Jarred Hawkins races to his first Valvoline Ironman Late Model win
The Valvoline Ironman-Late Model series paid a visit the Ponderosa Speedway Friday night with Jared Hawkins holding off Justin Ratliff and Billy Moyer Jr. for the $5,000 to win feature. The race featured stars from both the Northern and Southern tours such as Moyer Jr., Jensen Ford and Skylar Marlar.
Adam Ahl was fastest overall in qualifying and in Group A with a 12.14 second lap, followed by Ford, Tristan Chamberlain and Dustin Nobbe.
Skylar Marlar was fastest in Group B with a lap of 12.34 seconds with Moyer Jr, Ratliff, and David Webb.
The first heat race of the night started with a bang as Ahl made contact with Jensen Ford who slammed the wall and was collected by Hawkins and Larry Greer (9G). Ford was done for the night. Tristan Chamberlain took advantage and ran away with the win. The second and final heat race of the night went to Billy Moyer Jr. who ran away from Marlar and Ratliff.
Chamberlain and Moyer Jr. led the 12-car field to the green flag for the start of the 40-lap feature. Moyer Jr. jumped out to the early lead and distanced himself from Marlar, Ratliff and Hawkins. As Moyer Jr carved thru lapped traffic, Hawkins began to pick of Ratliff and Marlar as he slowly moved to second by lap 12.
Moyer Jr. continued to lead as Hawkins and Ratliff continued to move forward and Marlar slowly faded back thru the field. Moyer Jr. was dominating leading the first 30 laps, when suddenly his car started to slip while trying to run on the bottom of the speedway. Hawkins began to close the gap with 12 to go and got by Moyer Jr in turn four coming with nine laps left.
Hawkins cruised to his first Valvoline Iron-Man Late Model win and first Fall Classic victory for the Fairmont, WV native. Moyer Jr. faded to third after Justin Ratliff got by him with three laps to go.
Mike Simpson (28), Marlar and Ted Nobbe (9n) all failed to finish due to mechanical issues.
Next up for the Valvoline Ironman Late Model Northern Series will at West Virginia Motor Speedway in Mineral Wells, WV on Friday October 8 ($5,000 to win) and Saturday October 9 ($15,000 to win) for the RACEFEST World Championship. The next events for the Valvoline Iron-Man Late Model Southern Series will be at I-75 Raceway in Sweetwater, TN on Friday October 22 ($4,000 to win) and Saturday October 23 ($10,000 to win) for the Valvoline Tennessee State Championship.
1. Jared Hawkins-Fairmont, West Va.
2. Justin Rattliff-Campbellsville, Ky.
3. Billy Moyer, Jr.-Batesville, Ark.
4. Chris Combs-Isom, Ky.
5. Tristan Chamberlain-Richmond, Ind.
6. Dustin Nobbe-Batesville, Ind.
7. Larry Greer-Bowling Green, Ky.
8. Skylar Marlar-Winfield, Tenn.
9. Ted Nobbe-Batesville, Ind.
10. Jeff Watson-Campbellsville, Ky.
11. Mike Simpson-Cynthiana, Ky.
12. Steve Godsey-Campbellsville, Ky.
Did Not Start-David Webb (Nicholasville, Ky.), Adam Ahl (Morristown, Tenn.), Jensen Ford (Johnson City, Tenn.)
