Randy Weaver just keeps rolling along.
Dirt Late Model racing streaks have been ending around east Tennessee of late. Last week at Smoky Mountain Speedway the streak of rain outs for this Spring Nationals ended when that series defied the weatherman and raced in spite of dreadful predictions. And on Friday night at Cleveland Speedway, the track finally got to race after a streak of four consecutive weeks of cancellations due to weather.
One other prominent streak in Dirt Late Model racing has been that of Randy Weaver. The Crossville, Tenn. driver had won six feature races in six attempts during the 2015 season coming into Friday night’s Spring Nationals event in Cleveland. At the end of the night, that streak extended to seven win in seven starts as the No. 116 machine found itself yet again in this unbelievable season.
The night began with Weaver setting fast time in qualifying by posting a lap of 12.890 seconds around the third-mile oval. Joining Weaver in making the dash race for the top-4 qualifiers was Derek Ellis, Stacy Boles and Mike Marlar.
Ellis earned the pole when he won the dash race used to set the first two rows on the feature starting grid ahead of Boles, Marlar and Weaver.
Chris Madden and Dale McDowell won the two heat races used to set the remainder of the starting lineup for the main event of the evening.
At the start of the 40-lap feature, Ellis shot to the early lead ahead of Boles, Weaver and Marlar. But things began to fall Weaver’s way early on as he, Marlar and McDowell were able to get around Boles on the second lap of the event.
Madden, who drove a No. 6 Barry Wright Race Car rather than his usual No. 44 Sweet-Bloomquist ride, also began to move forward as he passed by the fading Boles for position on the third circuit.
Chris Madden drove this No. 6 on Friday night in Cleveland.
In a feature that ran caution free for its entire distance, slower traffic was bound to become an issue. By lap 8, the leaders had caught the tail of the field and set about the task of putting them a lap down. In the process, Weaver moved right to the rear spoiler of Ellis and began to apply pressure.
Weaver got the break he was looking for on lap 11 when Ellis found himself boxed in behind two slower machines. Weaver was able to seize upon the opportunity and force his way around the No. 99. Shortly afterwards, Marlar and McDowell also closed in on Ellis as Weaver knifed through traffic and looked to extend his advantage.
Just prior to the halfway mark, McDowell slipped passed Marlar for third and then went after Ellis in an attempt to secure the runner-up spot.
Marlar faded a bit in the race’s second half as Madden and Mack McCarter were able to go by. McCarter would ultimately move up another position as he took the fourth spot from Madden on lap 30.
As the laps clicked off, Weaver continued to find himself mired in traffic. This allowed Ellis and McDowell to close the gap and threaten the lead held by ‘The Dream’. Ultimately, however, Weaver would hold off the competition to score that seventh consecutive victory.
Feature Finish: 1. Randy Weaver, 2. Derek Ellis, 3. Dale McDowell, 4. Mack McCarter, 5. Chris Madden, 6. Mike Marlar, 7. Donald McIntosh, 8. Stacy Boles, 9. Ivedent Lloyd, Jr., 10. Austin Smith, 11. Skip Arp, 12. Billy Ogle, Jr., 13. John Owenby, 14. Mark Dotson, 15. David Payne, 16. Kenny Collins, 17. Tyler Millwood, 18. Jason Croft, 19. Ellery Leake, 20. Shawn Chastain, 21. Jerry Coffman, 22. Andy Picklesimer, 23. Kurt English, 24. Matthew Summers
