John Ownbey led all the way to collect the Chevy Performance win at I-75
The Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series made its way to the I-75 Raceway is Sweetwater, Tenn. on Friday night for the first of a two race weekend(Saturday night at 411 Motor Speedway) to contest a $2,000-to-win feature event. At the end of the night, it was John Ownbey who led all the way to come away with the top prize.
Cory Hedgecock showed the way in qualifying for the Chevy Performance cars as he posted a lap of 13.245 seconds around the third-mile clay oval. Ownbey, Ruben Mayfield, Tyler Crowder, Tim Busha, Jake Knowles, Riley Hickman and Doug King rounded out the eight qualifiers who would be locked into the feature via time-trials.
Trey Wood and Zac Pilcher won the two heat races used to set the remainder of the starting lineup for the main event.
On the initial start of the 30-lap feature, Ownbey charged hard into the first turn from his outside front row starting spot in an attempt to grab the early lead on a track that was proving to be bottom groove dominant. However, a caution flag waved before the first lap could be completed and it looked as if Ownbey’s early success would be lost. Instead, the driver of the No. J0 machine repeated the feat on the second attempt at a start and made the move stick as he emerged onto the backstretch with the race lead.
A lap 3 caution offered Hedgecock and the rest of the field a chance to return the favor on the race leader and wrest the top spot away from Ownbey. Rather, Hedgecock saw his chances for victory slip away as he jumped the cushion coming off of turn two on the restart and fell all the way to the back of the top-10 in the running order.
From that point, Ownbey was dominant as his only real challenge came from the slower traffic he had to negotiate during the race’s second half. The real battle proved to be for positions behind the leader as the likes of Mayfield, Crowder, Knowles, Busha, Hickman and Hedgecock raced in tight formation throughout much of the feature.
Ownbey saw his margin decrease slightly as Mayfield and Crowder closed to within a few car lengths in traffic but the veteran driver took the checkered flag ahead of the pack to collect the win in front of numerous fans and supporters near his Cleveland, Tenn. home.
John Ownbey in the I-75 victory lane
Feature Finish: 1. John Ownbey, 2. Ruben Mayfield, 3. Tyler Crowder, 4. Jake Knowles, 5. Tim Busha, 6. Riley Hickman, 7. Cory Hedgecock, 8. Austin Smith, 9. Zac Pilcher, 10. Ryan King, 11. Trey Wood, 12. Ronnie Johnson, 13. Pierce McCarter, 14. J.R. Moseley, 15. Doug Smith, 16. Oliver Gentry, 17. Randy Dillard, 18. Doug King, 19. Tony Thompson, 20. Barry Goodman, 21. Jadon Frame
