Dale McDowell led all 53 laps of the feature
The Southern Nationals mini-series kicked off its 2018 campaign at it traditional venue in Rural Retreat, Virginia as the competitors took to the high banks of the Wythe Raceway. Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, GA topped the field on Saturday night as he claimed the checkered flag and the $10,000 pay out that came along with it.
Donald McIntosh paced Group A qualifying and overall as he toured the big half-mile in a time of 16.530 seconds to beat out Aaron Ridley, Dale McDowell, Shanon Buckingham and Eric Wells.
Brandon Overton was fastest in Group B time-trials with a lap of 18.830 seconds which bettered the efforts of Johnny Pursley, Ross Bailes, Vic Hill and Casey Roberts.
McDowell earned the pole for the feature by winning the night’s first heat race over Eric Wells, Donald McIntosh and Jonathan Rowan while Shanon Buckingham won the second preliminary ahead of Aaron Ridley, Cla Knight and Forrest Trent.
Brandon Overton would start the main event from the outside of the front row after he beat out Steve Casebolt, Ross Bailes and Casey Roberts in the third heat just before Vic Hill won the fourth and final heat of the evening over Johnny Pursley, Dennis Franklin and Walker Arthur.
At the start of the 53-lap feature it was McDowell who would take the early lead with Overton, Buckingham, Wells and Hill in tight formation just behind. Buckingham was the first among the top-5 runners to attempt a move forward as he began working on Overton for the second position during the second circuit but Overton would hold the spot after a battle that lasted fr multiple laps.
Further back, Ridley and Casebolt tested each other as they fought over sixth. In the meantime, McDowell quickly caught the tail of the field. And as would be expected in a race that started all 31 entrants, traffic would be a factor throughout most of the feature.
Overton closed in on McDowell as the two worked around and among the slower cars until the first caution flag waved on lap 14. On the ensuing restart, Casebolt slipped by Hill to grab the fifth spot as McDowell again moved away from the pack.
However, Casebolt’s night was cut short on lap 24 when his car spun and made contact with the turn three wall.
But it was just after that restart when what might have been the most significant happening of the night occurred. On lap 28 the second running car of Overton suddenly slowed and then made the hard left turn into the pit area with race-ending mechanical troubles.
McDowell would stretch his lead out to as much as a straightaway at a time before two late yellow flags would bring the field back into contention. One of those cautions was brought out when the top-5 running car of Buckingham slowed with a flat tire on lap 50.
But ultimately, McDowell proved to be untouchable as he cruised under the checkered flag to score the win.
Feature Finish: 1. Dale McDowell, 2. Vic Hill, 3. Eric Wells, 4. Ross Bailes, 5. Casey Roberts, 6. Johnny Pursley, 7. Aaron Ridley, 8. Donald McIntosh, 9. Dennis Franklin, 10. Walker Arthur, 11. Forrest Trent, 12. Craig Vosbergen, 13. Cla Knight, 14. Jeff Smith, 15. Jonathan Rowan, 16. Justin Williams, 17. Shanon Buckingham, 18. Robby Moses, 19. Carder Miller, 20. Kyle Pierce, 21. Doug Sanders, 22. Peter Nicola, 23. Jeff Neubert, 24. Dwayne Joyce, 25. Brandon Overton, 26. Jason Lawrence, 27. Steve Casebolt, 28. Joey Coulter, 29. Chris Combs, 30. David Crabtree
