By Ken de la Bastide

(August 26, 2013) - Kevin Donahue made the trip from Missouri worthwhile as he passed John Robbins with 24 laps remaining to win the Grant Fritz/Greg Dietzen Memorial race for the Legends division.

Donahue was the first different winner of the event in the past six years at Anderson Speedway.

The classic first started in 1996 and has become a stable on the speedway’s annual schedule attracting some of the best competitors from around the nation.

Donahue was able to get inside of Robbins on lap 51 following a restart when Robbins car was unable to maintain the preferred low groove.

Robbins was able to keep pressure on Donahue, closing to his rear bumper with 15 laps remaining. At the finish Donahue won by less than a car length.

“I tried to keep my cool,” Donahue said in the Thompson Nationwide
Insurance winner’s circle. “I just tried to stay calm and focus on
racing.”

Ross Rollings finish third followed by Eric Black and Cody Anderson. Robbins took advantage of a mechanical problem for early leader Aaron Holden on lap 29 to take the lead coming off the fourth corner.

For several laps there were sparks visible under Holden’s car and when his car drifted high in the corner that allowed Robbins and Kevin Donahue to slip pass. Holden spun in turn two when the car lost a muffler and was unable to continue.

With Robbins in the lead Donahue and Ross Rollings swapped the second  position several times. Rollings moved into the second spot on lap 43 and closed to the rear bumper of Robbins when the second caution flag waved when Mark Dietzen lost an engine.

Robbins set fast time during qualifications with a lap of 14.083 seconds followed closely by Rollings at 14.1-seconds, Holden at 14.12-seconds and Donahue with a time of 14.13-seconds.

Defending champion David Moyes III, who would have been looking for a sixth consecutive win, crashed Friday night at a race at the Nashville (TN) track and didn’t make the trip to Anderson.