Pierce McCarter steered the MasterSbilt house car to a Hangover victory
411 Motor Speedway staged the 11th annual Hangover on Saturday with the Super Late Model division serving as the main attraction. At the end of a day filled with racing action, it was Pierce McCarter who earned the win on a track that tested the durability and determination of the men and their machines. The Gatlinburg, TN driver returned the MasterSbilt Race Cars house car to victory lane and earned $5,000 for his efforts on his home track.
A week filled with snow and rain around the east Tennessee area softened the racing surface and definitely gave the track plenty of character.
Cory Hedgecock led the way in Group A qualifying with a lap of 13.226 seconds around the 3/8 mile clay oval to beat out Dustin Linville, Levi Ashby, Jimmy Sharpe Jr., Matt Henderson and Tommy Bailey.
Clay Coghlan set fast time in Group B qualifying with a lap of 13.532 to beat out Pierce McCarter, Drake Troutman, Christian Hanger, Tyler Millwood and John Minon.
The top-6 from each qualifying group were locked into the feature.
Johnny Cloer won the first B-main of the night over Jadon Frame, Colton Proffit, Brandon Hardgrove and Craig Greer.
Steve Stollings was victorious in the second B-main ahead of Larry Barber Jr., Clint Hodges, Daniel Richards and D.J. Hayes.
At the start of the 50-lap it was Hedgecock who jumped out to the early lead with Coghlan, Linville, McCarter and Millwood trailing. On the second circuit both Linville and McCarter shot by Coghlan to claim second and third. Then it was McCarter who who continue his climb as he roared by Linville to grab the runner-up position.
The yellow flag waved on lap 4 at the top-5 running car of Coghlan slowed and ultimately retired from the race. On the ensuing restart, Sharpe moved forward and briefly took the second spot but was passed by Linville to relinquish the place.
A series of cautions over the laps leading up to the halfway allowed drivers such as Linville, McCarter, Troutman, Sharpe, Ashby and Millwood to exchange positions within the top-5 on the restarts.
A lap 15 caution brought about the end of the night for the second-running Linville but he would not be the last of the front runners to fall victim to attrition.
The race’s most pivotal moment came following a lap 15 restart when Hedgecock bobbled, allowing McCarter and Troutman to pass by. Then after contact while racing three-wide for second with Troutman and Millwood, the early leader slowed and eventually fell from the race.
Only seven cars remained during the race’s second half as McCarter took command of the race. But Hanger proved to be a relentless challenger as he pulled his No, 27 machine right to the rear spoiler of McCarter’s No. 71 on multiple occasions. However, a bobble with less than ten laps remaining appeared to doom Hanger’s chances.
As the laps clicked away, Hanger made one final run and again closed to McCarter’s bumper bar but the MasterSbilt house car would eventually sail under the checkered flag to claim the win.
Feature Finish: 1. Pierce McCarter, 2. Christian Hanger, 3. Tommy Bailey, 4. Drake Troutman, 5. Jimmy Sharpe Jr., 6. Steve Stollings, 7. Colton Proffit, 8. Levi Ashby, 9. Tyler Millwood, 10. Jadon Frame, 11. Daniel Richards, 12. Cory Hedgecock, 13. Dustin Linville, 14. Matt Henderson, 15. Johnny Cloer, 16. Craig Greer, 17. Clint Hodges, 18. Larry Barber Jr., 19. Clay Coghlan, 20. John Minon, 21. D.J. Hayes, 22. Brandon Hardgrove
Here’s our post-race interview with winner Pierce McCarter:
