The No. D2 Sportsman car of Darren Goins
As part of its Larry Kyle Memorial event the I-75 Raceway played host to the United Championship Racing Alliance for a $2,000-to-win main event. Along with that race for Crate Late Model machines, the Sweetwater, TN track also staged racing in its weekly classes. Track regular Darren Goins used a last lap pass to grab the win in the Sportsman Late Model division on a breezy and chilly Saturday evening.
Jeremy Hicks led the way in Sportsman qualifying with a lap of 12.752 seconds around the third-mile clay oval. He was followed by A.J. Russell, Goins, Nick Perry, Clyde Stanton and Brian Selby.
The 15-car starting lineup was based solely off of time-trials with no heat races being contested.
At the start of the 20-lap feature it was Hicks who bolted to the early lead with Russell, Goins, Perry and Stanton in his tire tracks. Stanton made an early move to take fourth away from Perry as the field completed its first lap of competition.
Hicks began to pull away from the field in the early laps while seventh starting John Smith continued to rise through the field by passing Stanton for fourth on lap 4.
During the middle stages of the race it was Hicks who flexed his muscle and held tight control over the rest of the field. Multiple cautions would slow the action between laps 5 and 17 with the No. 3 car of Hicks bolting out to relatively comfortable leads with each waving of the green flag.
Back in the pack the best racing was between Smith and Stanton as they fought over the fourth spot. However, that battle would be ended on lap 17 when Smith stopped on track with mechanical issues to bring out a caution.
Following the lap 17 restart the Hicks car began to show signs of smoke as he continued to lead the race. After a spin on lap 19 brought out the final yellow flag of the night, the No. 3 continued to trail smoke as the cars circulated around the track at reduced speeds.
On the restart with one lap remaining, Hicks’ car did not fire as it had been all night and Goins jumped to the outside lane and passed by both Russell and Hicks going through turns one and two. From that point, the field began to tangle with Goins taking a clear path to the checkered flag and the win.
Feature Finish: 1. Darren Goins, 2. Jeremy Hicks, 3. Clyde Stanton, 4. Chris Whitted, 5. Nick Perry, 6. Brian Selby, 7. A.J. Russell, 8. Hunter Kerr, 9. Phillip Shockley, 10. Paul Whitley, 11. Dennis Shaver, 12. John Smith, 13. Micah Jones, 14. Jeff Jackson, 15. Jerry Moss
