Ray Cook didn’t expect to be in Bulls Gap but he made the most of it.
Ray Cook has had terrible luck this year when it comes to the races he promotes. Mother Nature has been steadfast in her determination to ruin his every plan, and this weekend was no different as his Spring Nationals events scheduled for Swainsboro(GA) and Golden Isles(GA) were rained out. But rather than just pack it in and go home, the Brasstown, NC native decided to trade in his promoting hat for a racing helmet and head to the Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn. to compete with the Carolina Clash Series.
In the end, that decision netted the veteran racer a victory and $6,000 in prize money as he drove his Capital Race Car into the Volunteer Speedway Victory Lane.
Another person who had intended to be at the Golden Isles Speedway instead of Bulls Gap was Donald McIntosh. But even the change of plans couldn’t slow the Dawsonville, GA driver down as he set fast time in qualifying with a lap of 12.772 seconds around the high-banked, third-mile track.
Joining McIntosh in being locked into the feature starting lineup via time-trials were Cook, Stacy Boles, Chad Ogle, Billy Ogle, Jr., Chris Ferguson, Mark Douglas, Mack McCarter, Vic Hill and Tim Allen.
Riley Hickman and Doug Sanders each won B-main races that were used to set the remainder of the starting lineup for the main event.
McIntosh chose the outside lane to start the feature and Cook immediately took advantage of the inside line to grab the lead as the cars roared into the first turn. McIntosh, Chad Ogle, Boles, Billy Ogle and Ferguson followed in the leader’s tire tracks during the initial stages of the race.
A lap 4 caution briefly bunched the field but Cook again bolted to the lead once the green flag waved. The real battles on the track during the early going took place just behind the leader as Chad Ogle moved around McIntosh on the restart to grab the runner-up spot and Billy Ogle began to apply pressure for third.
Further back in the field, Dale McDowell was moving forward from his 18th starting position into the top-10. The Georgia driver had earlier banged the wall during qualifying and had to make his way into the feature through a B-main.
Within just a few laps of going back to green conditions, the lead cars found themselves in heavy lapped traffic. Chad Ogle was even able to draw alongside Cook for the lead as the two of them sought racing run on the high banks while maneuvering around the slower machines. Meanwhile, Billy Ogle continued to hound McIntosh for the third spot just in back of the lead duo.
Chad Ogle’s challenge for the lead would come to an abrupt end on lap 27 when the winner of the previous Carolina Clash race earlier this season at Volunteer Speedway pulled off track with mechanical issues. Shortly after Ogle’s retirement, another top-5 runner in the person of Dennis Franklin pulled off track with mechanical trouble.
Billy Ogle, Jr. goes low in an attempt to wrest the lead away from Ray Cook.
Over the closing laps, McIntosh and Billy Ogle assumed the roles of challengers to the leader. McIntosh took a turn at harassing Cook for the top spot on lap 42 when he briefly dove under the No. 53 in traffic. Then just after taking second, Ogle put his No. 201 inside of Cook with less than five circuits remaining but was unable to make the move stick.
In the end, Ray Cook was able to Capital-ize on his own misfortune by driving his Capital Race Car to the win at Volunteer Speedway after having his own race get rained out in Georgia.
Feature Finish: 1. Ray Cook, 2. Billy Ogle, Jr., 3. Donald McIntosh, 4. Vic Hill, 5. Stacy Boles, 6. Dale McDowell, 7. Doug Sanders, 8. Chris Ferguson, 9. Mark Douglas, 10. Aaron Ridley, 11. Ben Watkins, 12. Tim Allen, 13. Ryan King, 14. Kenny Collins, 15. Kevin Wilson, 16. Steve Smith, 17. Anthony Sanders, 18. Dennis Franklin, 19. Chad Ogle, 20. David Payne, 21. Bobby Mays, 22. Riley Hickman, 23. Mack McCarter, 24. Mark Vineyard, 25. Kyle Pierce
Ray Cook and crew enjoying their time in Victory Lane.
