Mack McCarter took the lead on lap 4 then drove to the win
Along with the Valvoline Iron-Man Late Model Series, the Smoky Mountain Speedway also contested a feature race for the Limited Late Model division on Saturday night. Mack McCarter dominated the event to claim the victory. The Gatlinburg, TN driver earned $1,500 for his efforts.
A total of 13 cars were signed in for competition.
Matt Henderson was fastest in qualifying with a lap of 16.452 seconds around the 4/10 mile clay oval beating out Ronnie Johnson, Mack McCarter, Jason Trammell, Jesse Lowe, Cameron Weaver, Bobby Giffin, and Jordon Horton.
Neither of the top-2 qualifiers was able to take advantage of their success in time-trials as Johnson suffered damage on his second qualifying lap and had to be towed back to the pit area. SMS rules state that every car must cross the scales following its qualifying attempt which the No. 5 car was unable to do. As a result, the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame member had to start the feature from the tail after the right front of his car was repaired.
As the cars rolled around on their pace laps, the left rear wheel of Henderson’s car came off after having the lug nuts left unattached.
At the start of the 20-lap feature it was Trammell who took the early lead followed by McCarter, Weaver, Lowe and Giffin. The racing early on was highly competitive as Trammell, McCarter and Weaver exited turn two on the third lap virtually three-wide for the top spot.
On lap 4, McCarter moved around Trammell to grab the lead of the race and set sail. Weaver moved into second on lap 8 as the Trammell car began to fade. However, Johnson rose the field as the race moved into its second half, eventually claiming the fourth spot.
But in the end, McCarter proved dominate as he powered under the checkered flag to score the win.
Feature Finish: 1. Mack McCarter, 2. Cameron Weaver, 3. Jesse Lowe, 4. Ronnie Johnson, 5. Jordon Horton, 6. Jason Trammell, 7. Jed Emert, 8. Bobby Giffin, 9. Roger Best, 10. Kelvin White, 11. Matt Melton, 12. Mario Gresham, 13. Matt Henderson
