Tanner Works earned $2500 on Friday at I-75
The United Crate Racing Alliance paid a visit to the I-75 Raceway in Sweetwater, Tenn. on Friday night to stage a $2500-to-win event as the first leg of a two-race weekend. When the results were in from a thrilling feature race that saw multiple lead changes among multiple drivers, Tanner Works emerged as the winner over a solid field of cars and drivers.
Works began the night in fine fashion after he posted the fastest time in qualifying with a lap of 13.666 seconds around the third-mile clay oval. Cory Hedgecock, Josh Henry and Philip Thompson rounded out the top-4 qualifiers and each earned the pole position for their respective heat races as a result.
John Ownbey beat out Works to win the first heat while Hedgecock won the second preliminary ahead of Jake Teague. Henry was the victory in the third heat over Jimmy Elliott while Thompson won the final heat ahead of Jamie Perry.
At the start of the 40-lap main event, Ownbey and fellow front row starter Hedgecock dueled side-by-side for the first two circuits before Ownbey emerged with the race lead. At the same time, Works began to move forward from his fifth starting spot as he passed by Henry to claim the third position on the fourth lap.
Ownbey briefly moved out to a lead of several car lengths before he and the other top runners caught the tail of the field on lap eight. At that time, Hedgecock seized the opportunity and moved alongside Ownbey as the two cars raced in tight quarters for the lead among a number of slower machines.
Hedgecock moved into the lead on lap 11 but Ownbey rallied to retake the position two laps later. On lap 15 the two cars were again side-by-side as they continued to work in and around traffic.
A caution provided a brief respite for the competitors on lap 17. As it turned out, that was exactly what Works needed as he made a move on the outside lane of the track on the ensuing restart and powered by both Ownbey and Hedgecock to take the lead two laps later.
Those who survived multiple cautions on lap 19 and the restarts that followed would battle throughout the second half of the affair with the race once again tightening up for the top-4 drivers of Works, Teague – who moved the second spot after a lap 25 restart – along with Ownbey and Hedgecock as those drivers fought more slower traffic over the closing laps.
In the end, however, it was Tanner Works who would get the win ahead of Jake Teague, John Ownbey, Cory Hedgecock, Jimmy Elliott, Chip Brindle, Josh Henry, Josh Fields, Heath Hindman and Tyler Wood.
