Defending NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Stock Car champion Wayne Hale dominated Saturday night at Lonesome Pine Raceway, winning both 35-lap feature.
In both features, Hale worked his way around Kres VanDyke to take the win following hard-fought battles between the two.
VanDyke qualified on the pole position for the first Late Model Stock feature and quickly took the lead when the green flag was displayed. The races first caution would wave as the field had completed only the first lap for debris on the back straightaway.
Back under green flag conditions, VanDyke would regain the lead over Hale. 12 laps later, Hale would pull to the inside of VanDyke as the two began to battle for first place. Hale would complete the pass on lap 13.
On lap 14, the second caution of the race would be displayed due to emergency crews having to respond to an issue outside of the racetrack.
Back under green, the field would only make it into the first turn before an accident between Jamie Harrison, Steve Deskins and Danny Casteel would send cars sliding up the racetrack and one car spinning around.
The second attempt to get lap 14 back underway would go much smoother, with Hale retaking the lead at the exit of turn two. For the remaining half of the race, Hale would set the pace and take his first win of the season.
After winning the first feature and rolling a one on the invert dice, Hale would start the second 35-lap event from the pole.
Hale and VanDyke would battle for the lead on the start, with VanDyke rocketing to the lead on the first circuit. Hale would begin to battle back and even make contact with VanDyke, sending VanDyke sliding down the track and allowing Hale to take the lead on lap four.
The remainder of the race would go caution free as Hale picked up his second win of the night over Greg Bohannon and VanDyke.
“It feels really good to be back at Lonesome Pine and pick up two wins in a row tonight,” said Hale after his second victory of the night. “The car was pretty good tonight, but we need to do a little more tweaking. It was pretty much on a rail.”
Hale, who also competed on Friday night at Kingsport (Tennessee) Speedway, commented on pulling double duty over the weekend.
“We’ve had a great weekend between Kingsport and LPR” exclaimed the 2015 Late Model Stock Car champion. “We finished second last night and picked up two wins tonight.
“A special thanks to my crew and the fans for their support.”
Late Model Stock Car Race No. 1 (35 laps):
1. #19 Wayne Hale
2. #15 Kres VanDyke
3. #55 Phil Harris
4. #1 Dalton Hopkins
5. #76 Jamie Harrison
6. #29 Mark Meade
7. #41 Danny Casteel
8. #14 Steve Deskins
9. #17 Greg Bohannon Jr.
