Kenny Allen Wins Tennessee 150 at Thunder Valley

On a very hot day and a very hot Bristol Motor Speedway, Kenny Allen came out on top at the Tennessee 150. Tuesday's race saw five cautions fly taking up 20 laps of the 150-lap event. In addition, the race saw 16 lead changes among 8 drivers.

The season points race was tight coming into the event with James Lowe holding a 30-point lead over Luke Allen (Kenny's Son) in the year-to-date point standings. Luke, who captured pole position with a blistering 14.247 second qualifying lap time, set the pace early and looked to be control of the race until the caution flags began to fly. Ultimately Luke Allen would lead the most laps of the race (44) with most happening in the first 50 laps of the event. In the end, Luke managed to come home in third place to take the last podium spot. But it was still a good points night for Luke as his rival struggled.

James Lowe had what looked to be a normal, consistent night going for the first half of the race. Lowe ran near the front and even led 8 laps of the event securing his 5 bonus points. But on lap 79, things took a turn for the worse as Lowe was caught up in an accident not of his making. It was one of those "innocent bystander" deals where the Racing Gods intervened and Lowe got the short end of the stick. James Lowe would finish in 12th position on the night.

With the race winding down and attrition mounting, Todd Liston found his way to the front. Liston looked to be in control until 2025 YesterYear Racing League Champion Brian Bianchi "hawked" him down and entered the picture. Bianchi began pressuring Liston and looked to be the faster car. But on lap 126, Bianchi and Liston touched on the front stretch initially sending Bianchi to the inside wall. Bianchi tried correcting, but then shot back up the track and collected Liston in a hard hit going into turn one. The accident ended the night for both drivers.

As the laps wound down, Kenny Allen found his way to the front after the chaos of the Bianchi/Liston incident. Canadian driver Scott Negus, who was Hubble's pre-race pick to win the event, began to close on Kenny Allen quickly. Catching Kenny was one thing, but getting around him was another. The tire wear coupled with the speed of the fastest half-mile oval in the U.S., meant it was going to take an aggressive move to get around Kenny Allen. In the end, Negus settled for 2nd and played it safe as he wasn't willing to risk the aggressive move on his ToyMaker Racing teammate which risked taking them both out.

With the win, Kenny Allen captured his second win of the season in the Series and moved up the third place in the overall standings. Kenny sits 89 points behind James Lowe and 102 points behind his Son, Luke Allen.

The Series moves on to Thompson Speedway on Tuesday, September 1 for the Connecticut 150 which is Round #9 of the 15-race season.