Chris Madden led all the way at Smoky Mountain
The Southern All Star Series paid a visit to the Smoky Mountain Speedway on Saturday night to contest a $5,000-to-win Super Late Model event. When all was said and done, it was Chris Madden who rolled his machine into Victory Lane at the Maryville, Tenn. track.
Madden, who has just recently returned to racing after a four month hiatus, was able to do something that few have been able to achieve during the recent history of Smoky Mountain. The Gray Court, SC driver held back a challenge from Randy Weaver on his way to the win.
Madden set the pace in Group 1 qualifying and overall by posting a lap of 15.688 seconds around the 4/10 mile clay oval to grab the pole for the feature. That time placed him ahead of Mark Douglas, Riley Hickman, and Skip Arp in that group.
Weaver earned the outside front row starting spot for the feature by leading the way in Group 2 qualifying with a lap of 15.716 seconds. Billy Ogle, Jr., David Payne and Roger Best followed the multiple time Smoky Mountain winner in that group.
At the start of the 40-lap feature, it was Madden who surged to the early lead with Weaver, Douglas, Ogle and Hickman in his tire tracks. However, a spin by Tim Rucker just after the completion of the first circuit immediately slowed the action.
Once the racing action resumed, it would go uninterrupted by yellow flags for the remainder of the distance. And from that time, it was Madden who would show the way. But the No. 44 car’s leadership would not be without challenge as Weaver hounded the eventual winner during the middle stages of the event.
Between laps 13 to 26, Weaver’s Longhorn Chassis was pinned right on the rear spoiler of Madden’s Longhorn Chassis. But Madden was not to be denied his first triumph of 2015 as he withstood the almost constant harassment from the No. 116 machine.
The racing was particularly intense as the drivers worked their way through slower traffic. On lap 22, Weaver was able to pull alongside Madden as the two were held up by a pair of cars who were themselves racing side-by-side. However, Madden was able to break free from the potential trap and drive away to an advantage of several car lengths.
As Madden pulled away, Weaver began to fall back into the clutches of Ogle. Second place changed hands on lap 33 as Ogle swept by Weaver for the position.
Meanwhile, Southern All Stars points leader Riley Hickman extended his already significant lead in the standings by earning a fifth place finish after he took that spot away from Payne just after the halfway point of the race.
Over the final laps, Madden would not be challenged as he achieved his 45th Southern All stars win.
Feature Finish: 1. Chris Madden, 2. Billy Ogle, Jr., 3. Randy Weaver, 4. Mark Douglas, 5. Riley Hickman, 6. David Payne, 7. Derek Ellis
