Dillon pockets $5,000 for Carolina Clash Super Late Model Series ‘Tennessee vs. Carolina Brawl’ victory at Volunteer Speedway
Dillon pockets $5,000 for Carolina Clash Super Late Model Series ‘Tennessee vs. Carolina Brawl’ victory at Volunteer Speedway
BULLS GAP, Tenn. (June 25, 2011) — Austin Dillon of Lewisville, N.C., grandson of legendary NASCAR team owner Richard Childress, currently sits fourth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series point standings and knows the joy of winning on the national racing scene as he has two truck victories to date in his career. But the 21-year-old Dillon is a dirt racer at heart, and Saturday night following the conclusion of the inaugural Carolina Clash Super Late Model Series “Tennessee vs. Carolina Brawl” he sat parked in victory lane at Volunteer Speedway to the cheers of big crowd in attendance.
Dillon earned the pole position for the $5,000-to-win event by touring the high banks at 12.413-seconds (116.140 mph), with Chris Ferguson second-quickest at 12.513.
Dillon powered into the lead over Ferguson, Mark Douglas, Ricky Weeks and Jeff Smith on the opening lap. The event’s first caution appeared on lap 3 when Travis Greer, Doug Sanders, Jay Sessoms and Chad Paxton tangled between turns one and two.
Dillon was all alone out front for the Delaware Double-File Restart, with Ferguson and Douglas side-by-side behind him. Up on the wheel and digging hard, Ferguson got around Dillon for the lead on fourth circuit only to slow on lap 5 with a flat rear tire to bring out the caution.
Back under green Dillon had Smith and Douglas in tow, while back through the top 10 cars in running order action was two- and three-wide around the 4/10-mile oval involving Weeks, Ross Bailes, Luke Roffers, Tim Allen, Johnny Pursley, Dennis Franklin and Vic Hill. With the leader working traffic at rear of the field on lap 16, Dillon tangled with a lapped car and Smith momentarily made pass for the lead. However, before a new green-flag lap was scored the caution waved when Weeks slowed high in turn four with a flat tire, thus putting Dillon back on the point.
With Dillon leading Smith and Douglas, making a bonsai charge back up through the field was Ferguson, who moved into eighth place on lap 21. But just two circuits later, Ferguson slowed with a flat right rear tire and also third-running Douglas pulled into the pits ending his night prematurely.
With a tacky, hooked-up track and intense racing among competitors’ for track position, sheet-metal was swapped and it became a scenario of who would survive? Second-running Smith dropped out on lap 30, and caution waved on lap 37 when Franklin slowed with a flat tire which also saw Ferguson pull into the infield pits calling it a night.
While Dillon, driving the Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats/Utili-Serve/Klotz Synthetic Lubricants & Racing Fuel/Jack Link’s Beef Jerky/Allstar Performance/Integra Racing Shocks/Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines/Warrior Race Cars/TeamDillonRacing.com/No. 3 Chevrolet Impala was in command out front, just behind him Scott Autry, Hill, Allen and Pursley were battling for position. A strong run for Autry ended on lap 48, and then a tough break for Allen when he slowed with a flat tire on lap 53, thus setting up a seven-lap sprint to the checkers.
Hill, a five-time Volunteer Speedway Super Late Model champion, had closed to the rear bumper of Dillon prior to the event’s final caution and going back green he had visions of overtaking Dillon for the lead. But Dillon shot out ahead of Hill on the restart when Hill’s car failed to come up to speed, with Hill being passed for second place by Pursley.
While Dillon roared to the $5,000 victory, Hill got back around Pursley for the runner-up spot with just two laps remaining, with Bailes and Gault rounding out the top-five.
Roffers, Chad Paxton, Franklin, David Taylor and Allen completed the top 10 finishers.
It was a battle up front among former track champions in the Fastrak Racing Series-sanctioned Pro (Crate) Late Model feature. Jerry Broyles of Jonesborough (2009 champion) had finished second to Dale Ball (2008 and 2010 champion) on three occasions this season, but he made his intentions known with the waving of the green flag on the 25-lap event that he planned to improve his finishing position by one spot.
Broyles grabbed the lead over Ball and Mike Smith to start the race. Just six circuits in the red flag waved when James Cole slammed hard into the outside concrete wall on the backstretch, with the incident also collecting Mack McCarter, Keith Helton, Hugh Scalf and Tyler Dixon.
Back under green Broyles, Ball and Mike Smith began to distance themselves from their closest challengers. With just under 10 laps remaining, Ball was riding on Broyles’ rear bumper. As the lead duo approached a couple of lapped cars, Broyles maneuvered his way past them with ease while Ball momentarily got held up. That was all Broyles needed as he recorded the flag-to-flag run to his first feature win of the season, followed by Ball, Smith, Forrest Trent and Todd Brooks.
Sue Curl of Erwin wrote her name in the record book as she became the first female to ever win a feature event at Volunteer Speedway. Curl jumped into the lead at drop of the green and withstood pressure throughout the 20-lap “Gunslingers of Kingsport” Hobby Stock race from former track champions R.J. Mayes and Dustin Shaver.
Mayes stuck the nose of his car underneath Curl on several occasions racing off the corners, and even beat on her rear bumper a time or two. But Curl was on a mission – she wanted to park her Chevrolet Camaro in the checkered victory lane. On the white flag lap, Mayes fell off the pace with mechanical issues and Curl cruised to her first-ever feature win. Chasing Curl to the checkers were Shaver, Mike Mays, Blake Kelley and Dennis Metcalf.
Bulls Gap’s Jesse Wilder rode the cushion around the high line between turns three and four to overtake Brian Ellis for the lead and, once out front he never looked back en route to capturing his second consecutive Road Warrior feature win. Finishing behind Wilder were Kyle Hunter, Ellis and Billy Bernard.
CAROLINA CLASH SUPER LATE MODEL SERIES – $5,000-TO-WIN – “TENNESSEE VS. CAROLINA BRAWL”
Showing Finish Position, Starting Position In Parentheses, Driver Name, Car Number, Hometown
1. (1) Austin Dillon #3-Lewisville, NC
2. (11) Vic Hill #1-Morristown, TN
3. (9) Johnny Pursley #09-Clover, SC
4. (5) Ross Bailes #B4-Clover, SC
5. (13) Mike Gault #17g-Gaffney, SC
6. (7) Luke Roffers #21-Concord, NC
7. (21) Chad Paxton #16-Troutman, NC
8. (10) Dennis Franklin #2-Gaffney, SC
9. (20) David Taylor #14-Fayetteville, NC
10. (8) Tim Allen #17a-Kannapolis, NC
11. (3) Ricky Weeks #1w-Rutherfordton, NC
12. (14) Craig Shuffield #360-Fayetteville, NC
13. (12) Scott Autry #A1-Fayetteville, NC
14. (19) Robbie Bailey #72-Mooresville, NC
15. (15) Dustin Mitchell #D8-Pine Level, NC
16. (2) Chris Ferguson #22-Mount Holly, NC
17. (18) Jay Sessoms #84-Stanley, NC
18. (6) Jeff Smith #18-Dallas, NC
19. (17) Doug Sanders #42-Springwood, NC
20. (4) Mark Douglas #52-Knoxville, TN
21. (22) Travis Greer #11g-Marion, VA
22. (23) Travis Yow #98-Fayetteville, NC
23. (16) Jeff Maupin #25-Greeneville, TN
Did Not Start: Kennie Compton Jr. #10-Bland, VA – Benji Cole #121-Canon, GA
PRO (CRATE) LATE MODEL (25 laps)
1) Jerry Broyles #72; 2) Dale Ball #2; 3) Mike Smith #4; 4) Forrest Trent #4Q; 5) Todd Brooks #T1; 6) Ricky Moore #75; 7) John Broce Jr. #44; 8 ) Greg Clark #84; 9) Brian Cox # 75c; 10) Hugh Scalf #56; 11) Brian Westmoreland #54; 12) Rick Shelton #22; 13) James Cole #5c; 14) Keith Helton #5; 15) Mack McCarter #71; 16) Tyler Dixon #00
”GUNSLINGERS OF KINGSPORT” HOBBY STOCK (20 laps)
1) Sue Curl #5; 2) Dustin Shaver #7; 3) Mike Mays #30; 4) Blake Kelley #K5; 5) Dennis Metcalf #55; 6) Jamie Whitt #1; 7) R.J. Mayes #6m; 8 ) Chris Gregg #73; 9) Mike Kilian #94; 10) Danny Helton #88; 11) Dale Reed #52; 12) Chuck Johnson #17; 13) Shannon Davidson #4; 14) Josh Adkins #M20
ROAD WARRIOR (10 laps)
1) Jesse Wilder #79; 2) Kyle Hunter #711; 3) Brian Ellis #48; 4) Billy Bernard #10 – Did Not Start: Robert Barndt #14; Chris Naillon #54
