By Ken de la Bastide

(August 26, 2013) -  It took almost all season for Jeff Marcum to get his first feature win with the McGunegill Engine Performance Late Models and it was a memorable one at Anderson Speedway.

Marcum started on the pole position when the fastest four qualifiers were inverted for the feature and he quickly jumped into the lead ahead of Rob Allman and Eddie Van Meter.

Van Meter got inside of Allman on the second circuit entering turn three and closed on the rear bumper of Marcum’s late model.

For the next 32 laps Van Meter tried everything he could to get Marcum out of the preferred racing line on the low groove. Van Meter battled a loose race car coming off the corners as his ride would get slip.

With the front-runners contesting their own battle, Chris Hacker, Allman, Ronnie Phipps, Ronnie Rose and Fred Hopkins battled for third.

Phillips night ended on lap 20 when he slowed on the track. Hacker got around Allman with ten laps remaining, but was unable to close on the two leaders.

For the final few laps Hopkins pressed Rose for the fifth position and on the last circuit spun in turn four.

Marcum won by .348-seconds over Van Meter followed by Hacker, Allman and Rose.

“We’ve been trying to get that monkey off our back,” Marcum said. “I’m glad to get a win here.”

In the first heat race Danny Trent passed Rose on the second lap with an inside move on the front straight after the two raced side by side for several circuits.

Marcum finished third followed by Phipps and Hacker.

There was plenty of passing in the second heat, but Joe Wooding led the entire distance for his first win of the year.

Behind him the driver putting on a show was Hopkins, who started on the tail of the field. He moved around Mark Soots on lap three, Jeff Williams two laps later and Dave Clark on lap seven.

Hopkins passed Rob Noel on the ninth circuit with an outside power move coming off the fourth corner to claim the third spot. He was aided by a restart caused when Clark and Williams got together in turn two.

Wes Russell Jr. finished second followed by Hopkins, Noel and Soots.