Laurens County Speedway: 05.29.21 - Porkchop butchers the field!
Destination Powersports Thunder Bomber:
Heat racing would kick-off the Memorial Day weekend event, with Chris Patterson & Scott “Porkchop” Pulley scoring wins in their heat race, putting both men on the front row for the feature. Chris Rooney would get the feature events started with the green flag in hand, as Patterson & Pulley dove into turn one. Unfortunately, the field had other plans. Daniel Overstreet went for a spin in turn two in front of the field, collecting the likes of Josh Wilson, James Hudson & defending Thunder Bomber champion Reid Neaderhiser. Wilson would sustain too much front end damage to return, but all others would remain. Finally under green, Pulley would snag the lead on the high-side with a three wide battle for second between Patterson, Billy Rushton & James “Superfly” Hudson. The battle for second would continue to heat up before Dan Lawson would get turned in turn two, stacking up the field once again. Porkchop once again leads the field to green with Superfly hot on his heels. The duo would clear the field, but not before Rushton had issues in turn two, bringing out the yellow for the second time. Ed Hodges would have a flat putting an end to his night quickly. Back green, Pulley would take advantage once more. Hudson would be all over the bumper of Pulley before having some sort of mechanical problem. The caution would fly for the third time as Overstreet stalled on track. At the same time, Wendell Smith went for a solo spin, both would continue on. Smith would remain in the second position considering the official caution was on Overstreet. Back to the restart stripe, Pulley shoots to the lead again, but the caution would come out yet another time. Clark Stephens would make contact with Hudson, leaving Hudson's No.33 into the inside wall. Both cars would pull in for the night. Looking to finally get some green flag racing under their belts, the field would come to life with 10 of their 12 laps remaining. Pulley would put a car length between himself & Smith with Neaderhiser in tow. Neadershier began tracking Smith for the runner up spot before taking a spin in turn four bringing the yellow out once again. On the restart, Pulley earns his biggest lead of the night thus far. Pulley gaps Smith by nearly 3 car lengths with Rushton looking to pounce for second. The field would finally settle in & click away the main event. Porkchop Pulley scores his first win of the 2021 season with Wendell Smith coming home second. Rushton would hold on to third.
Bradley Lambert Young-Guns:
CJ Smith finds his groove & scores dominant Young-Gun victory! Back in action after taking a week off, the Bradley Lambert Young-Guns division featured another great night of racing. Heat races for the youngsters is always interesting, but after the dust settled JD “Scoot Dog” Wilson won the heat race to score the pole in his return to LCS after a nasty barrel roll a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately Wilson would have transmission issues between his heat & main event miring him to the rear of the field for the feature. The front row would now consist of Jayme Woodard & CJ Smith, with Smith taking advantage on the start. Smith would quickly open up a gap on the field with Woodard settling in second. Wilson pulls off the track after more issues with his car as the caution comes out for Aedan Campbell having a flat tire. On the restart, Smith quickly builds a safe lead with Randy Clark Jr. jumping to second over Woodard. Two laps later, Campbell would work his way around Woodard for the third spot. Campbell nearly lost his machine in front of Woodard, but both continued on. Smith still up front faces a major scare as he went around a lapped car that pinched him into the outside wall in turn two. Luckily, Smith would face minimal damage & maintain the lead. Just when Smith thought the main event was coming to an end, Campbell went for a spin bringing out one last caution period. Racing once again, Smith continues his dominant night with another incredible restart. Clark would look to sneak up on Smith late, but couldn't get within a couple car lengths. CJ Smith scores his second career win at the Darlington of Dirt with Clark Jr. finishing second. Campbell got around Woodard late for the third spot.
Monster Mini:
New ride, same guy... Rod Tucker scores 4-cylinder victory Saturday night! Mini monsters equal major madness on Saturday night! The dynamic duo of Rod Tucker & Phillip Wilson earned front row starting spots for the second week in a row, and another classic was ready to unfold. Tucker, who wasn't expected to race this weekend, got back from vacation early & made a deal with Monster Mini regular Scott Nelson to drive his black and orange No.27 machine. Tucker leads the field to green, but not too fast... Aaron Summitt would go for a spill in turn one after contact with TJ Teal in turn two. Jeff Mcguirt would be collected in the may-lay, but continue on. For our second start attempt, Tucker & Wilson would charge into turn one with Tucker taking advantage as both went up the hill. A three wide battle would break out down the backstretch ultimately leading to four wide off of turn four between Phillip Wilson, Dakota Wilson, JR Baker & Summitt. Summitt would get the short end of the stick in turn two as he went around for the second time. Wilson would head to the pits to have his car looked at sending him to the rear of the field. Tucker now leads Baker & Dakota Wilson on the restart. Tucker flies into turn one with ease leaving no question who the man to beat would be. The battle for third was hot between Dakota Wilson & Teal. Teal could get to the bumper to nudge Wilson, but couldn't take the spot. Wilson would win the battle as Teal made contact with the outside wall leading to a wheel flying off his car & down the backstretch. Danny Anthony would also face issues in turn one. The final restart would come with 4 laps to go as Tucker looked to close the deal for Nelson Racing. Under green for the final time, nobody could touch Tucker. Tucker scores the victory with JR Baker beating a hungry Dakota Wilson for second.
Thunder Bomber Futures:
Travis Mabe scores first career victory at Laurens County Speedway! Hard racing started immediately in the Thunder Bomber Futures class with close racing & hard knocks in both heat races. Keith Eaton & Grant Burton would make up the front row, setting up a battle between the only two multi-time winners in 2021. With the rag in the air, the field darts into turn one, but quickly slow back down as Wes Taylor slips in turn one collecting DJ Crawford piloting the No.02 machine owned by Danny Hurley. With no laps in the book the field would get back to double file. Eaton & Burton would draw even through turns one & two before Eaton would take the spot in turn three. Burton would tuck back into line & quickly get back to the bumper of Eaton. Eaton goes high in turn one opening the door for Burton to take the top spot. The caution would fly with Justin McJunkin taking a 360-spin in turn two, placing Eaton back in the lead. Under green again, Burton sits in the back pocket of Eaton, but couldn't pick it. Caston Gibert & Steven Koppatch get together for another yellow, slowing the field again. Green flag back in the air, but the same result would come as two cars spun in turn two. Restarting with 11 to go, Eaton & Burton went to battle again, but went too far. Burton spins off the rear bumper of Eaton causing contact between himself & Ricky Phillips. Both cars were fine, but sent Burton to the rear for the next restart. Eaton leads Phillips to the green, but calamity would ensue. Eaton leads, but Phillips has issues with Taylor in turn two, with others racing troubles in the rear. Crazy enough all cars would remain straight momentarily. Travis Mabe jumps into the picture sitting in second as Tyler Sightler goes for a spin. Lights back out, Eaton leads the field with 9 of 12 laps still to run. Mabe hounds Eaton for the lead forcing him into a mistake & taking the lead before the next caution fell for a stalled car off of turn four. Mabe leads his first lap of the night & claims the lead on the restart. Mabe, Eaton & Burton would be your top-3 with a handful of laps yet to click away. On the jump, Mabe clears the for the lead & puts some distance between himself & Eaton. Eaton had his hands full with Burton challenging him for second, but secured the spot as Burton spun coming off of turn two. Finally passed halfway, Mabe continues to look for his first career win in the Thunder Bomber Futures division. Mabe grows his biggest lead of the night as Eaton struggles to find traction on corner exit. Two laps later Eaton would spin to bring out another yellow. The field would line-up for a green, white, checkered finish with Mabe looking for glory. Ricky Phillips would be a new player in second, but couldn't challenge Mabe. Mabe scores his first career win as team cars of Ricky Phillips & Grant Burton round out the top-three.
Front Wheel Drive:
New scheme, same theme! Joel Cabe takes new look ride to victory lane! The more things change, the more things remain the same in the Front Wheel Drive division. Weekly favorite Joel Cabe would score the inside pole with a win in heat race number one, with Austin Giles joining him on the front row. On the start, Cabe wasted no time to flex his muscle. Cabe quickly poured the coals on the field & built a 10-car-length lead. Cabe debuting his new No.29 ride looked as fast as ever with nearly no competition in the opening laps. Second place driver Wayne Taylor faced issues with a flat tire, bringing out the first yellow for the Front Wheel Drive main event. Cabe leads the field with 5 to go with Trent Blackwell the new face in second place. Blackwell tried to track down Cabe in the second half of the race, but couldn't find the speed. Cabe leads flag-to-flag to score another win on the 2021 season with Blackwell settling for a runner up finish. Jake Barnett would bring home a solid third place finish. Cabe continues his impressive season as we get into the thick of the season. Will be fun to watch if any consistent challengers will emerge to stop him in his new look ride.
602 Crate:
Rushed to victory lane... Billy Rushton scores dominant 602 victory! The 602 Crates were the only division to qualify Saturday night, with Michael Smith scoring the pole by running a 15.527 on his second lap of the session. Billy Rushton would roll off second with a 15.639. The two veterans dove into turn one to kick-off the 16-lap main event with Rushton nabbing the lead after a crossover move in turn two. Smith found speed down low to clear Rushton, but drifted up the track allowing Rushton sneak back by. The first caution would drop on lap two as Tyler Bowie went for a spin after a wacky ride in turn four. The best battle early was Nick Deitz & Colby Cannon dueling it out for fourth. Deitz snags the spot, but would lose control of his car a lap later. The caution would fly with 5 laps complete leaving 11 more to click off. Rushton grows a quick lead with Travis Sharpe sitting in second. Once again, Cannon became the center of attention. Clay Thompson continued to pester Cannon for fourth but couldn't maintain. Cannon would rocket off the high-side on both ends of the track, quickly separating himself. Back up front, Rushton was in his own zip code. The Brad Rachel's prepared No.24 machine leads flag-to-flag to score it's first victory of the 2021 season at Laurens County Speedway.
Limited Late Model:
Longing for victory, Deano Long scores Limited Late Model win! In a wild heat race to kick-off the night, front runners Frank Coates, Deano Long & Colt Smith battled for final starting position, with Coates taking the feature pole. Up front & ferocious, the big hitters of the Limited Late Model division would start the main event under a blanket. Multi-time track champion Frank Coates held the top spot with Deano Long looking to take advantage in the outside line. First year limited driver Colt Smith looked to reclaim his success form the week before as he claimed in his first career Limited Late Model victory. On the start, Coates mashes the gas but gets tangled with Deano Long off of turn two. Long went low then slid up the hill & brushed the nose of Coates car. Colt Smith saw his window of opportunity & got alongside Long for the top spot heading into turn three. Smith couldn't find the speed, Long clears. As soon as it looked like Long would pull away, he makes a mistake in turn two, drawing the Colt-45 machine closer once more. Smith would sit roughly two car lengths behind Long for the following laps, but started to fall back. Long finally gets into a rhythm & sets sail. Just passed the halfway mark the first caution of the event would fly as Mike Kernells had issues with his hood covering his windshield after damage on track. Kernells pulled his car to the body shop to clear his vision & settled back in line. Back green, Long stomps the floor board leaving no prisoners. Long's lead jumps to nearly 2-seconds as the final laps clicked off. Deano Long scores an impressive win with Colt Smith bringing his signature pink & blue ride home in second. Coates holds on to third over Charlie Walker.
