Donald McIntosh roared to victory at Boyd’s on Friday night.
The Spring Nationals set off on a three-race stretch that will serve as the final weekend for the mini-series on Friday night at Boyd’s Speedway in Ringgold, Georgia. At the end of the evening, it was Georgia native Donald McIntosh who went to Victory Lane and claimed the $4,000 first prize.
The Ray Cook promoted tour came into Friday’s race with a tight points battle heading toward its conclusion. When the checkered flag waved over the track located on the outskirts of Chattanooga, McIntosh not only had another checkered flag to add to his collection but he also narrowed the deficit held by series leader Billy Ogle, Jr.
Chris Madden came into the weekend with the points lead but opted to take the weekend off.
Derek Ellis began the night by setting fast time in qualifying with a lap of 13.541 seconds around the third-mile oval. Also earning spots in the dash race that would set the first two rows on the feature starting grid were Dale McDowell, Ivedent Lloyd, Jr. and McIntosh.
McIntosh won the dash and earned the pole for the main event finishing ahead of Lloyd, Ellis and McDowell.
Skip Arp, Brandon Kinzer, Mike Marlar and Ogle won the four heat races used to set the remainder of the starting lineup for the feature race.
At the start of the 40-lap Super Late Model show, McIntosh shot to the early lead ahead of Lloyd, Ellis, McDowell and Arp. It would be Ellis and Marlar who made moves in the opening laps as both gained positions in the early going when Ellis moved around Lloyd to grab second while Marlar passed by Arp to take fifth.
Ogle also surged forward as he too went by Arp on the fifth circuit.
McIntosh quickly found himself mired in heavy traffic on the tight track layout that often always the leaders to catch the tail of the field quickly. Ellis closed to the leader’s rear spoiler just before a lap 14 yellow flag offered the lead cars a reprieve from the slower machines.
The leader took full advantage of the clear track in front of him when the race went back to green as the No. 7 Rocket Chassis once again assumed command of the race. At the same time, Ellis, McDowell and Lloyd were involved in quite a struggle for the runner-up spot a few car lengths behind McIntosh. At one point, those drivers found themselves in a four-wide situation as they moved around a slower vehicle.
Just after the halfway point, traffic once again would play a factor. This time, however, it was the lead driver who took advantage. McIntosh’s car appeared to have the ability to move off the bottom groove to make passes while it seemed as if the other drivers had to hug the low line around the speedway. On one occasion, McIntosh was even able to split between two cars when he caught them rather than wait for them to settle their dispute for position.
As the laps clicked away, McIntosh was able to take a more firm grip on the race lead while other drivers battled among themselves for position. McDowell was able to get by Lloyd for third on the final lap.
Feature Finish: 1. Donald McIntosh, 2. Derek Ellis, 3. Dale McDowell, 4. Ivedent Lloyd, Jr., 5. Billy Ogle, Jr., 6. Mike Marlar, 7. Skip Arp, 8. Jay Scott, 9. Riley Hickman, 10. Chris Wilson, 11. Stacy Boles, 12. Jason Welshan, 13. Dylan Ames, 14. David Payne, 15. Ronnie Johnson, 16. Jason Croft, 17. Ronny Lee Hollingsworth, 18. Brandon Kinzer, 19. Neil Baggett, 20. Austin Smith, 21. Skylar Marlar, 22. Dane Dacus
