Shanon Buckingham
Boyd’s Speedway offered up its annual Cabin Fever event on Saturday as a cure for fans and drivers who have missed getting their racing fix over the winter months. The race proved to be just the remedy that Morristown, Tenn. driver Shanon Buckingham was looking for as he held off multiple challenges from a determined Billy Ogle, Jr. to earn the $3,500 victory in the season opening race for the Iron Man Mountain Championship Series.
Buckingham led off the afternoon by earning the pole position when he set fast time in Group A with a lap of 14.218 seconds around the third-mile clay oval. Also locked into the feature from this time-trial group were Justin Litchford, David Brannon, Derek Ellis, Ashton Horton and Mark Page.
Ogle grabbed the outside front row starting spot by setting fast time in Group B qualifying and overall with a time of 14.207 seconds. John Ownbey, Dale McDowell, Ray Cook, James Williamson and Donald McIntosh guaranteed themselves starting positions in the main event with their efforts in this session.
Mike McConnell and Riley Hickman scored win in the two last chance races used to set the remainder of the Cabin Fever starting lineup.
Cabin Fever winner Shanon Buckingham being interviewed by Iron Man Series announcer Michael Despain
On the initial attempt at a start for the 40-lap feature, Ogle used his outside front row starting spot to assume the early lead of the race. However, a caution flag waved over the field before a full lap was completed. As a result, a complete restart was called for by series officials and Ogle’s early heroics were negated.
On the second attempt at a start for the feature it was Buckingham who won the race to the first turn and his No. 50 machine emerged onto the backstretch with the lead. But soon after the second lap was completed, another yellow flag slowed the action on the track when Stacy Boles, Jody Hixson and Josh Johnson were involved in a spin.
Officials made the decision to employ only single-file restarts from that point due to the fact that restarting on the outside of the bottom dominant track would prove to be a serious disadvantage for those who would have to do it. A total of eight caution flags would be displayed over the course of the event.
Buckingham managed to bolt out to a lead of three to four car lengths on virtually every restart but would then be reeled in by the determined Ogle. A pivotal moment in the race occurred on lap 17 when the top-10 running car of McIntosh slowed to a stop on the track. Ogle had just made what looked to be a lead changing move by getting inside of Buckingham only to see the caution flag once again erase his briefly held lead.
Buckingham maintained the lead of the race throughout the second half of the race but had to hold off pass attempts by Ogle on at least two more occasions.
While the leaders were waging their battle, the cars of Litchford, Ownbey, Brannon and McDowell were staging their own hotly contested fight for positions within the top-10 just behind the lead duo.
In the end, however, it was Buckingham who drove under the checkered flag to earn the first win of the season for his Tennessee RV sponsored Double Down Motorsports team.
The double Down Motorsports team celebrates in victory lane
Feature Finish: 1. Shanon Buckingham, 2. Billy Ogle Jr., 3. Justin Litchford, 4. John Ownbey, 5. David Brannon, 6. Dale McDowell, 7. Derek Ellis, 8. Ashton Horton, 9. Ray Cook, 10. Riley Hickman, 11. Shane Tankersley, 12. James Williamson, 13. Carder Miller, 14. Dusty Carver, 15. Donald McIntosh, 16. Mike McConnell, 17. Mark Page, 18. Jadon Frame, 19. Tommy Taylor, 20. Josh Johnson, 21. Stacy Boles, 22. Jody Hixson
