BLOOMINGDALE, TN :: On one of the most carnage filled nights in Late Model Stock Car racing history, it took just minutes shy of two hours to finish a 60-lap race at Kingsport Speedway and, in the end, a familiar face graced victory lane for his fifth win of the season.
The race started at 8:41pm. It finished up at 10:36pm. Zeke Shell qualified on the pole for the 60-lap race with a 15.121 second lap in one of tightest fields of the season over first race winner Chad Finchum, Paul Nogradi, Daniel Pope II and Kres VanDyke. One hour and fifty five minutes later Anthony Anders, who started 12th in the 20-car starting field, stood in victory lane.
As always, the top qualifiers were inverted by a draw of either four or five with this week’s draw being a five. That put VanDyke, who hasn’t won at Kingsport Speedway since 2002, starting from the pole with Pope, Nogradi, Finchum, Shell and last week’s winner Adam Long making up the first three rows.
At the start of the 60-lap race, Pope jumped out into the lead and looked to be the top contender for the win as he led the early stages of the race. One car on the move was Blake Jones who started 11th but looked as if he was on a rail and up to sixth by lap 16. During the run from lap 10 to lap 16, things got a little dicey as Anders got together with Hayden Woods and, after they touched, Anders got back to Woods, turning him sideways but allowing him to continue. After the race Anders, said he was just trying to send Woods a message to race him respectfully.
Following a spin by Ryan Stiltner on lap 16, the field got back down to business and thus far the race had been pretty tame despite two cautions. On this restart Pope had Finchum, who had been fast all day, to his outside ready to challenge for the lead. Like VanDyke before him, Finchum didn’t have enough to stay up with Pope and he’d settle into second. On lap 23, Jones, who had been making a serious run through the field after another poor qualifying effort, went up in a shower of sparks.
Jones had been chopped off by Long for sixth position thus cutting down his right front tire. Another restart and there were no challenges for Pope as he settled back into the lead ahead of Finchum as the laps begin to click off only to have another caution on lap 31. This time, two of the front runners got together as VanDyke and Tissot crashed. Under caution VanDykem slammed into the side of Tissot and a rivalry began to brew between two veterans.
At this point, Pope kept himself out front with a stout car with several challengers on restarts but no one to really give him a run for his money. Behind him, Shell had made it to second and looked strong but had a left front tire going down but he stayed out. One driver was fading and another was on the move as Finchum had faded from second earlier to fifth and about to lose that spot as Stiltner, who had spun earlier was challenging for the position.
Long was up to fourth from his disappointing qualifying effort and was looking for more. As the field got down to 15 to go, everyone was going for every position they could and Shell was closing on Pope who had led the entire race to point. With his left front still losing air pressure, he was driving the wheels off his car and was closing in on the leader. The caution waved on lap 47 as Jones went for a spin. Rain began to spit and sputter but the cars continued to keep heat in the track and keep the racing going.
13 to go and Pope jumped back into the lead as Shell got in line behind him and Nogradi and Long battled for third. Behind them, Stiltner and Anders were side-by-side for fifth as several cars got together with Lee Tissot having the majority of damage as he and VanDyke got together again in the incident. Through several restarts, Shell challenged Pope for the lead as his tire continued to leak air but he led one restart to the line. As cautions waved over and over it was still lap 50.
On the next restart, Shell were Pope are racing hard for the lead and Long, who had worked hard to get up front, dived in and made it three wide taking Pope out of the lead as he spun. Long was sent to the rear and Shell was going to inherit the lead but, just as he was about to, he made his way down pit road because the left front tire was completely flat. This would be the first of four pit stops for Shell and thus ending any chances of him winning the race.
Nogradi was now the leader for the restart and the race was still on lap 50 with Anders up to second, Stiltner was up to third, Kyle Barnes was now fourth and Finchum was back to fifth after fading earlier. Barnes and newcomer Derrick Lancaster had been solid all night with Barnes being fast all day and Lancaster uncharacteristically keeping his nose clean in sixth position. On this restart, and still on lap 50, Anders jumped to the lead as Nogradi slipped.
The caution again but it was finally lap 51 after 24 minutes and several restart attempts. Now, Anders led and Nogradi will go to the outside on the cone restart. Again, Nogradi slipped and, this time, he fell into the clutches of Stiltner who was under him when Nogradi came down and spun. Stiltner was then sent to the rear much to the dismay of his team as he was easily inside Nogradi before the incident but track rules state that all involved in the caution go to the rear.
Another lap 51 restart on tap as Anders leads Barnes, Lancaster, rookie Tyler Goodwin and Finchum. Green flag goes out again on lap 51 and Barnes stumbles from the outside line opening the door for Lancaster to take second. Barnes, Goodwin and Finchum crash as Goodwin was trying to get around Barnes who struggled on the restart. Barnes would never come to a stop and kept his position in second for the next restart. Goodwin’s car is done as smoke flows from it and he comes to a rest at the entrance to turn one.
Top five was now Anders, Barnes, Lancaster, Finchum and Bruce Blessing. It was still lap 51 and, after another restart and another caution, Pope got turned again by Long as they stacked up in front of Pope. Chad Finchum was one of the cars destroyed in this incident, but after a couple laps of caution, he was back out and still on the lead lap. Up front, it was still Anders and Barnes and this time, on the restart, Barnes was ready to give Anders a run for his money.
This time, Lancaster got his car to second taking the spot from Barnes as Pope and Long were battling again for fourth position. Barnes and Blessing both crashed bringing out another caution but it was finally lap 53 and Lancaster battled to keep Long behind him. Just as Long did to Pope earlier in the race, he turned Lancaster in front of the field. Lancaster slammed into Long under caution and Long was done for the race but Lancaster would continue.
Top five, as of this caution, was Anders, Pope, Austin Peters, Finchum and Stiltner, who, along with Anders, was the only clean car left in the field despite being in three of the night’s accidents. Pope, who had crashed twice, was challenging Anders for the top spot. Anders won the drag race for the top spot and led Pope, Stiltner, VanDyke and Shell, who had overheated and made it back in the race to challenge for fifth.
Anders widened his lead on Pope and, as they took the checkered flag, Anders went on to win his second race of the season at Kingsport Speedway and his fifth win in a row this season, including two in Greenville Pickens Speedway’s opening night and his biggest career win at Myrtle Beach Speedway in the Myrtle Beach 400. Pope, despite all his troubles, finished second with Stiltner third, VanDyke, who at one point parked his car, finished fourth and Shell rebounded from a flat left front while leading and overheating and seemingly parking his ride went on to finish fifth.
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