CONTACT AT KOKOMO: Tucker Wins Third Tour Feature of Season 3 After Bergeron Penalty

Tucker pads large points lead, looks to seal second straight title in two weeks’ time

White flag. Big slide job in Turns 1-2 by Alex Bergeron. Kendal Tucker crosses underneath him with the lead as they exit Turn 2. Then, big contact.

Both drivers dove for the inside of Turn 3 at Kokomo Speedway, neither willing to give an inch as they rounded the final corners before the finish line. Some contact was made, then some more, and even more still as they crossed underneath the checkered flag in Wednesday night’s NOS Energy Drink 360 Sprint Car Feature.

The iRacing simulation showed Bergeron as the winner, but DIRTcar eSports officials determined, in post-race review, that Bergeron was at fault in the incident for initiating the contact with Tucker. Therefore, Bergeron was handed a two-spot post-race penalty, and officially scored in third place.

This handed the $250 Feature win over to Tucker and moved original third-place Dylan Houser into second.

The last-lap fireworks succeeded a very entertaining 30 laps around the virtual quarter-mile, filled with several clean slide jobs for the lead as Houser and Bergeron tried to wrestle the lead from polesitter Tucker, who led all but the final lap.

Houser was the first to do so on Lap 25, launching a big slider in Turns 3-4 that Tucker quickly turned underneath to regain the position. Bergeron threw one the very next corner, which Tucker answered immediately, driving right back by him on the inside to take the spot back.

Tucker led the race through the white flag before Bergeron threw the slide job at him again in Turn 1 before the final-corner melee that decided the race, ultimately handing Tucker his second Tour Feature victory of Season 3.

The DIRTcar eSports Tour is back in action next Wednesday night, May 19, for Round #9, featuring the 358 Small-Block Modifieds at USA International Speedway. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene.

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 00-Kendal Tucker [1]; 2. 2-Dylan Houser [10]; 3. 12-Alex Bergeron [2]; 4. 33-Evan Seay [3]; 5. 85-Tyler Schell [4]; 6. 115-Boddie Parker [11]; 7. 48-Dylan Yeager [20]; 8. 1-Jesse Enterkin [8]; 9. 17-Brett Rowles [13]; 10. 331-Dustin Hall [9]; 11. 461-Cole Dewease [15]; 12. 46-Jonathan Nause [18]; 13. 43-Terrell Wheeler [17]; 14. 033-Richard Murtaugh Jr. [5]; 15. 29-Billy Richardson [7]; 16. 14-Brett Wright [19]; 17. 17-Sam Reakes [6]; 18. 5-Jacob Karklin [16]; 19. 13-Matt Remick [21]; 20. 38-Ryan Carlisi [12]; 21. 82-Eric Schroeter [14]