Pierce McCarter won the Hangover in his MasterSbilt
The 411 Motor Speedway staged its 12th annual Hangover event beginning on Friday then continuing into Saturday after rain hampered the track’s New Year’s Eve plans. The featured event was an unsanctioned Super Late Model feature. Friday’s postponement was actually the second time weather had interfered as the event had originally been meant to be contested as a two-day show but the earlier forecast for Saturday forced track officials to condense it down to what was supposed to be a single day. After a disjointed two days of racing it was Pierce McCarter who claimed his second consecutive win in this race. The MasterSbilt Chassis driver from Gatlinburg, Tennessee earned $5,000 for his efforts.
A total of 12 cars were signed in for competition.
Cory Hedgecock led the way in qualifying with a lap of 13.853 seconds around the 3/8 mile clay oval beating out Pierce McCarter, David Crabtree, Christian Hanger, Kirk Phillips, Zach Sahnnon, Clay Coghlan, Shane Bailey, Steve Smith, Kent Keyser and Dakota Rayburn
With only 12 cars entered and rain approaching, officials opted to forego heat races and line the feature up based on qualifying results.
At the start of the 40-lap feature, it was Hedgecock who bolted to the early lead with McCarter, Crabtree, Phillips and Hanger in his tire tracks. Hanger went on the move early as he passed by Phillips on the second circuit to grab fourth. One lap later, Coghlan also moved around Phillips to claim fifth.
By lap 6, Hedgecock had opened up a bit of breathing room while Hanger and Crabtree wrestled over the third spot and Phillips went after Coghlan in an attempt to regain fifth.
Following a lap 12 yellow flag for debris, Hanger and McCarter exchanged a pair of slide jobs before McCarter emerged from that fight with the runner-up position. McCarter then closed in on Hedgecock in hopes of challenging for the lead of the race.
Disaster struck for third-running Hanger on lap 16 when he hit the turn 2 wall. Hedgecock continued to lead McCarter at that time with Crabtree, Coghlan and Phillips filling out the remainder of the top-5.
Phillips jumped to third on the lap 16 restart but Crabtree fought back to reclaim that position one lap later. Bailey broke into the top-5 on lap 18 when he passed by Coghlan. Hedgecock and McCarter circled the track in tight formation as they contested the lead of the race before Shannon spun to bring out another cation flag.
Hedgecock looked to be set to earn another feature win at 411 until he suddenly dropped off the pace and ultimately out of the race on lap 32. From that point, McCarter’s path was cleared to a second consecutive win in the Super Late Model portion of the Hangover on his home track.
Feature Finish: 1. Pierce McCarter, 2. David Crabtree, 3. Kirk Phillips, 4. Clay Coghlan, 5. Shane Bailey, 6. Cory Hedgecock, 7. Steve Smith, 8. Kent Keyser, 9. Zach Shannon, 10. Christian Hanger, 11. Dakota Rayburn, 12. Roy Petrey
