By Victoria Beaver

Kevin Thomas Jr. had to wait until the final night of the Oval Nationals at Perris (CA) Speedway on Saturday, but he finally got his win. The Nationals kicked off with practice Wednesday night, and based on his speed in those sessions, everyone believed Thomas to make a move and win during a preliminary night.

Thomas started Saturday’s feature in fourth and worked himself up to the second position after seven circuits around the track. It would take him another 10 laps to chase down Thursday night's winner, Chase Stockon.

“This is the top of the line right here,” Thomas said. “This is everything you could ever want. You run all year to get your team ready and prepped, wanting to tweak on your cars and try to get faster each and every week, then cap it all off with an ‘Oval Nationals’ win. That’s what our goals are. It’s remarkable what our team’s been able to do. I’m speechless. I don’t even know what to do.”

Stockon passed Justin Grant on the first lap to take the lead en route to what would have been his second win of the weekend. While Stockon and the majority of the field relied on the high line to come in, Thomas found speed a little lower and used superior grip to catch up to Stockon.

“It was definitely something I was thinking about earlier when I watched the B-mains,” Thomas said about his chosen path. “I watched RJ Johnson roll through the middle and turn some pretty good lap times. The Yamaha (Dirt Prototype) cars went out there with their skinny tires, and I knew that would create a little more moisture in the middle of the track. I thought I could use it to my advantage until it wore out. 

"When I got the lead, I was using it. I was almost worried that I just didn’t know when it was going to go away. I felt myself slowing up just a little bit, then I got slid, then I had to start racing a little bit harder.”

When Thomas passed Stockon on lap 18 — just three laps after the first caution — Grant followed through the door he created to reclaim second place.

Thomas and Grant were in a class of their own for the majority of the race, pulling away from the field by nearly a straightaway. The last caution came on lap 31 to bunch the drivers back together as Max Adams found himself in the backstretch wall.

Entering the final night of USAC competition, Grant had to beat points leader Chris Windom by four positions to tie the points lead — five to claim it. Grant was able to hold on to second at the end of the race, but Windom crossed the line just two positions behind him in fourth and captured the USAC points title.

Chad Boespflug completed the podium after starting in 13th.

The USAC points battle was tightly contested between Windom, Grant, and Thomas all season long. Windom thought he was out of the running in September when a bad race at Kokomo pushed him 93 points behind Grant.

“Two months ago, when we got knocked out of the race at Kokomo, I thought our season was over,” Windom said. “This means everything. Derek (Claxton), Billy (Grace), and I fought hard all year long for this. With Margo and Kenny Baldwin, we almost did this back in 2011. They’ve done so much for my career. I can’t be any happier doing it for them.”

In the final nine laps Thomas had his hands full in fighting off Grant, who was desperate for the win to try to claim the points battle.

“You see the white flag and you’re leading the ‘Oval Nationals,’ you think, ‘Don’t screw up,’" Thomas said. “Don’t get white flag fever. I usually never even think about it. On this night, I did. I’m just glad that it all worked out. There’s a lot of great teams out here. To be able to top all of them is pretty special.”

Top 10 Finishers 
1. Kevin Thomas Jr.
2. Justin Grant
3. Chad Boespflug
4. Chris Windom
5. Robert Ballou
6. Brody Roa (Friday’s winner)
7. Chase Stockon (Thursday’s winner)
8. Damion Gardner
9. Tyler Courtney
10. Logan Williams