Devin Gilpin earned the Iron-Man victory
The Valvoline Iron-Man late Model Series rolled into the Lake Cumberland Speedway on Saturday night for its third event of the 2021 season. When all was said and done, Devin Gilpin kept his pursuers at bay as he sliced through traffic and ultimately came away from the Burnside, KY track with the winner’s trophy. The Columbus, IN driver earned $5,031 for his efforts.
A total of 24 cars were signed in for competition.
Devin Gilpin proved to be fastest in Group A qualifying with a lap of 13.696 seconds around the 3/8 mile clay oval topping Dustin Linville, Jensen Ford, Dustin Nobbe, and Ryan King.
Camaron Marlar led Group B time-trials with a lap of 13.508 seconds beating out Michael Chilton, Zack Dohm, Jared Hawkins, and Dillon Crim.
Devin Gilpin was victorious in the night’s first heat race ahead of Jensen Ford, David Webb, and Ryan King while Dustin Linville bettered Justin Ratliff, Dustin Nobbe, and Dusty Carver in the second preliminary.
It was Zack Dohm who took the third heat by beating out Dillion Crim, Phil Helton, and Larry Greer then Jared Hawkins defeated Michael Chilton, Tommy Bailey, and Tim Taylor in the fourth and final heat.
With only 22 cars remaining after qualifying and heat racing, series officials opted to dispose of the B-main races.
At the start of the 40-lap feature it was Gilpin who went to the early lead with Dohm, Hawkins, Linville, and Crim following in his wake. On the third lap, Ford went on the attack as he wrested the fifth position away from Crim. Shortly afterward, a big crash would halt the action on lap 5 with numerous drivers including Crim, David Webb, Phil Helton, Ted Nobbe, Tristain Chamberlain, Larry Greer, and Dusty Carver.
When the racing action resumed, Gilpin continued to show the way with Hawkins then running second while Ford and Linville disputed the fourth spot. The top-3 of Gilpin, Hawkins, and Dohm were locked in tight formation as they began to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.
Slower traffic would become a factor on lap 14 and would remain so for the remainder of a feature that only saw the one early caution flag. Over the second half of the race, Gilpin cut through the slower cars well enough that he was able able to hold back those behind until the very end of the race.
Linville had moved around Dohm for third on lap 22 then around Hawkins for second on lap 25. With less than five circuits remaining, the No. D8 machine closed in on the No. 1G and even peeked inside on a couple of occasions but was never able to make the pass.
In the end, Gilpin sailed under the checkered flag to claim his first Valvoline Iron-Man Late Model Series win.
Feature Finish: 1. Devin Gilpin, 2. Dustin Linville, 3. Jared Hawkins, 4. Jensen Ford, 5. Zack Dohm, 6. Michael Chilton, 7. Tommy Bailey, 8. Justin Ratliff, 9. Ryan King, 10. Dustin Nobbe, 11. Ted Nobbe, 12. Tristain Chamberlain, 13. Larry Greer, 14. Dusty Carver, 15. Steve Stollings, 16. Tim Taylor, 17. Corey Morgan, 18. Dillon Crim, 19. David Webb, 20. Phil Helton, 21. Jeff Rawlings
