Over 50 drivers and teams arrived at Hickory Motor Speedway on an unusually warm autumn afternoon to participate in the annual Cosmo Motors Fall Brawl presented by Calico Coatings. The Late Model division attracted over a dozen Late Model veterans and Hickory track regulars, but a rookie was able to outrun them for the pole in tonight’s main event.
Ty Gibbs, who is the grandson of NASCAR car owner and three-time Super Bowl winning coach Joe Gibbs, was the only driver in the Late Model division to break into the 14-second bracket with a time of 14.977, knocking off Cole Glasson for the pole by four one-hundredths of a second. Austin McDaniel, who finished 3rd in the CARS Tour Throwback 276, will start third, while Thomas Beane and Dexter Canipe Jr. rounded out the Top 5.
Gibbs made his CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour debut in the Scott McCorkle’s Liberty Buick-GMC 300 twin races at Hickory Motor Speedway earlier this season, where he finished 12th in both races. Gibbs returned to Hickory for the Throwback 276 on August 5th, 2017, where he earned a starting spot of third place, but would ultimately finish 19th after blowing a motor on the 27th lap of the race. Gibbs will look to improve upon his three CARS Tour finishes at Hickory, while also looking to gain valuable experience as he prepares for a full-time CARS LMSC Tour run in 2018.
Several Hickory track regulars filed entries for the Fall Brawl Late Model feature, including Concord, North Carolina native Justin Carroll. Carroll earned his first CARS Tour victory in the Throwback 276 at Hickory Motor Speedway after holding off a hard charge from Austin McDaniel and Anthony Alfredo in the final laps of the race. Carroll will have to come from the ninth starting spot in order to claim another victory at Hickory.
Alfredo will also make his return to Hickory Motor Speedway after sweeping the CARS Tour twin races at the track in the spring, and finishing second to Justin Carroll in the Throwback 276. Alfredo is coming off a stellar rookie season in the CARS LMSC Tour, where he finished second in points to his JR Motorsports teammate Josh Berry, and will look to continue his momentum with a strong run at Hickory. Alfredo will roll off the grid eighth for the Late Model feature.
Statesville, North Carolina native Ryan Millington will start sixth in the Late Model main event, while Mike Darne will start seventh. Alfredo, Carroll, and Landon Huffman, who is the son of former Hickory Motor Speedway track champion Robert Huffman, round out the Top 10.
In the Limited Late Model division, track regular Monty Cox won the pole for the feature race with a time of 15.210, while Tyler Gregory will start on the outside pole. Mitch Walker will start third, with Alex Reece and Kevin Zielezinski competing the Top 5. Rounding out the Top 10 are Gage Painter, Ryan Vasconcellos, Zach Breunger, Zack Clifton and Brandon Lemke.
Late Model Starting Lineup:
1. 18 Ty Gibbs
2. 5g Cole Glasson
3. 12 Austin McDaniel
4. 31 Thomas Beane
5. 23c Dexter Canipe Jr.
6. 76 Ryan Millington
7. 21m Mike Darne
8. 8a Anthony Alfredo
9. 57c Justin Carroll
10. 75 Landon Huffman
11. 91 Stevie Johns Jr.
12. 1j Juan Gonzalez
13. 9w Charlie Watson
14. 15c Sheflon Clay
15. 7s Justin Crider
16. 4c Annabeth Barnes-Crum
17. 21d J.P. Dyar
18. 94 Matt Moremond
Limited Late Model Starting Lineup:
1. 21 Monty Cox
2. 7g Tyler Gregory
3. 29 Mitch Walker
4. 18r Alex Reece
5. 25z Kevin Zielezinski
6. 12p Gage Painter
7. 10 Ryan Vasconcellos
8. 55z Zach Breunger
9. 81 Zack Clifton
10. 22l Brandon Lemke
11. 14a Akinori Ogata
12. 97 William Lester
13. 25 Justin Taylor
