John Ownbey led all the way to collect the Ultimate victory
The Ultimate Super Late Model Series made its way to Chatsworth, GA and the North Georgia Speedway on Saturday night to contest its opening race of the 2016 season. In the end, it was Tennessee’s John Ownbey who would score his first ever Ultimate Series triumph to earn the $4,000 first prize.
Defending race winner Donald McIntosh began the night by setting fast time in qualifying with a lap of 13.733 seconds around the third-mile clay oval. The top-10 drivers from time-trials were locked into the feature race which meant that Ownbey, David Payne, Casey Roberts, Jason Hiett, Mike Marlar, Ray Cook, Riley Hickman, T.J. Reaid and Cory Hedgecock secured positions in the starting lineup along with the pole sitter.
National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame member Skip Arp won the first B-main race used to set the remainder of the main event starting lineup while Jason Croft took the honors in the second of those preliminaries.
Prior to the running of the feature, Ownbey had expressed concerns that his steelhead engine car could not keep pace with the more powerful open motor machines. However, the slick track surface more than compensated for any lack of horsepower that might have been a part of the equation.
At the start of the 40-lap feature, Ownbey shot to the lead from his outside front row starting position. The pole starting car of McIntosh followed closely through turns one and two and attempted an inside move at the end of the backstretch. As a result, McIntosh’s No. 7 ride slid sideways and very nearly spun in turn three. However, the Georgia driver was able to maintain control but not before Ownbey had jetted away to the lead.
Two laps later, McIntosh moved around Payne to recapture the second position he had lost after his near spin on the first circuit.
Defending Ultimate Series champion Casey Roberts dropped back early but began climbing forward in the race’s middle stages. By lap 12 the No. 101 ride had moved around Payne to secure the fourth spot. Meanwhile, the leader found himself in slower traffic with the second and third running cars of McIntosh and Hiett bearing down. A spin by Glenn Elliott almost proved disastrous for Ownbey as his machine clipped the prone car, damaging the right side of the rear spoiler.
The race’s biggest moment occurred just after a lap 15 caution when the cars of Hickman and Marlar ran out of racing room entering turn one. Marlar spun as a result and the rides of Anthony White, Croft, and Bo Shirley were collected in the melee.
A spin by Hedgecock brought the final yellow flag of the night on lap 18. After that point, Ownbey maintained the top spot with lapped cars becoming his most serious concern. But the battle for positions just behind the leader raged as McIntosh and Hiett traded the runner-up spot. At the same time, Hickman and Cook waged their own war just a bit further back.
In the end, however, it was Ownbey who sailed under the checkered flag to claim the victory.
Feature Finish: 1. John Ownbey, 2. Jason Hiett, 3. Donald McIntosh, 4. Casey Roberts, 5. David Payne, 6. Riley Hickman, 7. Ray Cook, 8. Jason Welshan, 9. T.J. Reaid, 10. Skip Arp, 11. Dennis Franklin, 12. Kenny Collins, 13. Bo Shirley, 14. Casey Barrow, 15. Ellery Leake, 16. Cory Hedgecock, 17. Anthony White, 18. Derek Ellis, 19. Mike Marlar, 20. Aaron Ridley, 21. Jason Croft, 22. Ross White, 23. Glenn Elliott, 24. Chris Ferguson
