Drivers Stake Their Claims During Night Two Of Inaugural Event At Dirt Track At Charlotte
Story By: CHRISTINA CORDOVA / DIRTCAR
Photos By: RACERSGUIDE.COM /CMS PHOTO STAFF
CONCORD, NC – October 22, 2016- Three hundred and twenty cars took to the Dirt Track at Charlotte for time trials and heat races on the second day of the inaugural OneDirt World Short Track Championship. As nine divisions got in on the racing action, all drivers battled to stake their claim in Saturday night’s features. There’s no time for a bad night when a qualifying spot for the main event is at stake.
Hot laps started during a sunny mid-70-degree afternoon with a pleasant fall breeze, making for slightl different track conditions from Thursday night’s opening practice. Headed into the evening’s heat races, the warm weather dropped and the wind picked up, putting a more radical spin on track conditions.
“The track is a little slick and hard tonight,” said Trey Starks, driver of the No. 23s car in the Comp Cams 360 Sprint Car division, “but you can’t really do a ton about it when you have 300-plus cars on the track throughout the night. It’s just a matter of staying on top of it and doing a little bit of track prep here and there, but overall the track has been great.”
VP Racing Fuel Sportsman Modifieds
The VP Racing Fuel Sportsman Modifieds made the long trek down from the Northeast to take to the Concord, North Carolina half-mile. Rocky Warner, fastest in time trials, took the first heat; while Louie Jackson Jr., Ronnie Davis III and Robert Bublak all followed suit. The Sportsman Modifieds will turn 30 circuits around the Dirt Track at Charlotte Saturday for their feature event.
“It’s pretty exciting,” said Ronnie Davis III, driver of the No. 32R Sportsman Modified. “We were guaranteed into the main event through points, but to get a heat win is pretty good, and it gets us on the right path and hopefully get some feature wins.”
Fox Racing Shox Pro Late Models
The first division with a chance at securing a spot in Saturday’s feature events was the Fox Racing Shox Pro Late Models. With six heat races — eight laps each — to charge to the checkered, the top four from each race would move onto Saturday night’s 30-lap feature event.
Matt Long was the first driver to punch his ticket into the OneDirt World Short Track Championship feature event, battling Quick Time holder Kyle Lee for the win.
“Winning the heat tonight is really important,” said Matt Long, driver of the No. 75L in the FOX Racing Shox Crate Late Model division. “I feel way more relaxed. It will be a good night heading into tomorrow,”
In the second heat, Tyler Bare charged past Justin Hudspeth (second in time trials) to establish a strong lead early on and ultimately win. Heat 3 saw Donald Bradsher beat out Brandon Overton (third in time trials). Heat 4 saw Layton Sullivan beat out Ryan Atkins (fourth in Time trials). And finally, in Heats 5 and 6, Corey Gordon and Kenny Peeples Jr, fifth and sixth in time trials, also won their heats — though Peeples had to battle David Smith for it rather fiercely. All six winners are locked into Saturday night’s feature and will enter a re-draw to claim their starting positions.
Comp Cams 360 Sprints
The Comp Cams 360 Sprints took the track next in the evening’s long line of events. Trey Starks in his No. 23s, quickest in time trials, followed it up by taking a win in his heat race, charging past Lance Moss, Scott Hunter, and Brandon Mclain for the lead.
“It’s really cool to get a win at Charlotte,” said Starks. “We were pretty close to one last year with the Outlaws. This place is pretty prestigious and ranks up there with Eldora, Knoxville, and Williams Grove, so it would be cool to close it out and get the first World Short Track Championship victory.”
Nick Snyder and Shawn Murray were the other two heat victors to claim their spots in the Comp Cams 360 feature event. Twenty-five laps will hold the total distance for Saturday’s Comp Cams 360 Sprint Car main event.
Summit Racing Equipment UMP Modifieds
Forty-one UMP Modifieds took to the half-mile clay oval during their four heat races. Kenny Wallace won in thrilling fashion with a late-race pass on time trials leader Taylor Cook to take the checkers in Heat 1.
“I knew the first five laps I was driving the track wrong,” said Kenny Wallace, driver of the No. 36 UMP Modified. “Then I watched a Sprint car in the race before ours, and he went around the high side in turn one. I thought, I’ll try that. It was the place to be.”
Nick Hoffman, David Stremme and Brian Rhulman were the other winners in the Summit Racing Equipment UMP Modified heat races. UMP Modifieds are scheduled to run a 30-lap feature on the the final day of the OneDirt World Short Track Championship.
DRIVEN Racing Oil Crate Sportsman
The DRIVEN Racing Oil Crate Sportsmans ran three heat races with time trials leaders crossing the finish line first on all three counts. Mitchell Duvall, Ricky Green and Damon Crump all stamped their ticket into Saturday night’s 20-lap main event.
Hoosier Racing Tire Pro Modifieds
The Hoosier Racing Tire Pro Modifieds were the sixth division on the track to qualify for their Saturday feature event. Heat 1 saw Mike Fain slip by Tyler Piercey, fastest in time trials. Sladen Parson and Buck Stevens were also winners in their respective heats. The Pro Modifieds will run a 25-lap main event on Saturday.
QuarterMaster Monster Minis
The Monster Minis took to the track with an exciting first heat that went to Brayden Pruitt in the final hour as time trials leader Austin Mintz fell out. Jammie Mattison, Travis Mosley and Travis Sharpe also took home wins in the Monster Mini heat races. The Monster Minis are scheduled for a 20-lap race on Saturday night’s finale.
Chevrolet Performance Pro Sprints
The Chevrolet Performance Pro Sprints were the second-to-last set of qualifying races for the evening. Kevin Atkins took a strong lead from the getgo for the victory, landing a good starting spot for Saturday’s 20-lap feature event.
GottaRace FWD Hornets
The GottaRace FWD Hornets were the last to take the track for their qualifying heat races. Casey Shane won a hard-fought battle with Jonathan Sarratt in Heat 2. Eric Boozel and Shannon Barnhill won the other two heat races. The Hornets will race 15 laps on Saturday at the Dirt Track at Charlotte.
The final day of the OneDirt World Short Track concludes Saturday Night with pit gates opening at 12:00 p.m., spectator gates opening at 3:00 p.m., and racing starting at 4:00 p.m. Tickets for the OneDirt World Short Track Championship are available at the ticket booths at the Dirt Track at Charlotte.
