HENDERSNVILLE, NC :: Former UARA Champion Lee Tissot set the fastest lap in qualifying for the Sunoco Pole at 13.010 followed by Garrett Campbell at a 13.021. The 15 car field was set with a mere .345 separating the top ten.  The challenge was on and it wouldn’t stop until the checker flew in the hands of Gregg Walker.

On the start Tissot appeared to have a missed a gear and the field was quick to scatter. Local driver Mark McIntosh would be the victim of the first turn rumble along with Ed Surrett.  Surrett would spin and continue on but McIntosh would have his night end before he had even begun. McIntosh would receive the Arbodies Hard Luck Award due to his misfortune.  The field was immediately placed under caution and then red while the track crew went to work to take the disabled McIntosh car to the pits.

When the green was displayed again Campbell and Tissot would put on a battle for the lead  and it would be Tissot a nose ahead for the first few green flag laps of the Sunoco 150 . In a show of sheer strength Campbell took the lead on lap 16 and lead every lap thereafter leaving the field to chase him down.  Campbell will be the Tilton Most Laps Lead winner of this event. And a chase it surely was.  Point leader Dillon Bassett who is not known for qualifying expertise of late was back in the pack.  He qualified 13th and had his work cut out for him.  The field was tight and nobody was giving an inch.

On lap 14 Darrell Williams who is in mid pack was real loose but managed to hang on and save himself and the remainder of the filed behind him. Bassett has moved up to 10th by lap 18.  The car of Garrett Jones has been slowing on the track loosing positions.  Surrett takes another spin in turn 2 on lap 26 and the caution will fly for the second time.  Jones will take advantage of this time and go to the pits for adjustments on his machine.

When the green flies again Campbell will continue his lead.  Wayne Webb, Thomas Beane and Taylor Coffman are giving the fans a thrill as they come three wide thru turns three and four.  As luck would have it and some tense driving they all make it without incident.

Caution three will fly on lap on lap 37 as Surrett once again spins coming out of turn two.  The race will run green again until Kaz Grala and Chandler Levan make contact.  Levan is in a sideways spin coming thru turns one and two.  He will eventually stop on the apron in turn two, spin it on around and head on down the backstretch at which point he looses a fender.  Levan’s ability to save the machine from the wall will earn him the Pigwire Electrifying Move of the Race Award.  Levan will be in and out of the pits for service.  After a short green period, Levan will spin once again in turn 4 bringing out the fifth and final caution on lap 68.

This will set the stage for one fantastic race to the finish with 78 green flag laps to the end.  Campbell sets sail with Tissot  falling back thru the field.  Bassett is working his way forward and Travis Swaim is in second place at this time.  A few car lengths behind  Swaim, Steve Wallace and Grala are doing a fender rubbing paint swapping dance to the excitement of the fans. While this is going on Bassett has managed to work his way up to third position and he and Swaim will continue to pressure one another all the way to the finish line.

Wallace and  Grala latch on to the bumper of Tissot and Kaleb Pressley latches on to the tail of this train.  A few laps later Garrett Jones catches this pack and it is on from there.  Campbell is a straightaway out front with no worries.  Pressley lets Grala know he is there and Wallace puts the pass on Tissot.  Grala follows suit and passes Tissot after several laps of the side by side dance.  Next comes Pressley doing the same thing.  While this is going on Bassett is trying his best to put a pass on Swaim to no avail.

Back to the train Grala is leaning very hard on Wallace with Pressley and Jones right nose to tail with them going two and three deep in the turns with the leader coming up on them.  Nobody is going to give an inch and Campbell is there.  With such close racing there is plenty of contact between them all and Campbell is watching the plot play out.  Last lap turn three and four contact is made between Pressley and Grala due to the intense battle going on and Grala will spin.  Campbell will sail on home to the checkers with his Ford Crate Motor showing its dominance in the Tennessee hills.  Campbell set the Driven Racing Oil Fastest Lap of the race at 13.264 on lap 49.

Garrett Jones will come home as the Circle Wheel/Xtreme Trophies and More Rookie of the Race. Steve Wallace will win the FLUIDYNE Cool Under Pressure Award after maintaining his lead on the freight train.  Dillon Bassett will once again be awarded the Holley Performer of the Race Award.   Charlie Long will receive the Comp Cams Engine Builder of the Race.

The UARA-STARS will be in action once again Saturday October 19 at Tri County Motor Speedway.

Racing with the  UARA will be the Southeast Super Trucks for 75 laps, Street Stocks for 50 laps (or 40 Minutes) and the Carolina Vintage Racers for another full night of racing excitement.

Sunoco 150 Finish at Newport

1.   Garrett Campbell
2.   Travis Swaim
3.   Dillon Bassett
4.   Steve Wallace
5.   Kaleb Pressley
6.   Garrett Jones
7.   Kaz Grala
8.   Wayne Webb
9.   Lee Tissot
10. Thomas Beane
11. Taylor Coffman
12. Ed Surrett
13. Darrell Williams
14. Chandler Levan
15. Mark McIntosh