Jackie Boggs led flag-to-flag in the Leftover
The Iron-Man Late Model Series pulled into 411 Motor Speedway on Saturday to contest their final race of the 2017 campaign. Kentucky driver Jackie Boggs proved to be the big winner as he earned the $5,000 first prize for his victory in the 2nd Annual Leftover at the Mitch and Tanya McCarter owned track located in Seymour, Tenn.
Making his debut in the Blount Motorsports car, Casey Roberts led Group A qualifying with a lap of 14.990 seconds around the 3/8 mile clay oval. Steve Smith joined Roberts in being locked into the feature from that group.
Boggs was fastest in Group B and overall when he roared around the banked facility with a time of 14.796 seconds. Shanon Buckingham also earned a spot on the feature starting grid due to his qualifying efforts.
Bobby Giffin earned the fifth starting position for the main event when won the first heat race of the night as he beat out Zach Leonhardi, Jason Cardwell and Carder Miller. Jason Welshan was the victor in the second preliminary over Dakotah Knuckles, Stephen Breeding and Tyler Bare.
World of Outlaws Late Models regular Devin Moran would start the feature from the outside of the third row by virtue of his win in the third heat ahead of Jadon Frame, Skylar Marlar and Billy Ogle, Jr. Caleb Ashby won the fourth and final heat race over Johnny Cloer, Shane Tankersley and Robby Moses.
Boggs used his outside front row starting position to his advantage and took the lead at the start of the 50-lap feature with Roberts, Buckingham, Smith and Moran trailing. However, the action would be interrupted quickly as a caution flag flew just after the completion of lap one due to a spin by Giffin.
On the lap 1 restart Smith, Moran and Ashby found themselves locked in a three-wide fight for fourth with Smith eventually emerging from that tussle with the spot. Ashby then drifted back into a battle for sixth with Cloer and Welshan.
And as would be the case after each restart during the main event, Boggs would inch away from his pursuers with Roberts also separating himself from those immediately behind him. However, the lead duo found themselves in heavy traffic by the eighth circuit which allowed Buckingham to close in on the rear spoiler of Roberts as the two drivers contested the runner-up position.
A pivotal moment in the race occurred on lap 12 when the third running car of Buckingham hit the inside berm at the entrance of turn one and spun. That ended the Double Down Motorsports driver’s night.
Boggs and Roberts again broke away from the pack just after the lap 12 restart but that was negated by a lap 16 yellow flag for an incident involving Knuckles and Levi Ashby. On the ensuing restart, Moran began to harass Smith for the third position as Boggs and Roberts again slipped away from the field.
Johnny Cloer(14) moves around Steve Smith
Two more cautions would slow the action on laps 24 and 33 but Boggs and Roberts continued to pace the race whenever the green flag was being displayed. The real battle on the track was about a straightaway behind the leaders as Smith worked feverishly to hold off Moran and Cloer.
Devin Moran(22) passes Steve Smith late in the Leftover
Smith’s efforts would be in vain, however, as Cloer moved around him for third on lap 46 while Moran took fourth away from Smith with just two laps remaining. But in the end, Boggs would not be denied as he sailed under the checkered flag to seize the victory.
Feature Finish: 1. Jackie Boggs, 2. Casey Roberts, 3. Johnny Cloer, 4. Devin Moran, 5. Stephen Breeding, 6. Steve Smith, 7. Jadon Frame, 8. Caleb Ashby, 9. Robby Moses, 10. Jason Cardwell, 11. Jason Welshan, 12. Billy Ogle, Jr., 13. Zach Leonhardi, 14. Shane Tankersley, 15. Carder Miller, 16. Joey Standridge, 17. Levi Ashby, 18. Skylar Marlar, 19. Tyler Bare, 20. Dakotah Knuckles, 21. Shanon Buckingham, 22. Bobby Giffin
Boggs and crew celebrate their win
