Kyle Strickler set a blistering pace around the 1/4-mile bullring at Tyler County Speedway in Middlebourne, WV, on Friday night to not only cruise to a victory in the Let It Ride 55 but also set the tone as one of the favorites for Saturday’s Mega 100 finale.

Starting on the front row with heated rival David Stremme, Strickler pulled away for a six-second win following a choppy start to the race that featured three restarts in the first 19 laps. After each caution, the Mooresville, NC, driver surged ahead of the 25-car field to maintain his smooth high line around “America’s Baddest Bullring.”

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“I knew when that 35 and 8 were on the front row it was going to be a show but no excitement this time,” said Strickler, whose well-publicized feud with Stremme spilled over into a physical altercation at the UMP Dirt Modifieds All-Star Invitational back in October. “We’ve come to an agreement I think that we’re just going to go out there and race. I hope it’s as good tomorrow and we can pick up that big check.”

Along with earning the coveted “slot machine” trophy, Strickler pocketed $3,055 for his wire-to-wire win and now turns his attention to a possible $15,000 payday in the Mega 100 on Saturday night—when he will once again face off against the best in UMP DirtCar, American Modified Series, and the Renegades of Dirt.

“We work hard on this race cars, a lot of hard work goes into these things,” he said. “It feels awesome to come up here and just put a whipping on them. Our UMP stuff has been so awesome this year. These Longhorn race cars and we get them up there and we bring them back to our shop and spend a lot of time on them. My guys work their butts off and this is what makes it all worthwhile.”

Kyle Strickler cruises to a wire-to-wire victory in the $3,055-to-win Let It Ride 55 at Tyler County Speedway. Next up? A shot at a $15,000 payday in Saturday's Mega 100 @The_Bullring. pic.twitter.com/GlrkyEh6oK

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Strickler had to begin using a low line through lapped traffic with fewer than 20 laps remaining, but he was less concerned with changing his tactics than having to defend against another restart as he made his final circuits around the track.

“I didn’t know they changed the rules,” he said. “Maybe it was an AMS rule about double-file restarts—that’s the only thing that had me nervous there. You want to talk about a race car, that one right there was like driving a Cadillac once I got out in front there and just rolled around for 55 laps.”

After starting in the pole position, Stremme ran in second for most of the night during the Let It Ride 55, including the final 29 laps. Joel Watson finished in third—two seconds behind Stremme—and Jacob Hawkins and Josh Harris rounded out the top five.

Notably absent from the list of finishers was AMS points leader Trent Young, who was slated to start on the outside of row three for the feature but had to pull out before the race start due to car troubles.

We were probably a little too tight, especially in the first 20 or so laps but I got tight behind [Strickler] there and Jeff (Mathews) got me and I had to race him pretty hard,” Stremme said. “Kyle was already out and gone so we just tried to get what could and work for tomorrow. But we’re pretty proud, still ran second. … We all just keep working harder and we’ll go back and work tonight and tomorrow and learn a lot for the big race.”

Let It Ride 55 

TOP 5

Place, Driver, Car #, Prize Money

1. Kyle Strickler, 8k, $3,055

2. David Stremme, 35, $1,255

3. Joel Watson, 92, $955

4. Jacob Hawkins, 13, $755

5. Josh Harris, 22, $555

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