Dylan Ward didn’t have to start at the rear of the field for the Mischa Sell Memorial at Ace Speedway on Sunday but he had five thousand reasons to do so.
$5,000 was up for grabs to any of the top four qualifiers as a bonus for coming from the rear of the field to win the race. Only one driver would be eligible and after pole winner Trey Crews denied the opportunity to take the challenge, Dylan Ward accepted the challenge.
Ward gave up the outside of the front row for the start and with 26 other cars taking the green, the question was how long would it take for him to get there and how used up would his car be by then. Ward wasn’t phased by either question.
His younger brother Trevor Ward assumed the pole start for the race after a redraw of the top 10 qualifiers. The younger Ward assumed the lead from the start and looked to be the car to beat early but his elder sibling was on the charge. Dylan Ward moved swiftly through the field and utilized the outside line on cone restarts to move to the front of the field fast.
By lap seven D. Ward was in 8th position and charging while pole winner Crews had taken the lead momentarily. The younger Ward was back in the lead on lap 12 with his brother to his outside for the restart. Another quick caution put them back side by side for a lap 16 restart which would be the end of T. Ward’s day.
On the restart it appeared that Trevor Ward missed a shift as Dylan Ward got away from him and the field stacked up with Trevor. Much of the front running cars crashed into Ward as his brother drove away causing one of the bigger crashes of the day. Apparently the crash happened because Trevor Ward slowed up feeling that his brother had jumped the start and was waiting for the caution to come out and was slammed into by a speeding pack of cars behind him.
That put Dylan Ward in the lead and with several contenders taken out of the race. However one contender wasn’t going to go away anytime soon. Former track champion Boo Boo Dalton was ready to try and keep Ward from winning the race and getting the bonus money. Dalton would hound Ward for many laps as Crews began to fall back. Several cautions would wave, one including Motor Mile Speedway regular Preston McGhee who had engine problems and came to a rest at the exit of turn four.
Dalton took the lead moving Ward out of the top spot just after the lap 60 mark and he looked to have Ward held at bay until engine issues cost him a chance to compete for the win. Several cautions and many tore up race cars later and Ward set sail on the final restart and picked up the victory and the $5,000 bonus for starting at the rear and winning.
“All I wanted to do was go from the rear to the front and win,” said Ward following his win. “My car got better and better with all the cautions and it was one of the best cars I’ve had there at the end. This is a big win for us against some great competition.”
According to race promoter David Sell, Ward’s winnings will be close to $10,000 including the race winners purse ($2,500), the come from the rear bonus ($5,000), halfway leader bonus ($500) and lap money (total not available at time of press).
Scott Hall looked to be one of the cars to contend for the win but after riding much of the day saving his equipment a late restart saw him get shoved up into the wall. His car was damaged but the veteran driver was able to rally to finish second at the end.
Kyle Dudley wouldn’t have been anyone’s pick for a top three finish but he managed to avoid most of the crashes and worked the cone restarts to finish third. He was involved in a couple of the crashes, the biggest being one under caution when Calvin Meadows drilled him on the front straightaway not knowing the caution was out.
Robbie Brewer managed to keep his car clean throughout much of the race despite being one of the hardest chargers all race long. Most of the time he was side by side with other cars at the front of the field, banging fenders with the top runners. Gary Young, Jr. finished fifth after winning one of the heat races earlier in the day.
Billy Gregg, Richard Caldwell, Danny Willis Jr., Tommy Neal and Tracey Chambers completed the top ten. Caldwell received a bonus for the longest haul and the best appearing car. Caldwell also charged hard from the rear of the field after crashing in qualifying on Saturday and starting at the rear of the field on Sunday.
Official Results:
1) #7 Dylan Ward
2) #54 Scott Hall
3) #5 Kyle Dudley
4) #68 Robbie Brewer
5) #45 Gary Young
6) #28 Billy Gregg
7) #13 Richard Caldwell
8) #23 Danny Willis
9) #21 Tommy Neal
10) #27 Tracey Chambers
11) #0 Kirk Sheets
12) #52 David Sell
13) # 87 Matt Thomas
14) #20 Matt Taylor
15) #50 Ross Dalton
16) #07 Calvin Meadows
17) #86 Taylor Branch
18) #9 Trey Crews
19) #71 DJ Moore
20) #4 Randy Sampson
21) #47 Preston McGhee
22) #77 Trevor Ward
23) #81 Zack Clifton
24) #91 Joey Throckmorton
25) #26 Michael Tilley
26) #51 Rob Knabel
27) #5m Donnie Martin
