4/9/2025
Tri-County Speedway
ACTION PACKED OPENING NIGHT AT TRI-COUNTY SPEEDWAY. SAPS TOUR DID NOT DISAPPOINT!!
Tri-County kicked off its 2025 season on April 5th. The field of 108 cars led to an exciting night of racing.
The first race of the night was the newly formed South Atlantic Pro Series Late Model Division sponsored by the Unified Electrical Services. Evan McKnight, #6, captured the pole. The first caution was on lap 27. Lee Tissot, #27, spun in turn 4. Martin Nesbitt, #12, and Austin Harris, #51, also spun in an effort to avoid Tissot. Tyler Lupton, #71, brought out the second caution with a spin in turn 3. The race ran without further incident. Mason Walters, #61, took home the $3,000 purse as the race winner. He was followed in second by Kaden Honeycutt, #4, and Kyle Campbell, #03, in third.
The Carolina Mini Stocks was the second race of the night. Isaac Harris, #59, was fastest in qualifying. His lap of 17.640, 81.632 mph was only good until the pill draw. The top 5 were inverted. This allowed Dennis Trivette, #28, to bring the field to green. Terry Torrence, #50, brought out the race’s only caution with a spin in turn 2 on lap 5. Harris managed to overcome the invert and won the race. He was followed by Allison Houston, #29, in second. Jamison Whittington, #61, rounded out the top 3.
The Renegade Division was race 3 of the night. Jackson Sparks, #7, captured the pole with a speed of 19.006, 75.765 mph. The top 6 were inverted which allowed Shawn Thompson, #1.5, to take the green first. Thompson stopped on lap 19 in turns 1&2 to bring out the only caution. Gary Ledbetter would not be denied on this night and claimed the checkered flag. Mike Shelton, #24, was second. He was followed by Sparks in third.
Race 4 was the Limited Late Model Division. Don Carlton, #14, was on the pole with a lap time of 15.552, 92.592 mph. The top 5 invert allowed Chase Pollard, #98, to start in the P1 position. Four yellows were thrown during the race. Graham Hildebran, #10, spun in turn 3 on lap 1 to bring out yellow #1. Terri Crider, #27, spun in turn 3 on lap 14. Caution 3 resulted in massive damage to Chase Pollard’s car as he broke a wheel coming out of turn 4. The race was red flagged while fluids were cleaned up. The final caution also resulted in heavy damage and a red flag on lap 27. Dalton Ledbetter, #32, and Coleman Chapman, #33, tangled on the front stretch. Hudson Sharp, #15, and Owen Wilson, #42, were caught up in the fray with Wilson suffering major damage. Carlton appeared to have won the race but failed postrace inspection. This handed the win to Casey Pierce, #18. Austin Harris, #59, was second and Vincent Arthur, #9, was third.
Race 5 was the Front Wheel Drive Division. Brandon Collins was fastest with a speed of 18.597, 77.431 mph. However, the invert relegated him to starting 6th. Lap 5 saw the first caution. Dalton Ward, #15, who started first, hit the turn 4 inside wall. The last caution was on lap 8 when Jackie Stone, #17, slowed to a stop on the track. Collins overcame the invert and won the race. Skylar Brown, #2, was runner up and Jeff Linkous, #54, finished third.
The Street Stock Division rolled off for the 6th race of the night. Mike Hatton won the pole earlier with a lap time of 17.110, 84.161 mph. The prerace invert put James Powell, #27, on the inside front row to start the race. Lap 17 saw Josh Sams, #51, slow to a stop on the track. Lap 19 saw the cars of Thomas Lee, #54, Dustin Atkins, #33, and Marvin Miller, #54, all come together in turn 4 which brought out yellow #2. Lap 29 was the next occasion for the yellow when Hatton and Jay Hensen, #19J, had an incident. Gary Ledbetter, #8, claimed the checkered flag. Sams was second and Davey Smart, #14, rounded out the top 3.
The Late Model Division was race 7 of the night. Landon Huffman, #75, ran a lap time of 15.179, 94.867mph. An invert of the top 5 placed Dillon Houser on the point for the start of the race. Jeff Sparks, #7, cut a tire down going into turn one to bring out the first caution. Annabeth Crum, #12, had a hard crash on the backstretch for the second caution. Houser and Sparks made contact to bring out caution #3 on lap 44. Riley Gentry, #09, spun in turn 2 to bring out yellow #4. Dillon Houser and Austin McDaniel had a lengthy side by side battle for the lead. Austin McDaniel got high coming out of turn 4 on the white flag lap. This allowed Huffman to finally complete the pass and claim the win. DJ Canipe finished third.
The 8th and final race of the night was the Crown Vic Division. Kyle Dubeau, #12, was fastest in qualifying with a lap time of 20.589, 69.940 mph. Michael Waldrop, #222, was awarded the pole, via an invert. The race ran caution free. Dubeau claimed the win and Jacob Hickman, #22 finished second. Rick Kelley, #55, was third.
Tri-County started off the 2025 racing season with a full house! Many racing fans enjoyed seeing the variety of the different divisions of the night. Also many fans enjoyed the wonderful track food provided by Tri-County. The weather also cooperated. Saturday night was perfect for racing! Tri-County will be opened next Saturday night, April 12th, with another great show for all the racing fans! Hope to see you there!
Article Credit: Debbie Setzer
Submitted By: Rhonda Higgins
