Outside polesitter Wise had the early hand on the field, and he virtually stomped on his fellow competitors in the early going. He dove under Bryan Clauson at the start of the feature, then ran away and hid from the remainder of the field. It was a dominating effort that saw Wise lead by more than seven seconds at one time, challenging the top shelf of the high banks.

But his leads wouldn’t last. A red flag on Lap 7 – which occurred when Shane Cottle and Jay Drake tangled and Drake flipped – stopped the field for nearly 15 minutes as cleanup crews tended to the scene. The biggest hit, however, came as Dickie Gaines hit Drake’s car almost at an angle. Gaines was transported to nearby Mercer County Community Hospital during the stoppage, while Drake held in the ambulance until after the race. Cottle and Brady Short – also involved – were uninjured in the accident.

When racing resumed, Wise continued his surge. Behind him, “Border Wars XII” champion Jerry Coons Jr., Chaney and Bryan Clauson battled for the second, third and fourth positions. Finally, Coons and Chaney pulled away from Clauson, but their fight was far from over.

On Lap 18, Chaney slid underneath Coons in Turn 3, but pushed up, resulting in wheel-to-wheel contact that send Coons up the track and slowed Chaney’s progression.

It wasn’t the last of the contact either, and a lap later the race was altered. Ryan Pace, trying to keep from going a lap down, bounced off the wall directly underneath the flag stand. Wise was unable to keep from running into him, though he admitted after the race his car was undamaged.

That contact resulted in a yellow flag, and moments later the red was reissued for a couple minutes. It was the last stoppage of racing from then until the checkered flag.

While his machine was uninjured, his tires were used, and Wise didn’t get that immediate jump he earned when the green was displayed the previous two times. Instead, Coons and Chaney stuck with him, and Chaney performed a successful slide job on Coons on Lap 20 to gain second.

He sat back then for four laps before making his winning move. Finally, on Lap 24, Chaney executed another slide job in Turn 3, keeping Coons at bay. Once in front, he needed little effort to keep his car in front, although he crossed under the twin checkered flags by more than a second over Wise.

Bud Kaeding quietly moved into third by race’s end, followed by Coons and Jon Stanbrough.

Chaney said he thought his car got better and better as the race wore on, while Wise’s car may have slipped a little toward the end.

“He was so dominant at the beginning, no one was going to be able to catch him without those (reds),” Chaney said. “That’s the way this deal is. Sometimes they (stoppages) help and sometimes they hurt.”

When asked why Chaney has been so dominant as of recently in USAC’s visits to Eldora, Chaney answered lap time and versatility between cars. Chaney often runs winged Sprint cars throughout Ohio and has been equally successful in them at Eldora.

“The biggest advantage I have is that I’ve logged a lot of laps, number one, and two I’ve run a lot with a wing,” said Chaney, the series’ sixth winner in six races this season. “This place is so hard and so intimidating that it’s an advantage for me to race here a lot.”

Wise – who earned the point lead back from teammate Levi Jones – said it was a good run for the team, one he hopes can help continue the team’s momentum.

“We’re still learning these cars, and we learned a lot tonight,” Wise said. “With this run and point battle, I’m really looking forward to the rest of this season.”