Randy Weaver continued his hot streak on Friday at SMS.
It has been an amazing season so far in 2015 for Randy Weaver and Crossville, Tenn. driver added yet another to his list of triumphs on Friday night at Smoky Mountain Speedway by capturing the checkered flag in the Ultimate Super Late Models Series feature race. The win was worth $5,000 for the driver who has now scored ten wins out of only fifteen starts in a season he has dedicated to his late father.
Weaver was coming off a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win at Smoky Mountain in his most recent outing back in June.
The driver of the No. 116 Longhorn Chassis began the night by setting fast time in qualifying with a lap of 15.359 seconds around the 4/10 mile oval. The top-10 would be locked into the feature via time-trials so joining Weaver on the starting grid was Austin Smith, Skip Arp, Dale McDowell, Chris Ferguson, Casey Roberts, Mark Douglas, Dustin Linville, Skylar Marlar and Donald McIntosh.
Cory Hedgecock and Dustin Mitchell won the two heat races used to set the remainder of the starting lineup for the main event.
Weaver immediately bolted to the lead when the 50-lap feature took the green flag and looked as if he might turn the event into a runaway as he built a sizable advantage quickly. However, a lap 3 caution for Hedgecock banging the turn two wall erased the lead car’s margin.
McDowell would be eliminated from contention just after the ensuing restart when he was forced to stop on track while battling for second after the hood pins broke off on his car. Just moments after McDowell’s retirement, another pre-race favorite faltered when Ferguson pulled off track with a miss in his engine.
After the restart on lap 4, McIntosh began to make a move toward the front as the Dawsonville, Georgia native climbed to the fourth position from his tenth starting spot.
On lap 14, disaster almost struck the race leader when Weaver made slight contact with a car he was attempting to lap while under pressure from the second running Roberts. The slower car spun, but Weaver continued on.
After each restart, Weaver would jump out to a lead of a half straightaway or so then Roberts would slowly start to reel him in as the run went on. This was the case from lap 14 to the 38th circuit as the top-3 of Weaver, Roberts and Smith made their way around the track.
The final yellow flag waved on lap 38 when the fifth running Linville smacked the outside wall in turn two. That set the stage for the other drivers to take one last shot at Weaver.
But once again, ‘The Dream Weaver’ darted away from the pack when the green flag was unfurled. On that same restart, McIntosh made a bold move to split between Smith and Dennis Franklin to assume the third spot behind Weaver and Roberts.
From that time, Weaver was not to be deterred as he drove on to the win.
Feature Finish: 1. Randy Weaver, 2. Casey Roberts, 3. Donald McIntosh, 4. Dennis Franklin, 5. Dustin Mitchell, 6. Austin Smith, 7. Mark Douglas, 8. Jeff Smith, 9. Chad Ogle, 10. Tommy Bailey, 11. Dustin Linville, 12. Ray Cook, 13. Skylar Marlar, 14. Tommy Kerr, 15. Tim Allen, 16. Skip Arp, 17. Ashton Winger, 18. Kenny Collins, 19. Jeff Wolfenbarger, 20. David Crabtree, 21. Chris Ferguson, 22. Robby Moses, 23. Dale McDowell, 24. Cory Hedgecock
Randy Weaver celebrates in Smoky Mountain Victory Lane
