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TJR tames MLRA field at I-80 for first win of 2021

Tony Jackson Jr. visited Victory Lane for the first time in 2021 last Tuesday night at Nebraska’s I-80 Speedway. Tony picked up a $5,000 winner’s check after topping the Lucas Oil MLRA feature in his Viper Risk Management No. 56v Willard Quarries / Base Fuels / XR1 Rocket Chassis / Cornett Racing Engines Super Late Model. (Lloyd Collins photo)

“We had a real good balance, and we were just trying to be real patient. I’ve let some races get away just trying too hard at the start, so I was just trying to bide my time and keep a big enough lead at the end,” Jackson said on Tuesday night in Victory Lane at I-80 Speedway. “Any time you race with (Moyer) he kind of gauges your speed, so I knew that he had a pretty good pace going. I hope it was a good race for everybody else, because it was a fun race inside the car."

Lifting the lid on a week-long stretch with the Lucas Oil Midwest Late Model Racing Association (MLRA), Tony Jackson Jr. invaded I-80 Speedway (Greenwood, Neb.) on Tuesday evening for the Tuesday Tickler. In a field of 34 entries, Jackson Jr. laid down the second-fastest time in his qualifying group behind Mason Oberkramer before picking up an eight-lap heat race victory.

Earning the fourth-starting position for the A-Main, Tony powered ahead of race-leader Billy Moyer on lap 15 and led the rest of the way to capture his first win of the season and a $5,000 prize. He topped Chase Junghans, Ashton Winger, Mason Oberkramer, and Billy Moyer at the line to record his eighth-career MLRA triumph.

The following night at Stuart Speedway (Stuart, Iowa), Tony fell one spot short of a transfer position in his heat with a fifth-place finish, which relegated him to the B-Main. Retiring on the sixth lap of the consolation event, Jackson Jr. was granted a provisional for the night’s feature. Coming one spot shy of a Top-10 finish, Tony passed 12 cars in the 40-lapper to place 11th.

For the third stop of the week on Thursday at Davenport Speedway (Davenport, Iowa), Jackson Jr. passed 15 cars in the feature to come home eighth.

Friday and Saturday took the team to 34 Raceway for the 13th annual Slocum weekend. With 41 entries on hand for Friday night’s $5,000-to-win, Prelude to the Slocum program, Tony earned the seventh-starting spot for the feature and went on to record a fourth-place finish behind Brian Shirley, Bobby Pierce, and Billy Moyer.

On Saturday night the Slocum 50 was held as the team set their sights on the $10,555 top prize. For the second-straight night, Tony started seventh on the grid. He mounted a charge to the second position before the racing groove narrowed late in the race as the leaders diced through lap traffic. The Missouri racer crossed the finish line in the second position behind Jason Papich with Garrett Alberson, Billy Moyer, and Chris Simpson rounding out the Top-5 finishers.

“I really wanted to win the Slocum finale after seeing a mechanical failure take the win from us last year while leading,” Jackson Jr. shared. “Traffic got pretty difficult late in the race, and that played a bit of a factor for me, but Jason (Papich) had the car to beat, and we had a second-place car. All-in-all, it was a great week of racing for our team, and a much-needed shot in the arm.

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