Trent Ivey took the lead with two laps remaining
Along with the Southern All Star Dirt Racing Series sanctioned Super Late Model race that paid $12,000 to winner Chris Madden, Cherokee Speedway also staged racing in the Crate Late Model class sanctioned by the Southeastern Crate Association on Sunday. Local driver Trent Ivey executed a late race pass that paved the way for him to dive into victory lane and collect $1,500 from the Gaffney, SC track.
Bryan Mullis led the way in qualifying among the 21 cars signed in for competition in the division as he posted a time of 16.484 seconds around the 4/10 mile clay oval. With the starting grid for the feature being set entirely from time-trial results, Thomas Robinson, Trent Ivey, Brett Hamm, Dillon Brown, Dale Timms, Chastain Blackwell, Timbo Mangum, Kenny Peeples and Kyle Pierce would complete the top-10 for the main event starting lineup.
Bryan Mullis was the fast qualifier and early leader
At the start of the 25-lap feature it was Mullis who darted to the early laed with Robinson, Ivey, Hamm and Brown following. Hamm moved to the outside of Ivey to take the third position on the second circuit. However, the action was slowed by caution on lap 3 which regrouped the field and set up a restart.
The lap 3 restart proved to be costly for several drivers as a nine-car pileup took place in turns three and four.
For the next several laps after the green flag was displayed, the lead cars settled into single-file formation until anther yellow flag waved on lap 8. On the ensuing restart, Robinson moved inside of Mullis in to take the lead while Ivey surged to third. Mullis held the top spot for the time being but Robinson and Ivey would maintain pressure on the front runner.
Robinson finally wrested the lead away from Mullis on the tenth circuit with Ivey following him through to take second. Hamm then slipped by Mullis to take third one lap later with Brown also getting around Mullis for fourth.
Brett Hamm finished second
Ivey went to work on Robinson on lap 13 as he attempted to grab the lead. On lap 16 the top-3 of Robinson, Ivey and Hamm continued to roar around the track in tight formation.
Ivey’s persistence paid off on lap 23 when he rooted under Robinson in turn 2 then outran the No. 78 machine down the backstretch. Robinson then spun as the cars raced through turns three and four.
After the final restart, Ivey led the way to the checkered flag.
Feature Finish: 1. Trent Ivey, 2. Brett Hamm, 3. Dillon Brown, 4. Bryan Mullis, 5. Dale Timms, 6. Layton Sullivan, 7. Kyle Pierce, 8. Adam Yarbrough, 9. Mark Greene, 10. Mark McLoud, 11. Thomas Robinson, 12. Bill Tesh. 13. David Stone, 14. Kenny Peeples, 15. Timbo Mangum
