Kyle Bronson led all the way for the $10,000 victory
A stellar field of Dirt Late Model competitors made their way to the state of Georgia on Friday night for the first round of the two-night Peach State Classic at the Senoia Raceway. After all was said and done in a race dubbed the ‘Peach Bowl’, it was Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt series regular Kyle Bronson who came away with the victory. The Rocket Chassis driver from Brandon, Florida earned $10,000 for his efforts in a race aired live by FloRacing.com.
A total of 63 cars were signed in for competition.
Ryan Gustin was fastest in Group A qualifying with a lap of 13.171 seconds around the 3/8 mile clay oval to top Ricky Weiss, Jimmy Owens, Chris Madden, Spencer Hughes, Tyler Erb, Dennis Erb Jr., Michael Page, Cade Dillard and Joseph Joiner.
Ashton Winger was quickest in Group B time-trials by touring the track in 13.127 seconds besting Mike Marlar, Wil Herrington, Kyle Bronson, Austin Horton, Mark Whitener, Zack Dohm, Ross Bailes, Jensen Ford and Dalton Cook.
Chris Madden would start the feature from the pole position after he beat out Ryan Gustin and Joseph Joiner in the first hear while Spencer Hughes took the second preliminary by outrunning Ricky Weiss and Max Blair.
It was Tyler Erb who won the third heat over Jimmy Owens and Cade Dillard.
Kyle Bronson earned the outside front row starting position for the feature by defeating Ashton Winger and Zack Dohm in the fourth heat race just before Mike Marlar bested Austin Horton and Ross Bailes in the fifth heat of the night.
Wil Herrington was victorious in the sixth and final heat after he beat Jensen Ford and Cody Overton to the finish line.
Dennis Erb Jr., Brent Larson and Mark Whitener won the three B-main races used to establish the remainder of the starting grid for the main event.
At the start of the 25-lap feature it was Bronson who grabbed the early lead with Madden, Hughes, Marlar and Tyler Erb trailing. Bronson and Madden ran the first two laps in side-by-side formation until Bronson emerged from the fight with the lead.
Just behind the front runners, Marlar was able to slip by Hughes to assume the third position on the third lap while Erb and Winger engaged in a position swapping fight for the fifth and sixth places on lap 5. At the same time, Madden closed in on Bronson and appeared ready to strike in an attempt to take the lead.
But once the leaders caught the tail of the field in a race that would ultimately run caution free, Bronson was able to pull away as he used slower traffic to his advantage.
Erb, Winger and Horton trading positions in the middle of the top-10 as the laps clicked away but there was no match from Bronson as the No. 40B car would eventually sail under the checkered flag to score the win.
Competitors will return to Senoia Raceway on Saturday evening to race for a $52,052-to-win purse.
Feature Finish: 1. Kyle Bronson, 2. Chris Madden, 3. Mike Marlar, 4. Spencer Hughes, 5. Ashton Winger, 6. Tyler Erb, 7. Austin Horton, 8. Zack Dohm, 9. Ross Bailes, 10. Ricky Weiss, 11. Max Blair, 12. Ryan Gustin, 13. Cade Dillard, 14. Joseph Joiner, 15. Brent Larson, 16. Jensen Ford, 17. Jimmy Owens, 18. Wil Herrington, 19. Will Roland, 20. Dennis Erb Jr., 21. Mark Whitener, 22. Austin Kirkpatrick, 23. Cody Overton, 24. Randy Weaver
