ODESSA, MO. ? It was just weeks ago that I-70 Speedway suffered the lost of one of its founding members, Bill Crane. It was this past Friday that his son Kent drove to crowd-standing victory in a NASCAR Shortrack Series Modified that his dad had owned.

Changing his number from 01 to his dad’s old number 48 in his honor, the Independence, Mo., driver and 1998 Modified Champion did his dad proud with the commanding victory, having led all 25 laps.

When asked what the victory meant after the race, the emotional prodigy could barely choke out, “This one is for my dad.” To the grandstand’s delight, Kent took a victory lap, proudly displaying the checkered flag, as a tribute to his father.

Luck of the draw would find John O’Neal, Jr., K.C., Mo., on the pole after top qualifier, Clint Bowyer, Emporia, Kan., randomly picked the inversion for the 40-lap feature. From the get-go the race was all O’Neal’s as he was never challenged, despite two cautions bunching the field together.