Stateline, Idaho – Haeden Plybon found himself back in Victory Lane May 17 at Mode Stadium Stateline Speedway in the “Knottical Marine 150”.
Plybon has had speed, but hadn’t visited Victory Lane in his last seven series starts, which was accompanied by a series of disappointing results outside the series. He ended that streak of misfortunes at his home track.
“It feels great, it’s been a while”, Plybon said afterwards. “We’ve had some rough going this last year, wrecked a couple of race cars, but we’re gonna turn it around and hopefully keep this momentum going, and win some more races this year.”
Plybon set the fastest lap in practice, which served as his qualifying lap, with rain threatening the event later in the day.
With the top eight drawing for position at the front of the field, Dave Garber drew the pole with Jess Havens, Nick Gibson, Phipps, and O’Neil following. Plybon would line up sixth.
On the initial green, Garber would grab the lead, with Havens on his tail. Plybon would work the second groove, dispatching one car after another. On lap five, Plybon would wrestle the lead from Garber, never looking back through multiple caution flags and restarts. The battle for second behind Plybon would keep the crowd entertained, however.
Garber and Havens would exchange the position multiple times, before Havens dropped out on lap 66.
Several of the big movers in the event included 2024 NWSLMS champion Kasey Kleyn and former SLS champion Jason O’Neil. Kleyn would start the event in the 15th position, in his father Mitch’s Pro Late Model. Before 25 laps were complete, Kleyn was up to fourth, where he would ride patiently for the first one-third of the race.
By lap 100, Plybon led Garber, Kleyn, Terry Halverson, and Nick Gibson.
After the Competition Caution on lap 112, Kleyn began to turn up the heat on Garber, getting under the veteran racer on lap 116, completing the pass two laps later. The field would spread out, but the battle for sixth would rage on over the last dozen laps, as Bryce Bezanson and Danica Dart would race side by side, exchanging the position multiple times.
As the checkered flew, Plybon would grab the $5,000 win with Kleyn, Garber, Halverson, and Gibson earning top five results.
After the race, Plybon talked about the strategy that landed the Spokane, WA racer in Winner’s Circle.
“We wanted to control the race because we didn’t know what was going to go on with the weather”, Plybon explained. “So, we wanted to be up there, just in case we had to get up there. The car was really good tonight and I’m glad it ended this way.”
Kleyn charged from 15th to finish second, not even knowing if he was going to race this weekend, as he explained.
“My dad was planning on running with the Pro Late (Model), and I was just coming down to help him and spot for him. I was kind of Crew Chief on the car.”
The car owner asked Kleyn if he was going to race it. “I told him the only way I would race it was if the car finished in the top three in the Pro Lates. I was just saying it, not expecting it to finish in the top three. Low and behold he finished second.”
The NWSLMS will now go on a two-month break before heading to Evergreen Speedway in Monroe for the 13th Annual “Summer Showdown” on July 18th and 19th. The prestigious event will be sanctioned by the series for the first time in history and will pay $30,000 to the winner with $2,200 to start. It will mark the midpoint of the 2025 season series.