Laurens County Speedway: 05-15-21 - JD “Scoot Dog” Wilson car flips in Bradley Young Guns.
Thunder Bomber:
The Thunder rolls Saturday night at the Darlington of Dirt, as the Thunder Bomber division was back in action! The night kicked-off with some incredible heat racing, which would set the field for the main event later in the night. Dan Lawson took heat race number one to score the inside pole, with Daniel Overstreet holding off Scott “Porkchop” Pulley to join him on the outside. As the field went green for the feature, Daniel Overstreet went up the hill causing a three wide battle between himself, Ed Hodges & Pulley. Dan Lawson would snag the early lead, but the caution would fly as Danny Hurley went for a spin in turn three. Back under green, Rod Tucker went after Pulley for third & completed the pass. Tucker quickly attacked Hodges for second trying to find speed on the bottom & took the position two laps later. Further back, Hodges had his hands full once again, but this time with Chris Patterson. The pair would race side by side for multiple laps before Patterson took the spot. The next caution would come out after heavy contact between Overstreet & Justin McJunkin, which saw McJunkin hit the outside wall on the backstretch & eventually stall in turn three. The restart would come with 2 laps remaining, with Lawson looking to hold off Tucker one more time. Lawson would mash the gas & wasted no time putting a gap between himself and the field. Taking the white flag, Tucker would make one last attempt at Lawson & dove through turns one and two, but couldn't get a nose to him. Dan Lawson takes the win with Rod Tucker coming home second. Porkchop Pulley would round out the top-three.
Bradley Lambert Young-Guns:
Young-gunning, the youngsters are back at it again! The Bradley Lambert Young-Guns division has been a huge success at Laurens County Speedway & another wildfeature unfolded Saturday night. This week seven youngsters started the main event including Riley Hill making her season debut. The night started in the heat race as JD “Scoot Dog” Wilson took a couple of spins, once while leader CJ Smith lost a wheel off of turn two. The field would settle down after the caution, with Randy Clark Jr. taking home his first heat race win of the season, launching him to a front row starting spot later in the night. Unfortunately, Smith would not return for the main. Taking the green in the feature, Randy Clark Jr. rockets to a car length lead into turn one before Wilson catches him on exit. The pair would race side-by-side before making contact in turn three. In the middle of the corner Clark would slide up the hill, eventually spinning off the nose of Hill. Clark would do a fantastic job of saving his car from further damage. On the restart Clark takes the lead again, this time hanging on through the first couple of corners. Clark would pull a few car lengths on second place Wilson, but the pair would soon be joined by Hill in third. Coming off of turn four Clark would pound the wall eventually making contact with Wilson's car. Wilson would tumble down the front stretch before coming to a rest just past the start/finish line. Wilson would climb out of the car shortly & was okay. Under the red flag, Clark would be towed off track after suffering damage during the incident. Remaining in the event was Riley Hill, Jayme Woodard & Aedan Campbell. The restart would come with 8 laps to go as Hill took a quick lead with Campbell in tow. Campbell would make contact with Hill in turn two before spinning in the same corner. The caution would fall, re-racking the three once again. Back green, Hill & Campbell would battle for the top spot for multiple laps before Campbell would stretch his legs after the half way point. Laps later Campbell allowed Hill to sneak back into contention. The two would duke it out heading into turn one which led to contact between the two, with Campbell making contact with the outside wall. The caution would fly, but all cars would continue. Hill would lead the field back to green, and this time separate herself. Riley Hill scores her first career win, with Aedan Campbell coming home second. Woodard brings his ride home third.
602 Crate:
Birthday boy, birthday bashes the field as Rod Tucker scores 602 Crate Late Model victory. Tucker, always a heavy hitter in any division, kicked-off the night by scoring the pole in qualifying by running a 15.311. Tucker would beat second place started Clay Thompson by one one-thousandth of a second (15.312). With the field ready to take the green, flag man Chris Rooney tosses the flag to get things going. Tucker gets the early jump and clears for the lead into turn one. The battle for second was a hot one with Thompson working to hold off Chastin Blackwell. Thompson would settle in & separate for a moment, but carried too much speed into turn one leading to slight contact with the outside wall, opening the door for Blackwell once again. Thompson holds the spot once more, but couldn't step away. The two would battle side-by-side for laps on end before Blackwell finally found grip on the low side of turn two to clear Thompson for the position. Up front, Tucker built a straightaway lead on the field & continued to run quicker lap times as the race progressed. Tucker celebrates another year older with another checkered flag. Blackwell finishes runner up, Thompson brings his No.99 machine home third.
Monster Mini, Stock 4:
Can't spell Wilson without a W...I...N... Familiar faces made up the front row for the Monster Mini main event with LCS regulars JR Baker & Phillip Wilson leading the field to green. Taking the lead early, Wilson would rocket to the lead on the original start of the event, and separated himself quickly. Baker went under attack from Jasper Brown for the runner up spot, but soon put a couple car lengths between the two. Deeper in the field, Danny Anthony had a moment when he made heavy contact with the outside wall in turn two leading to a caution for a flat tire. On the restart, Wilson would leave Baker & Brown re-establishing a comfortable lead. Baker & Brown would mix it up for a moment, but had nothing for Wilson. Phillip Wilson scores another victory at the Darlington of Dirt as Baker holds off Brown for second.
Thunder Bomber Futures:
One of the best races week to week has consistently been the Thunder Bomber Futures division. This week the field consisted of 12 cars, with a familiar face up front. Grant Burton scored a win in his heat race to snag the outside pole, looking for his fourth Futures win of the season. With the rag a waving, the field darted into turn one with Brady England taking the lead on the bottom. Burton would quickly get to the bumper of England, making a move for the lead a lap later. Burton goes to the lead with Keith Eaton moving to second. Burton looked to step away, but nearly lost control of his racecar coming off of turn four. Burton found a way to keep his car in what appeared to be straight, but fell to fifth in the running order. Eaton assumes the lead with England and Tyler Smith making up the top three. England continued to tip-toe closer to Eaton for the lead, but Eaton maintained his lead. Eaton looked to have the race in hand, but suffered a flat tire on the final lap and shot up the hill in turn two. England would fly to the lead as Eaton spun into the inside wall. Brady England scores the win, Chris Stuart ends up in second with Grant Burton rebounding to a third place result. These results would change shortly after the race as the No.83 car of England would fail post race protest when his car would not pull vacuum. Chris Stuart is your winner with Burton moving up to second.
Front Wheel Drive:
Paging Cody... Cody Paige takes the victory in the Front Wheel Drive division! Setting the front row for the main event were two heavy hitters in Cody Paige & Joel Cabe. Paige would debut his new ride for 2021 with Cabe trying to score his fifth consecutive victory at Laurens County Speedway. As the field went green, Paige would clear for the lead, but Cabe came to party. Cabe would draw side-by-side with the two making brief contact allowing Paige to hold the top spot. Paige began to separate as Wayne Taylor joined Cabe in a battle for second. Cabe wouldn't let the pressure phase him as he quickly settled back in to firmly secure the second place spot for the remainder of the night. Cody Paige takes the win in his new car, Joel Cabe finishes second with Wayne Taylor having to settle for second. At least for the moment, it looks as if a third contender may have emerged to challenge Cabe & Taylor week to week!
Limited Late Model:
Rounding out the night were the Limited Late Model drivers, with Colt Smith leading the field to green. Smith had a rough go at it last week as his drive-line broke on the pace laps & looked to rebound with a solid run Saturday night. Smith would shoot his way to the lead on the opening lap off of turn two, but saw it stroll away as Frank Coates uses the bottom to jump from third to first in turn four. Coates would put a gap between himself & Smith, with Deano Long sitting in third. Smith and Long would battle hard for the second spot with Deano peaking the nose at Smith frequently. Long was better on entry, Smith was better on exit. In the closing laps Smith began to chip away at Coates' lead, but couldn't consistently keep pace. Long would finally sneak around Smith with four laps remaining to take the second spot. The LCS legend & multi-time track champion Frank Coates scores his first feature win of the 2021 season. Long finishes second, Colt Smith third.
