Armstrong Finds Redemption In 25th Glen Niebel Classic
Dakoda Armstrong (second from left) and his crew in Anderson Speedway victory lane. (Jack Kessler photo)
ANDERSON, Ind. – Dakoda Armstrong got a measure of redemption Thursday night in the rain-delayed season opener for the 500 Sprint Car Tour.
After running second for the first 40 laps of the 25th Glen Niebel Classic, Armstrong passed early leader Jackson Macenko on the 41st trip around the historic quarter-mile bullring.
From there, he never trailed the rest of the way in the 100-lapper en route to a comfortable 4.779-second victory over Macenko in his familiar No. 1 Armstrong Farms sprinter.
It came a year after Armstrong crossed the finish line first in the Niebel, but later failed post-race inspection, handing the trophy to eventual series champion Kody Swanson.
He nearly won the iconic Little 500 at Anderson later in 2024, only to be denied by cousin Caleb Armstrong via a last-lap pass. That made Thursday night’s win sweet, and then some.
“You win these pavement [sprint car] races at the shop,” said Armstrong. “The car was good. Honestly, the conditions tonight were extreme. I can’t believe that car actually won. At the end, we were plowing so tight that the car was actually wheel-hopping like I was at an indoor race. I thought it was going to go in the wall, to be frank.
“I’m guessing everyone was fighting a bit of the same thing. I don’t know if it was the cold weather or the temperature with the tires, but it laid some serious rubber down for us,” he added. “I felt like I was limping it the last 40 laps … Just glad to be back here. This one means a lot.”
Behind Armstrong and Macenko, Florida teenager Colton Bettis finished third, followed by Tyler Roahrig and Kyle O’Gara.
Swanson was a quiet sixth ahead of Bobby Santos III, rookie Matt Dimit, Brian Vaughn, and Derek Bischak.
Bettis set the fast time of 11.327 seconds in qualifications over a 21-car field. Prior to that, Scott Hampton had a vicious crash in practice and was unable to continue in the night’s program.
Dameron Taylor took the lead at halfway of the 30-lap USSA Kenyon Midget Series undercard and went on to win over Clayton Bohanon, Ryan Shikuski, Isaac Johnson, and Evan Patton.
The Kenyon Midget race marked the seventh running of the Dick Jordan Classic for the series.
The finish:
1. 1-Dakoda Armstrong, 2. 24-Jackson Macenko, 3. 26-Colton Bettis, 4. 56-Tyler Roahrig, 5. 67-Kyle O’Gara, 6. 33-Kody Swanson, 7. 98-Bobby Santos III, 8. 7-Matt Dimit, 9. 71-Brian Vaughn, 10. U2-Derek Bischak, 11. 18-Landon Butler, 12. 53-Justin Harper, 13. 87-Brady Allum, 14. 14-Davey Hamilton Jr., 15. 55-Taylor Ferns, 16. 74-Tony Main, 17. 4-Donnie Adams Jr., 18. 40-Nathan Byrd, 19. 64-Rylan Gray, 20. 88-Chase Locke, 21. 96-Scott Hampton (DNS).
