Donald McIntosh led all the way at Crossville to claim $10,000
The Southern Nationals Bonus Series served as the sanctioning body for the two-night Tennessee State Championship held at the Crossville Speedway this weekend. When all was said and done from the weekend of racing, it was Georgia native Donald McIntosh who came away from the middle Tennessee facility with the $10,000 first prize in a race that proved to be a contest of survival of the fittest.
McIntosh set the tone on Friday night when he posted the fastest time in Group A qualifying and overall with a lap of 12.808 seconds to beat out Brandon Overton, Vic Hill and Mike Marlar in that group.
Chris Madden proved to be the quickest in Group B time-trials with a lap of 12.995 seconds around the third-mile clay oval. He bested Kenny Collins, Riley Hickman and Ray Cook for the honors.
McIntosh earned the pole for the feature by winning the first heat race of the night ahead of Hill, Dennis Franklin and David Payne while Overton topped Marlar, Ronnie Johnson and Billy Ogle, Jr. in the second preliminary.
Madden would start the main event from the outside of the front row after beating out Ryan King, Hickman and Mike Weeks in the third heat with Cook triumphing in the final heat ahead of Collins, Ricky Weiss and Ricky Tinch.
Todd Morrow and Donald Johns won the two B-main races used to set the remainder of the starting lineup for the main event.
The pole starting McIntosh bolted to the early lead at the drop of the green flag in the 60-lap feature race ahead of Madden, Overton, Cook and Hill. The jostling for position began right away as Overton challenged Madden for the runner-up spot early on while Hill took fourth away from Cook on the second circuit.
McIntosh battled Madden early on
After eventually breaking away from the rest of the pack in the initial stages of the event, McIntosh and Madden found themselves stuck behind and among slower traffic on the track that was quickly proving to be bottom dominant. However, the leader would frequently be spared the trouble of dealing with slower machines as eight yellow flags would wave over the main event during the course of the night.
While the front runner in the race went largely unchallenged over the course of the 60-lap distance, several drivers did do battle just behind McIntosh. Veteran drivers Johnson, Ogle and Hickman found themselves fighting for positions within the top-10 throughout much of the night.
Billy Ogle, Jr. looks insside of Ronnie Johnson for position within the top-10
But the real determining factor proved to be tire wear. As the laps wound down, several drivers including the second running Madden and other top-10 pilots such as Weiss, Hickman, King and Overton were forced to either retire from the event or go to the rear after making a tire change. And even with the fresh rubber, those drivers were unable to make up many spots on a track that was allowing for little passing.
In the end, McIntosh was able to keep his tires inflated and drive on to what proved to be a dominating performance for the first $10,000 payday of his career.
Feature Finish: 1. Donald McIntosh, 2. Vic Hill, 3. Ray Cook, 4. Billy Ogle Jr., 5. Ricky Weiss, 6. Ronnie Johnson, 7. Kenny Collins, 8. Ryan King, 9. Brandon Overton, 10. Caleb Ashby, 11. David Payne, 12. Robby Moses, 13. Dennis Franklin, 14. Chris Madden, 15. Ricky Tinch, 16. Oakley Johns, 17. Riley Hickman, 18. Doug Smith, 19. Donald Johns, 20. Kenny Cobble, 21. Todd Morrow, 22. Mike Weeks
McIntosh and crew show off the driver’s first $10,000 check
