PELETIER, NC – Ross “Boo Boo” Dalton was finally able to break through and score his first Carteret County Speedway feature win on Saturday night while Chris Burns put himself in position to clinch his second track championship.
Dalton raced his way past pole-sitter Paul Williamson on the opening lap of the 75 lap feature and held as a myriad of incidents took place throughout the race – including a multi-car accident on lap 29 which involved points contender TJ Barron as well as Sarah Cornett-Ching, Daniel Vuncannon, Gerald Benton, and Carson Ware, among others.
Dalton was able to fend off every challenge on the restarts en route to his first Carteret County feature win. The victory was even more satisfying after a tumultuous race at Southern National Motorsports Park a week prior.
“This is huge,” Dalton said. “We worked our butts off to get this racecar good. It took us about four trips here to get it right. We had it this good for the 150 lap race and, unfortunately, the clutch went out. This thing was just off the hook tonight. We probably ran about 60 percent right there. Chris started closing in on us and we rolled on through it right there at the end. These guys busted their butts.”
In the midway stages of the race, defending track champion Brandon Clements raced his way up to second after starting in the 12th position. However, his engine began overheating late in the race forcing him to park the car with just 17 laps remaining in the race.
With both Barron and Clements sidelined, Burns was able to cruise to a runner-up finish and pad his points lead. Leaving Saturday’s race, Burns has extended his lead in the championship to an insurmountable 19-point advantage over Barron and 25 over Barron.
“Me and TJ talked earlier today and we were really hoping it would come down to the final race and be neck and neck and that would decide it all,” Burns said after the race. “TJ’s had some terrible luck from the start of the year to now. I appreciate everybody who helps. We’ll be back out here next time.”
When Burns is officially crowned as the 2019 track champion, he will become the first repeat Late Model champion in Carteret County Speedway history. He won his first championship in 2016.
Eric Winslow picked up his third podium finish of the season while Zach Lightfoot and Carson Ware finished fourth and fifth respectively in their first Late Model starts at Carteret County. Lightfoot, who was fastest in afternoon practice, is a former winner in the Legends division at Carteret.
Results
- Boo Boo Dalton
- Chris Burns
- Eric Winslow
- Zach Lightfoot
- Carson Ware
- Kenneth Mercer
- Paul Williamson
- Gerald Benton
- Tyler Horne
- Brandon Clements
- Tim Allensworth
- Daniel Vuncannon
- TJ Barron
- Sarah Cornett-Ching
