Brent Marks Takes Home First Win of Season at Cotton Bowl

Brent Marks competing in the Texas Two-Step at Cotton Bowl Speedway (Photo: Sean Folsom | The Podium Finish)

PAIGE, Texas — The first night of the World of Outlaws Texas Two-Step at Cotton Bowl Speedway took place Friday night.  The race was 30 laps with $12,500 on the line.

Coming off of Turn 4 as the green flag flew, Carson Macedo and Sheldon Haudenschild held the front row.  Going into Turns 1 and 2, Haudenschild would jump out front and take the lead.  But as Macedo exited Turn 2, Logan Schuchart came up on his right side and went high.

The rest of Lap 1 would be a battle between Macedo and Schuchart.  Going into each turn, one would slide job the other and then the other would slide job back.  But, as they entered Turn 1 on the second lap, Macedo would become victorious by going high on Schuchart.

On Lap 6, Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Giovanni Scelzi would get into it for fourth place.  Going into Turn 1, Scelzi went low on Hafertepe Jr. and came back up high, completing his slide job.  But Hafertepe was right there and got really close to Scelzi on his left side.

As Hafertepe drove away from Scelzi, his right rear tire clipped Scelzi, forcing Scelzi into the wall and up on two wheels.  Scelzi let off the gas and dropped back down to the track, unscathed.  A caution would be thrown for Preston Perlmutter spinning out.

Macedo and Haudenschild would fight for first place once again on Lap 7.  Going into Turn 1, Macedo went to the inside and slid right in front of Haudenschild, but Haudenschild would slide back into first right underneath Macedo to maintain the lead.

On Lap 9 though, Haudenschild would lose the lead to Macedo coming off of Turn 2.  Haudenschild had too much power and would lift up his front end, losing momentum and speed.  This would allow Macedo to get by him with ease.

Haudenschild would have another contender for second place as they hit Lap 10: Scelzi.  Coming off of Turn 4, it appeared that Scelzi had Haudenschild, but Haudenschild took the high side and would keep second.

Brent Marks and Carson Macedo battling it out at the Texas Two-Step at Cotton Bowl Speedway (Photo: Sean Folsom | The Podium Finish)

As Lap 17 turned into 18, Brent Marks was coming up fast on Haudenschild.  Him, Marks and Macedo all battled for the lead, with Macedo ending up keeping it.  But as Marks and Haudenschild battled for second, they got caught up in lap traffic, specifically in the form of Perlmutter.  As the two battled it out, Perlmutter got stuck in the middle and Marks’ right rear tire clipped Perlmutter, sending him bouncing up the track and slightly into the wall.

On Lap 19, Marks once again challenged Haudenschild for second.  As they raced side-by-side down the back stretch, Marks would pass Haudenschild on the low side and slide up in front of him, taking over the coveted second place.

As Macedo and him exited Turn 4, Marks started to challenge Maecdo for the lead.  Macedo fought his attempt in Turn 4 off and would do so for Turns 1 and 2, as well.  But on Lap 28, as the boys entered Turn 1, Marks would pull a slide job on Macedo, taking over the first place position as they hit the back chute.  For a minute, it seemed like Macedo would take over first again, but in a drag race Marks would prove to be the winner.

The “Myerstown Missile” would take home his first win of the season and the $12,500 payday.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Marks in Victory Lane. “Hats off to this team. They just have worked their butts off all year so far. We’ve been qualifying a little bit better but haven’t been good in our race trim, and we just made the necessary changes coming into this weekend, and here we are. This is amazing.”