Yellow Pages
ALGER — Travis Rutz gave up the lead briefly Saturday night in the finale of the 360 Nationals at Skagit Speedway.
Once he got it back, he wasn’t about to give it up again.
After relinquishing the lead for the first seven laps of the race to Cory Chamberlain, Rutz reclaimed it and held off all challengers to claim the A Main and $10,000 purse on the final night of the two-day event.
Rutz became a two-time winner of the event. He also won in 2006.
While Rutz held off the field well, attrition also played a role, with mechanical problems and crashes claiming several of the drivers expected to challenge for the lead.
Seth Bergman crashed in the seventh lap while running third; Danielle Huson, running 11th, was forced to the work area, also in the seventh; and Jayme Barnes, this year’s Dirt Cup champion, saw his evening end with a crash in the 12th.
Burlington’s Nick Engberg, who won Friday’s feature race, was forced out in the 17th.
Rutz held off a late charge from Colton Heath about five laps from the finish to seal the victory. Rutz briefly touched a lapped car, but quickly overcame the slowdown.
The race suffered several collisions and mechanical problems, with the track going yellow five times, red four.
Ten of the 22 cars that started the race finished it.
The win is another feather in Rutz’s cap at Skagit, where he has been the youngest competitor to win a main event; the winner of the Kasey Kahne charity race in 2006; and a 15-time winner in points standings races since 2004.
On Friday, he charged from a 12th-place start in the A Main to a third-place finish. He also posted the fastest time in the A Main hot lap session Saturday.
Heath, Mitch Olson, Willie Croft and Steve Kilcup rounded out the top five in the A Main.
Robby Vaughn claimed the B Main, and eventually turned in a sixth-place finish in the A Main. J.J. Dishneau won the C Main.
• Trevor Pyle can be reached at 360-416-2156 or by e-mail at
