Overdrive

July 2017 | Overdrive | 49 Custom Rigs T ennessee-based Mack die- sel technician Mike Mor- gan last month powered his No. 88 Mack truck to his first win in the inaugural Minimizer Bandit Big Rig Series season. While the June 10 race was his first win in the Bandit series, "88 Mike" is no stranger to victory lane, having claimed the championship in the only full season of the ChampTruck series in 2015. In the race at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Easley, South Carolina, the series' fifth race of the season, Morgan started in the middle of the field and had to work his way up, us- ing patience and timely caution flags along the way. A third caution 13 laps into the 25-lap race tightened the field and allowed Morgan to restart on Tommy Boileau's outside. The two ran side-by-side for a lap before Morgan was able to get around Boi- leau on the back stretch with 11 laps to go. He was able to stretch his lead as the laps ticked down and earn the checkered flag. "This was a tough race from the get-go," Morgan said after his win. "We've been chasing victory since we started the Bandit series, but luck hasn't been on our side. Tommy [Boi- leau] was driving the wheels off that truck, but when he opened up a gap, we took it and didn't hand it back." For his win, Morgan earned a $10,000 check. Finishing behind Morgan were Boileau, Ricky "Rude" Proffitt, Allen Boles and Chris Kikel- han. Through five races, Proffitt holds the lead in the overall series points, followed by Morgan and Justin Ball. The Bandit Series returned to ac- tion July 1 at Highland Rim Speed- way in Greenbrier, Tennessee. '88 Mike' Morgan earns first Bandit Series win Mike Morgan, shown with his wife, Wendy, picked up his first Minimizer Bandit Big Rig Series win June 10 at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Easley, South Carolina. BY MATT COLE Great American Chrome_OVD1114_PG.indd 1 10/13/14 2:12 PM Leaha Proffitt

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