Blake Hahn uses caution to advantage to win Short Track Nationals.

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Blake Hahn of Sapulpa, Okla., outdueled Greenbrier’s Jordon Mallett to win the 34th annual Comp Cams Short Track Nationals at Little Rock’s I-30 Speedway on Saturday night.

Mallett, who was attempting to become the first Arkansan to win the event since Benton’s Tim Crawley in 1998, appeared to have victory in sight as he diced through traffic on the track’s bottom groove in the closing laps. But his advantage vanished when the race’s first caution flew as Dylan Westbrook of Scotland, Ontario, slowed on the 34th of 41 laps.

“I really didn’t need that caution at all,” Mallett said. “The bottom had been good the whole time, and [the groove] was nice and wide. I was just counting down laps. Just didn’t need that caution.”

“I know Jordon is so good running the bottom that I had to keep working the top and it came in for me,” said Hahn, who also claimed STN victories in 2018 and 2019.

Hahn passed for the lead on lap 36 only to have it waved off for the race’s final caution for a spin by Garet Williamson of Columbia, Mo. On the restart, Mallett moved to the top groove in an effort to slow Hahn’s advances. Hahn edged past on the 37th lap, only to have Mallett race past a lap later. But Hahn drove back into the lead on the next lap and held on for the victory.

“I was kind of a sitting duck out front, not being able to see that top groove coming,” Mallett said. “So I had to move up there and try it. But Blake did a great job. He got his elbows up and got it done. Right now, it’s hard to swallow.”

Benton’s Cody Gardner started on the pole and led the first seven laps. But he jumped the cushion on the exit of turn four and Mallett moved into the lead.

As the leaders raced into lapped traffic, Hahn passed Gardner for second on the 11th lap and moved past Mallett for the lead a lap later. Mallett regained the lead on the 16th lap and paced the field for next 23 laps as Hahn, Westbrook and defending champion Sam Hafertepe Jr. of Sunnyvale, Texas, battled behind him until Westbrook’s flat tire set in motion the events at the end of the race.

Hafertepe passed Mallett on the final lap and finished second. Mallett took third, J.J. Hickle of Quilcene, Wash., was fourth and Marion’s Derek Hagar took fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were Matt Covington of Glenpool, Okla., Gardner, Eric Baldaccini of Keller, Texas, Miles Paulus of Marshall, Mo., and Eric Lutz of Sioux Falls, Okla.