Jason Deal led all 25 laps of the Crate Late Model feature
Along with the Southern Nationals Bonus Series race on Saturday night, the North Georgia Speedway also staged racing in their Crate Late Model division. After battling issues with the track’s lighting system throughout the night, much of the feature for this class was run with very limited lighting on the backstretch at the Chatsworth, GA facility. That did not stop Jason Deal as the North Carolina driver drove his No. 7 machine to victory.
After a combination of hot laps and qualifying was completed, Lamar Scoggins and Deal were set to start from the front row. However, after multiple attempts to start the race had to be waved off, Scoggins was moved back and it would eventually be Ahnna Parkhurst who would lead the field to the green flag.
At the start of the 25-lap feature, Deal used his outside front row starting position to bolt into the early lead with Scoggins moving forward quickly to take second ahead of Parkhurst, Logan Palmer and A.J. Carlisi.
A caution just after the completion of lap 1 slowed the action. It was at that point when a bank of lights on the backstretch went out, just as they had in the midst of the Super Late Model heat races. Track officials worked to again repair the problem but were unable to effect a quick solution. As a result, the race would continue with limited, but enough, lighting.
Once the green flag waved again, Deal went right back to the front of the field with Scoggins, Parkhurst and Josh Walker in his tire tracks. A spin by Mark Page brought out another yellow flag on lap 3.
Back under green, Deal resumed his lead of the race with Scoggins and Palmer pursuing. The top-3 drivers pulled away from a battle between Parkhurst and Walker for fourth and a three-car tussle between Taylor Puckett, Carlisi and Drew Deavers for positions just outside the top-5.
Deal began to pull away from his challenges as the laps clicked away. Then on lap 22 one of those challenges had his night end prematurely as Scoggins had his car slow to a stop on the track. Once the race resumed, Jason Deal won the dash back to the checkered flag ahead of Logan Palmer, Ahnna Parkhurst, Josh Walker, Taylor Puckett, Drew Deavers, Devin Stuart and A.J. Carlisi.
