David Crabtree led all 25 laps
The weekly racing season at 411 Motor Speedway kicked off after multiple weather issues had erased previously scheduled dates during the early spring. David Crabtree turned in a dominating performance to grab the checkered flag in the Limited Late Model class on the Seymour, Tenn. track.
Crabtree led the way in qualifying for the class by turning a lap around the 3/8 mile clay oval in 13.786 seconds to beat out Layne Clifton, Mike Price, Austin Neely, Greg Martin, Chase King, Jason Cardwell, Ellery Leake, Eddie King Jr and Bobby Giffin.
The starting grid for the main event was determined entirely by time-trial results as there were no heat races for the division.
At the start of the 25-lap feature it was Crabtree who seized the race lead with Clifton, Price, Neely and Martin trailing. Just behind those front runners, Cardwell moved around King to take sixth on the second circuit. At the same time, Crabtree and Clifton began to pull away from the field.
Layne Clifton drove to a second place finish
Leake then joined the fray as he slipped by King then went after Cardwell for sixth on the fifth lap. Just one lap later, Martin climbed up the leader board by taking fourth away from Neely.
Just after being passed by Martin, Neely’s car went for a spin in turn one to bring out a caution flag. On the restart from that yellow period, King took advantage of a traffic on the low side of the track when moved outside and went from seventh to fifth.
Martin moved to third on lap 9 when he moved around Price. At the same time, Cardwell regained the fifth position when he got by King.
Lap 12 proved to be a pivotal one when Martin’s car slowed suddenly in turn two with mechanical issues. In their attempts to avoid the stalled machine, Leake and Ruben Mayfield came together and suffered significant damage.
Crabtree’s domination continued as he pulled away once the racing action resumed. Clifton kept the front runner in sight while the battles for other top-5 positions continued behind them.
Jason Cardwell came home third
On lap 15, Cardwell and King each took advantage of a bobble by Price to move into third and fourth respectively. However, no one had an answer for Crabtree as he drove away to claim a convincing win.
Feature Finish: 1. David Crabtree, 2. Layne Clifton, 3. Jason Cardwell, 4. Chase King, 5. Mike Price, 6. Eddie King Jr., 7. Bobby Giffin, 8. Austin Neely, 9. Ruben Mayfield, 10. Greg Martin, 11. Ellery Leake, 12. Mitchell Childress
