The Tuesday night VLR Birthday Bash at Eldora Speedway provided a race full of excitement, drama, and a first time winner. In the thrilling 75-lap A Main, Koulten Herbert snagged his first-ever victory in a VLR race after an eventful final two laps.
Eleventh starting Dylan Wilson took an aggressive approach from the onset of the race, opting not to save his tires and storming to the lead before establishing a nearly 8 second advantage out front. However, as the track conditions evolved, drivers who had saved tires early began to charge to the front.
Caleb Durgan and Ryan Hodge, who had been saving their tires, began their late rallies, making their way through the field. Koulten Herbert, who was running 18th with 25 laps to go, also began his late charge, moving up the ranks.
Wilson went on to lead 36 laps before his tires finally had enough on a restart with 28 laps to go and he quickly began falling through the pack, surrendering the lead to Dylan Houser. Houser then led the next five laps before Devon Morgan took over the top spot and began to slowly pull away.
The most dramatic moment of the race came with just two laps to go. After a caution and a single-file restart on lap 74, Houser attempted an aggressive slide job on Morgan in turn 1. The maneuver resulted in a collision that sent Morgan into the wall, destroying the right front of the #112 machine and putting Morgan out of the race. The VLR Officials penalized Houser for the incident and sent him to the rear of the field. This cleared the path for Herbert, who took the lead and kept it until the checkered flag fell.
Herbert shared his excitement after the race, "We played it out perfect and got it done. Everyone thought we were done, but we're just getting started. The dog is off the chain."
The drama didn't end on the track. Houser's controversial move sparked animated discussions among fans and drivers. Morgan voiced his displeasure immediately after the incident, questioning Houser's intent with viewers of the live broadcast also proclaiming that the move was unnecessary.
Durgan, who finished second, acknowledged the importance of patience in the race. "We stayed patient and it definitely paid off for us. Still, second place is nothing to hang my head about."
Ryan Hodge, who managed to finish third after starting 22nd, attributed his success to a strategic push mid-race. "I had to do something and knew I couldn't stay back there and get lapped, so I pushed mid race to get to the front and passed the pack that was saving tires."
Tire wear played a significant role in the race. Most drivers opted to run the bottom side of the track until late in the race when they migrated against the outside wall after deciding they had conserved their tires enough.
The Birthday Bash is considered a crown jewel at VLR and is one of the biggest races of the year. Founded in 2004, VLR continues to grow and try to provide the top drivers in the iRacing world a professional and fair place to race. This year, the race offered a record $1,000 prize to the winner and $3,000 total purse, marking the most significant payout in the event's history.
A Main Results (with starting position):
- Koulten Herbert (10)
- Caleb Durgan (21)
- Ryan Hodge (22)
- Brady Thompson (12)
- Logan Rumsey (16)
- Colton Zimmer (9)
- Drew Hopkins (8)
- Mike Augustine (7)
- Ben Coutermarsh (23)
- Evan Seay (2)
- Robbie Buchanan Jr (17)
- Kendal Tucker (5)
- Knoxx Lumley (20)
- Tanner Tomasi (4)
- Dylan Wilson (11)
- Dylan Houser (3)
- Jesse Enterkin (24)
- James Braswell Jr (14)
- Devon Morgan (6)
- Blake Matjoulis (1)
- Trey Mills (13)
- Howard Weaver (18)
- Landon Francis (15)
- Matthew Selby (19)