher in fourth. He entered the night leading the inaugural Montana Big 5 Super Series points standings.
“Hectic or a crash fest,” Lessor said, describing the race. “It was a wreck fest.”
Lessor, last year’s third-place finisher, was second at the halfway break on Lap 93. His team made no adjustments, only swapping right-side tires.
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Racing for the lead on a restart with under 80 laps to go, Lessor was spun entering turn one. Some 30 laps later, back inside the top five, Lessor returned the favor to Oregon’s Andrew Riehl.
“Later in the race, I repaid him back and I probably shouldn’t have,” Lessor said. “That’s what sent me to the back. It was just out of frustration.”
Lessor was sent to the rear of the field for the incident but recovered for his second straight Montana 200 top-five.
On Friday, Lessor established a Mission Valley Super Oval track record with a qualifying lap of 14.625 seconds.
“Frustrated like normal,” Lessor said. “It just seems like I walk away from these things with great cars and I’ve been irritated so many times.”
North Carolina native and 2022 Hickory Motor Speedway Late Model track champion Landon Huffman, piloting the No. 75 Racing Dynamiks Chevy, finished eighth, one lap down.
He lost power-steering following contact with Dart and drove the final 50-plus laps without that assistance.
“I can’t believe I finished eighth,” Huffman said. “I felt like I was running 28th at the end. It’s definitely an endurance race. I had a lot of fun.
“Just very thankful to come out here and race and experience something new.”
Ronan’s Cory Wolfe, the 1994 Montana 200 winner, finished 10th, 24 laps down.
St. Ignatius’s Jeff Smyth, Missoula’s Jake Booher, Moiese’s Lakota Matt, Ronan’s Blaise Burland, Kalispell’s Jason Robinson, Helena’s Jason Kreth and JD Undem, and Kalispell’s Angi Howell, along with 10 other drivers, DNF’d.
No Montana native has won the Montana 200 since 2003.
Northwest Super Late Model Series points leader Kasey Kleyn crashed out on Lap 121.
2023 Montana 200 winner Shelby Thompson retired on Lap 25 due to overheating.
Unofficial results (seconds behind winner)
No. 93 Dave Garber (1.955)
No. 11d Danica Dart (3.666)
No. 53 Alex Lessor (4.909)
No. 25 Hayden Hoogeveen (15.113)
No. 05 Madex Moran (+1 Lap)
No. 33 Christopher Kalsch (+1 Lap)
No. 75 Landon Huffman (+1 Lap)
No. 5 Jess Havens (+5 Laps)
No. 12 Cory Wolfe (+24 Laps)
No. 3K Ken Bonney (+76 Laps)
Note: Results won’t be official until Tuesday.
Email Daniel Shepard at daniel.shepard@406mtsports.com and find him on Twitter/X @IR_DanielS.
