{"id":2650,"date":"2022-08-07T04:09:04","date_gmt":"2022-08-07T08:09:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xtremeoutlawseries.com\/?p=2650"},"modified":"2023-08-10T12:05:50","modified_gmt":"2023-08-10T16:05:50","slug":"pickens-pockets-michael-pickens-pulls-off-last-lap-pass-for-xtreme-outlaw-midget-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xtremeoutlawseries.com\/midgets\/pickens-pockets-michael-pickens-pulls-off-last-lap-pass-for-xtreme-outlaw-midget-win\/","title":{"rendered":"PICKENS POCKETS: Michael Pickens Pulls Off Last-Lap Pass for Xtreme Outlaw Midget Win"},"content":{"rendered":"
Michael Pickens had just enough momentum coming off Turn 4 to the checkers for a last-second surge past Jacob Denney, earning his first victory at Federated Auto Parts Raceway in Saturday night\u2019s Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented Toyota main event.<\/p>\n
Denney grabbed the lead on a restart with 12 to go and was holding off the field by circling the very bottom of the track. Pickens gave chase on a restart with three to go, putting his car on top and blasting around the outside on the last lap. In the final corner, it looked as if Denney would have just enough to hang onto the win, but Pickens\u2019 Toyota-powered Dave Mac Dalby Motorsports car carried enough momentum to edge Denney at the finish by just over a tenth of a second.<\/p>\n
Pickens, an accomplished racer from Auckland, New Zealand, became the fifth different winner through the Series\u2019 first five races in its inaugural season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure if he missed his marks or what, but we made a ton of ground coming off Turn 2 and Turn 4,\u201d said Pickens, 39, who pocketed $5,000 for the victory and is now headed back to his native New Zealand. \u201cIt was super tricky trying to hit my marks down there, it was like a long, big run. I had to lay my right rear over it in the black.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got a to say a massive, massive thank you to Dave Mac Dalby Motorsports. They put me in this car just for this weekend. I\u2019ve heard so many cool stories about this place. It\u2019s a privilege to race in America, but especially to race at Pevely and get a win. Sitting on that plane for 15 hours out of Houston is going to be a lot shorter ride than it would have been without a win.\u201d<\/p>\n