Martin tames Rebels at Bullring in La Crosse

LA CROSSE — For Jason Martin, it was all about a good start.

The Liberal driver got a great jump off the start and got through traffic fast en route to his United Rebel Sprint Series win Saturday night at the “Bullring” at Rush County Speedway in La Crosse.

Martin took the lead from pole-sitter Michael Williams on the fifth lap, then held off a hard-charging Brian Herbert to take the win.

“The track was in really great shape,” Martin said. “You could run the top and the bottom. We went into the corner, and everybody was running down low. I slammed on the brakes and turned left. Everyone was sliding up the track, and I went underneath them. Then we had a couple of restarts and was able to picked off one car after another.”

Martin started 10th and made the move to the front quickly. But Brian Herbert, who started eighth, and Ray Seemann, who started ninth, had Martin knowing he would have to make a move early on the quarter-mile track.

“Herby was right in front of us, and Seemann and (Luke) Cranston were up there, too,” he said. “I knew I had to really try to make up a couple spots quickly. That helped quite a bit.”

Martin would lead the rest of the way, but the action was intense behind him. Herbert moved into the top three on lap nine and began pressuring Williams. He was able to make the pass two laps later to move into the runner-up spot.

“Jason was running the high side, and I was running the low side,” Herbert said. “He started in 10th, and I started in eighth. He got a good break at the start. It was a good race.”

Josh Fairbank, who started 17th, worked his way up into the top four on lap 11 and began putting heat on Williams. He got by Williams on lap 17, and the top three would stay that way the rest of the race.

It was Martin's third URSS win this season, while Herbert was runner-up. Fairbank finished third, and Seemann was fourth. Williams rounded out the top five.

“We thought we had this one,” Herbert said. “I guess second is better than third. We're definitely getting there.”

Fairbank won the Keizer Aluminum Racing Wheels Hard Charger Award, going from 17th to third.

Heat race winners were Herbert, Williams, Jared Kern and Barry Crane.

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Feature results

1. Jason Martin, 2. Brian Herbert, 3. Josh Fairbank, 4. Ray Seemann, 5. Michael Williams, 6. Kaden Taylor, 7. Darren Bowman, 8. Luke Cranston, 9. Kirby Hagans, 10. Jeff Radcliffe, 11. Lance Davis, 12. Judd Sheaffer, 13. Reed Bernbeck, 14. Connor Atkinson, 15. Jordan Randles, 16. Mike Woodruff, 17. Barry Crane (DNF), 18. Jared Kern (DNF), 19. Shawn Radcliffe (DNF).

Cash dash

1. Brian Herbert, 2. Michael Williams, 3. Jared Kern, 4. Barry Crane.