Robbe Ewing of Stockton, Mo., was third in the season-opening Out-Pace USRA B-Mod feature at Lucas Oil Speedway. The B-Mods are the headliner on Saturday, with a 25-lap, $750-to-win feature.

With a new race car performing flawlessly, Robbe Ewing started a new season at Lucas Oil Speedway with the best finish of his career at that the track. He hopes to build off that third-place run when action resumes on Saturday night.

"We've had a handful of top-five finishes over there the last couple of years, but we've never run top-three before," Ewing said of his opening-night finish in the Out-Pace USRA B-Mod portion of the Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series.

"It's pretty exciting, this early in the year, to run that well. I feel that we kind of struggle out the gates, traditionally. It usually takes us a month or so to get going."

Ewing, Lucas Oil Speedway's Spotlight Driver of the Week, and the Out-Pace USRA B-Mods will be the featured division on Saturday with a special 25-lap, $750-to-win main event. The Warsaw Auto Marine & RV ULMA Late Models, USRA Modifieds and O'Reilly Auto Parts Street Stocks also are on the program.

Fans can save big on $uper $aver $pecial Night Presented by OnMedia/DISH/DirecTV. Spectators arriving before 5:30 p.m. will receive four admissions, four hot dogs and four 20-ounce Coca-Cola products for $30. Gates open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:05.

Ewing, 26, served early notice that he will be a contender this season in the deep and talented B-Mod division. He's proving a quick fit with a new car that replaced the nine-year-old one he drove to a ninth-place finish in track points in 2018.

"We have a new 2019 Rage that we got through Prime Racing with Dustin Boney," Ewing said. "I've been very happy with it so far. I hope it stays as good as it's been. We've caught some good luck and got off to a good start, which is what it takes."

The former high school and college baseball standout from Stockton said he got a favorable heat-race draw that led to a second-place finish in the qualifier on opening night. That earned him a front-row starting position in the feature.

While no match for main event winner and reigning track champion J.C. Morton, Ewing was putting pressure on runner-up Cole Campbell on the white flag lap.

"I don't think we had anything for J.C., but I would like to think if we would have had one more lap, we could have got into second," Ewing said. "Hopefully, as the year goes on, we can get up there and maybe contend for a win at some point."

Ewing said racing for wins and high finishes are his priority this season, more so than points racing though he plans to compete at Lucas Oil Speedway on a regular basis.

"I'd really like to win one at Lucas, but if we can run in the top five or even top 10 and contend every week, I'll be pleased," he said.

The quality of the B-Mod division, with the likes of past Summit USRA Weekly Racing National Champions like Morton, Kris Jackson and Andy Bryant fuels Ewing's competitive juices from his days as an all-state athlete at Stockton High School. He went on from there to play baseball at Neosho County Community College in Kansas—not far from Humboldt Speedway—and Missouri Southern State University in Joplin.

Ewing started racing B-Mods a few years ago when it was considered by many an entry-level class.

"It was competitive, but it was still an entry-level class and man, it has evolved the last five years," he said. "It's crazy. The competition level, top to bottom, makes it one of the toughest classes around.

"When you go to Lucas and run against guys like J.C. and Kris, Taylor Moore... I could rattle off ten guys that are there every week that have a legitimate chance to win. Any time you run with guys like that, it's a blast. And any time you beat them, it's even better."

Ewing said he's contend to continue racing B-Mods for the foreseeable future.

"It's what we started in and it's what we know and what we can afford," he said. "I think if you're going to race, do what you can afford and have fun. That's where we are and we enjoy it."

Ewing said his dad, Brian, continues to be a mainstay in his success in prepping the car during the week and on race nights.

"Dad is right in the middle of it," Robbe Ewing said. "He does it all and I can't thank him enough for what he does. He puts in a lot of time on the car."

Ewing's sponsors include Gordon Julian Trucking, Billy Deckman with Prime Racing, Dirt Track Specialists, The Hail Team, Johnson Paint & Body, Julian Concrete Construction, Eagle Machine, Loehr Construction, Harryman Harvesting, Spurgeon Yachts, Ewing Ready Mix, Laub Bros. Dump Trucking, Tommy's Construction, Kustom Auto and Whistance Farms.

Admission prices:
$uper $aver $pecial (before 5:30 p.m.) - $30 for four admissions, four hot dogs and four 20-ounce Coca-Cola products
Regular admission:
Adults (16 and over) - $12
Seniors (62 and over)/Military - $9
Youth (ages 6-15) - $5
Kids (5 and under) - FREE
Family pass - $30
Pit pass - $30

Fans through the gates will receive a free 2019 schedule magnet, courtesy of City Magnet, while supplies last.