|
Alex Cummings
ELKIN, N.C. (May 29) - When the dust settled at Friendship Speedway, Ricky Weeks come out on top of the 24 car starting field with a $4,000 payday. The win was Weeks first win of the season in his Randy Clary powered, Rocket Chassis. "I have to thank my sponsors including Starette Trucking and Parton Lumber" said Ricky Weeks in victory lane. The win comes on the verge of Weeks transitioning back to his own team. "It was decided this week that I would go back to running my own cars and my own team" said Weeks after the race. The transition might be just what the doctor ordered as Weeks won his 30th career Carolina Clash race.
Leading the cars to the green was the 1 of Ricky Weeks and outside pole sitter, Chris Meadows in the 33. The 2nd place starting position for Meadows is a career best with the Carolina Clash. The first major caution happened on lap 11 when the 18m of Jeff Smith slammed into the inside wall in turn 2. Smith was unable to continue and parked behind the wall. The 12 of Jordan Bland also spun simultaneously and went to the back of the field. In the next 10 laps, Bland moved up 11 spots utilizing the high side of the super fast, 3/8 mile oval. Also moving to the high side was the 84 of Jay Sessoms on his way to a top 10 finish after starting the race in the 23rd position.
The 22 of Chris Ferguson was fighting hard for the lead with Weeks and was attempting to pass him on the outside when the caution flew for the 44 of Justin Labonte. After a few more single car cautions, the field restarted the race on lap 24 and a massive 6 car pileup would ensue. On the restart, Ferguson and Meadows got together which sent Meadows car hard into the outside wall and the rest of the field had nowhere to go. The 93 of Donald Bradsher rolled after being hit by the 10 of Scott Shirey. Also involved in the wreck was the 23 of Ronnie Hoover who was making his way up through the field before the wreck, the D8 of Dustin Mitchell, and the 27 of Ray Tucker. Only Mitchell and Tucker would return to the race as the other 4 cars had too much damage to continue.
On the restart, Weeks was able to power back out front with Ferguson in close pursuit. The next caution came on lap 37 when the 2 of Dennis Franklin spun in turn 2. The very next lap, Bland spun in turn 2 ending his night after passing 17 cars on the high side of the track after an early race incident. When the green flag flew again, Weeks was able to motor away from the field just enough to take the win. Ferguson finished in a very close second place in his Starette Trucking, Carver and Sons sponsored Rocket Chassis. Third place was the 20 of Dan Breuer in his Leon Wood Contractor, Barry Wright Chassis, who had a great run and ran in the top 5 all night. Fourth was the 21 of Luke Roffers in his Cal-Les-2 Transport sponsored, Rocket Chassis. Rounding out your top five was the 15 of Dean Bowen in his William & Son Farm, Bowen Tire sponsored Rocket Chassis.
Final Rundown
Finish Starting Position
1. Ricky Weeks (1)
2. Chris Ferguson (5)
3. Dan Breuer (6)
4 Luke Roffers (8)
5. Dean Bowen (4)
6. Jay Sessoms (23)
7. Ray Tucker (17)
8. Dennis Franklin (11)
9. Johnny Pursley (7)
10. Timmy Blackwell (14)
11. David Taylor (24)
12. Dustin Mitchell (16)
13. Jordan Bland (10)
14. Craig Shuffield (18)
15. Chris Meadows (2)
16. Donald Bradsher (9)
17. Ronnie Hoover (13)
18 Scott Shirey (15)
19 Chris Blackwell (12)
20. Brain Moody (19)
21. JustinLabonte (21)
22. Jeff Smith (3)
23. Jeff Cooke (22)
24. Chris Cheeks (20)
Fastest Qualifier: Ricky Weeks
R2C Performance Products Heat Race Winners: Dennis Franklin & Chris Blackwell
Heat Race #1 Results: (Top 6 transfer) Dennis Franklin, Ronnie Hoover, Scott Shirey, Ray Tucker, Brian Moody, Justin Labonte, Jim Rasey, David Taylor, Tim Allen, Gary Mabe, Jay Sessoms.
Heat Race #2 Results: (Top 6 transfer) Chris Blackwell, Timmy Blackwell, Dustin Mitchell, Craig Shuffield, Chris Cheek, Jeff Cooke, Bobby Sands, Buddy Isles Jr., Randy Harmon, Jimmy McCormick, DNS Bubba McGee.
Safety Kleen Hard Charger Award - Car #84 Jay Sessoms
Dirttrax Motorsports Hard Luck Award - Car # 33 Chris Meadows
Shafer Enterprises Cool Shirt 5th Place Finisher- Car #15 Dean Bowen
|
