Randy Weaver led all the way in Gaffney, SC but had to fight off a challenge to earn the win.
Randy Weaver came into this weekend with a perfect two-for-two record for the month of March and the season. He came out of the weekend still unbeaten in 2015. The Crossville, Tenn. racer added a $7,500 Southern All Stars victory at Cherokee Speedway to the Ultimate Super Late Model Series win he collected on Saturday at Smoky Mountain Speedway.
But this win was not without its challenges. Jonathan Davenport kept the heat turned up on Weaver throughout the race’s second half and it was an event filled with calamity.
Weaver was the fastest qualifier in Group A and overall when he laid down a time of 16.477 seconds. Weaver along with Casey Roberts, Chris Ferguson, Jonathan Davenport and Todd Morrow were locked into the feature via time-trials from this group.
Two-time and defending Southern All Stars champion Riley Hickman led the way in Group B qualifying with a lap of 16.754 seconds around the 4/10 mile oval. Also being locked into the feature from this group were Dennis Franklin, Ross Bailes, Donald Bradsher and Anthony Sanders.
Jason Hiett and Chris Madden won the two B-main races used to set the remainder of the feature starting lineup. Madden was a late arrival at the track and missed hot laps due to attending the funeral of his grandmother.
Weaver took command of the feature from the very start ahead of Hickman, Roberts, Ferguson and Franklin. In just two laps, the #116 car had built a lead of several car lengths over the pack. But it was at that point when the race began to take a turn for the somewhat unusual.
On lap 2, Morrow, Madden and Anthony Sanders tangled going into turn one. While the incident was not particularly out of sorts as all three drivers continued on, it became the first of seven instances in which the race would be slowed or stopped due to accidents.
When the race returned to green flag conditions, Davenport began making a move toward the front from his 7th starting position as he moved around Ferguson to capture 4th and then Hickman to grab 3rd on successive laps.
The race’s first complete stoppage came on lap 6 when the car of Brent Dixon overturned and ended up on its roof in turn three. The driver was uninjured and the race resumed a few moments later.
On that ensuing restart, Davenport was able to get by Roberts to claim the runner-up spot. The #6 machine then closed on the leader when Weaver found himself briefly bottled up by slower traffic.
Another caution on lap 16 set up the race’s biggest moment. On the ensuing ‘Dixie Double-file’ restart, two of the front running cars appeared to get together. That, in turn, set of a chain reaction crash that would ultimately claim almost half the field and leave a slew of mangled cars sitting at the end of the front straightaway.
The #38 of Dillon Tidmore sits on top of the overturned car of Dustin Mitchell.
The likes of Ferguson, Madden, Bailes, Dillon Tidmore and Dustin Mitchell were eliminated due to the mishap while a number of other cars continued on with damage.
After a somewhat lengthy delay to clear the wreckage, the race resumed and Weaver continued to set the pace. However, Davenport and Roberts never let the #116 get away to a big margin. Instead, Weaver’s closest pursuers were able to close in and looked as if they might offer a serious challenge to his dominance.
A lap 38 caution slowed the race pace again when Hickman tangled with a slower car while racing Hiett for 5th place.
From that point, Davenport stayed right on the rear spoiler of Weaver, and even offered a challenge for the lead on a couple of occasions over the final 12 laps. But Weaver was able to hold on for his second victory of the weekend and his fourth of the season.
Feature finish: 1. Randy Weaver, 2. Jonathan Davenport, 3. Casey Roberts, 4. Dennis Franklin, 5. Jason Hiett, 6. Jimmy Rasey, 7. Riley Hickman, 8. Anthony Sanders
