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Fourth Race of the Season

Tri-County Speedway was a busy place on Saturday night May 24th! There were quite a few red flags due to accidents and blown engines. But all races ran to completion and it featured some of the best side by side racing for the lead. It wasn’t limited to just one division either. As you can tell by the cover of the program one race was almost impossible to determine a winner.
The Carolina Vintage series was the first on the track. Tom DeMarmels, #0, set the fast time in qualifying with a lap time of 16.578, 86.862 mph. The race ran in its entirety caution free. DeMarmels never relinquished the lead and won the night’s opener. Bob Hapeman, #8, followed in second and Donn Fenn, #72, was third.
The Front Wheels Drive Division was up next. Skylar Brown, #2, was the pole sitter with a time of 19.369, 74.345 mph. The top three were inverted which placed Dalton Willard, #15, on the pole. Once again this event ran caution free. Brown reclaimed the point and took the win. Brown was followed by Dana Maxwell, #1, in second. Willard finished third.
Race 3 was the Outlaw Division. Brandon Lopez, #7L, led all qualifiers with a speed of 15.366, 93.713 mph. Lopez also brought out the first caution when he hit the backstretch wall on lap 3. Robert Thompson, #111, was the guilty party for caution 2 on lap 33. He spun out in turn 4. Thompson was also involved in the final caution of the evening on lap 45. He and Dakota Slagle, #13, hit in turn 4. Veteran Martin Nesbitt, #92, took the checkers. He was followed by Ruben Caceras, #1X, in second. David Messer, #26, followed in third.
Race 4 was the Renegade Division. Klint Townsend won the pole in qualifying earlier in the night. His speed was 18.848, 76.400 mph. However, the top 4 were inverted. This put Gary Aldrich, #34, in the P1 position to start the race. Only one caution waved during this race. It resulted in a red flag. Joshua Gunter, #92, blew an engine on lap 26. Gary Ledbetter, #28, won the race. Townsend was second and Mike Shelton, #24, was third.
Race #5, was the Carolina Mini Stocks. A lap time of 17.660, 81.540 mph was good enough for Allison Houston to win the pole. Houston couldn’t keep up the pace however and finished 4th in the caution free race. Dennis Trivette, #11, took the win. He was followed by Jamison Whittington, #61, in second and Isaac Harris, #59, in third.
The Limited Late Model race was race #6. Zack Franks, #1, qualified on the pole with a speed of 15.937, 90.355 mph. Rich Hudson, #8, spun on the backstretch for yellow #1. Pole sitter Franks had an engine turn loose on lap 41. This brought out a lengthy red flag to clean up the fluids which was spread over the entirety of the track. Once racing resumed, Hudson spun once more on the backstretch. This time it was on lap 45. William Aldred took home the Limited Late Model win. Austin Harris, #59, followed in second and Hudson Sharp, #15, in third.
The Street Stock Division treated fans to one of the closest finishes you may ever witness. Mike Hatton was the fast man in qualifying with a lap time of 16.970, 84.855 mph. Gary Ledbetter, #8, who qualified in the 4th position benefitted from inverting the top 4. With this, it put Ledbetter on the pole. Josh Sams, #51, cut down a tire and brought out caution #1 on lap 13. Caution #2 waved on lap 17, when Duane Best, #67, and Jonathan Goodwin, #05, got together and hit the inside wall entering turn 3. This caution was lengthy because extra care had to be given to Goodwin who was transported to the hospital. A 3 car pileup occurred on lap 27 between turns 3 and 4. Best, #67, Kevin Eby, #03, and Brian Brown, #34, were all involved in caution #3. The finish was nothing short of spectacular with Hatton beating Ledbetter to the line by .0004 seconds. Nathan Franks, #1, was third.
Landon Huffman, #75, led all qualifiers in the Late Model Division. Huffman’s time was 15.441, 93.258 mph. Stephen Shore, #71, and Jonathan Philyaw, #22, were the reason for yellow #1. They got together and spun between turns 3 and 4. Aiden King, #5, spun on lap 3. This also occurred in turn 3. Graham Hollar, #25, slowed to a stop on the track on lap 8 with a tire issue. The rest of the race ran under green. Huffman raced to win the trophy. He was followed in second by DJ Canipe, #29, and Anthony Bello, #51, in third.
The Crown Vic Division rounded out the racing of the night. Dean Levi won the pole with a lap time of 20.544, 70.093 mph. The race ran without incident. Kyle Dubeau, #12, won the race. He was followed in second by Jacob Hickman, #22H, and Levi rounded out the top three.
My goodness what at night of racing! Race fans enjoyed action packed racing all night! We hope to see you again next week on Saturday, May 31st for more racing at Tri-County Speedway!

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