Rick Eckert wins on the second night at Screven
The World of Outlaws Late Models capped off its two-race weekend at the Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, GA on Saturday night with a $10,000-to-win Super Late Model show that saw Pennsylvania’s Rick Eckert roll into victory lane and collect the big prize. It was the first win of 2016 for the veteran racer and the 35th WoO triumph of his career.
Eckert began the night by leading the way in Group A qualifying when he posted a time of 14.285 seconds around the clay oval. He was followed in that group by Joey Coulter, Frank Heckenast, Jr., Ray Cook and Steve Casebolt.
Billy Moyer, Jr. proved to be the fastest in Group B and overall when he ran a lap in 14.151 seconds. Brian Shirley, Jason Covert, Chris Ferguson and Shane Clanton clocked in just behind Moyer with their time-trial efforts.
Heckenast took the lead early then held off an almost constant challenge from Eckert to win the first heat race of the night. Dennis Franklin and Morgan Bagley followed the lead duo to the checkered flag.
Coulter eventually emerged from a lead swapping battle with Donald Bradsher to claim the second heat race. Boom Briggs and Eric Wells also transferred to the feature out of this preliminary.
Moyer dominated the third heat to take the win over Covert, Coleby Frye and Shane Clanton while Shirley ran away with the night’s final heat ahead of Ferguson, Casey Roberts and Josh Richards.
Chub Frank and Billy Ogle, Jr. earned wins in the two Last Chance Showdown races used to set the remainder of the starting lineup for the main event.
The redraw among the top-2 finishers from each heat race placed Bradsher on the pole for the feature event with Ferguson, Covert, Eckert, Heckenast, Moyer, Shirley and Coulter set to take the green flag behind his lead. However, Bradsher would never get the opportunity to lead the pack as his car suffered a mechanical failure during pace laps.
Ferguson quickly took command at the start of the 50-lap feature ahead of Eckert, Covert, Shirley and Briggs. At that point, the Mt. Holly, NC driver maintained a slight advantage over his veteran pursuer during the early laps of the race as most cars settled in on the bottom groove at both ends of the speedway.
A major development occurred on lap five when the previous night’s winner, Shane Clanton, went for a spin coming out of turn four. The defending WoO Late Models champion was relegated to the rear of the field for the ensuing restart.
For the next several green flag laps, the top-4 cars of Ferguson, Eckert, Covert and Briggs maintained their positions as they spaced out with a couple of car lengths between each. However, a much more intense battle was shaping up behind them as Shirley, Heckenast and Moyer fought over the fifth spot in the running order.
Richards, who began the feature from the 16th position, moved his way forward during the middle sections of the race as he found himself up to 8th place by lap 16.
The lead cars became tightly bunched as the reached the tail of the pack during a green flag run that lasted between lap 14 and 39. Eckert began to apply heavy pressure at the rear of Ferguson’s car as Shirley, Heckenast, Moyer, Richards and Roberts waged war for positions 5-9 on the track.
The pace slowed as the laps clicked away and Ferguson’s car began to show the signs of a possible issue. Finally, Eckert was able to make his move around the leader on lap 37. And just two laps later, Ferguson suffered a flat tire which sent him to the pit area prematurely.
Once in the lead, Eckert was never seriously threatened as he pulled away from the field to claim the win. He was joined on the podium by two fellow Pennsylvania residents as Briggs and Covert crossed the finish line second and third.
Feature Finish: 1. Rick Eckert, 2. Boom Briggs, 3. Jason Covert, 4. Frank Heckenast, Jr., 5. Casey Roberts, 6. Billy Moyer, Jr., 7. Josh Richards, 8. Morgan Bagley, 9. Chub Frank, 10. Billy Ogle, Jr., 11. Dennis Franklin, 12. Kenny Pettyjohn, 13. Eric Wells, 14. Brandon Overton, 15. Shane Clanton, 16. Steve Casebolt, 17. Chase Junghans, 18. Jordan Yaggy, 19. Joey Coulter, 20. Tyler Erb, 21. Brian Shirley, 22. Chris Ferguson, 23. Coleby Frye, 24. Donald Bradsher
