By NICK SCHWIEN

nschwien@dailynews.net

WaKEENEY -- Sometimes you miss the set-up badly, making for a long night for any racer.

But when you hit the set-up perfectly, it can make for a happy night.

That's exactly what Jason Martin experienced Sunday night during the main event for the United Rebel Sprint Series 305 sprint cars at WaKeeney Speedway.

Martin picked off driver after driver to reach the front, then distanced himself quickly to grab the victory and the $1,000 payout.

"I told my dad I couldn't have asked for a better car," Martin said. "It was one of the easiest cars to drive on rubber that I've ever had."

Martin started outside the fifth row after winning his heat race earlier in the day -- which was rescheduled from a two-day show planned last weekend before cold, wet weather forced track officials to reschedule into a one-day show Sunday.

Sunday's temperatures were mild, and, paired with a gusty wind out of the south, dried the dirt oval on a day that also featured hobby stocks, stocks, sport mods and modifieds.

By the time the sprint car A-main hit the track, rubber was adundant.

"The first five laps, I cruised around a bit because I wasn't for sure how wide the rubber was,"  Martin said. "Once I got going, it was good."

Bill Hays and Ken Lutters -- who won the trophy dash -- started on the front row, and both took their turn holding the lead.

When the first caution flew, Hays was in front, followed closely by Lutters and Smokey Fairbank. Martin had moved up to sixth.

He didn't settle there, though. Martin quickly bolted around the three drivers in front of him after the restart and was leading when Lutters broke a right-rear wheel -- brining out the second caution.

Hays and Fairbank were settled into the second and third spots, with Hays sticking low to hold the competitors at bay.

"I was staying on the bottom and not moving," Hays said. "That was my job."

On the restart, Martin bolted back out to a comfortable lead, leaving the battle for second hotly contested.

Three more cautions would bunch the field back up again, but each time Martin would move out to a comfortable lead -- and keep him from having to battle through heavy lap traffic.

"In one way, I was hoping it would hurry up and everyone would quit crashing," Martin said. "But I guess it worked to my benefit because I never really had to drive that much in lap traffic."

While Martin made it clear he was determined to win, Hays was doing his best to hold off Fairbank, Jon Johnson and Taylor Milton -- who moved to fifth before the fifth caution after starting 14th.

But Milton was on a mission, eventually making his was around Johnson, Fairbank, then Hays to take second -- where he would finish after distancing himself from the battle.

"Hays held me off good," Milton said. "I had to take the top side around him for second."

Hays held off Ray Seemann and Fairbank for third.

But Milton would be 15 pounds light at the scale, disqualifying him. That moved Hays up to second, Seemann to third, Fairbank to fourth and Johnson to fifth.

"I knew there was no way I could catch him, even on the restarts," Hays said about Martin. "I was hoping for a top 10, but this is better yet."