Jason York snapped a seven-year winless drought on Saturday night, holding off Brandon Clements and Chris Burns to score the victory at Carteret County Speedway.
The Reidsville Rocket started on the outside pole and led wire-to-wire in the race, but a mid-race competition caution tightened the field. On a restart with 35 laps to go, Chris Burns challenged York before Clements got around him. Clements then challenged York, but York held him off to pick up his first victory since July 29, 2012 when he won at Ace Speedway.
“It’s been a long road,” York said. “This crew has been struggling and struggling with all this new stuff coming out on this car, bump-stops and stuff. We’ve been struggling to get it right. Stacy Puryear has helped me out and taught me a lot on this stuff. Really appreciate what he’s done to help us. This crew, I’m thankful they stayed with us. Finally done it, finally got back to victory lane. It’s been a long time.”
York pulled away from the field in the first half of the race while Clements and Burns saved their tires. The tire management appeared as if it would pay off as both Swansboro drivers challenged York in the final laps of the race. After the race, York was grateful for being raced clean by Clements and Burns.
“I believe they were saving tires at the beginning,” York remarked. “I pushed it for about 10-15 laps and they said ‘straightaway’ and I started saving. I think they were saving. I appreciate Brandon, he drove me clean tonight. He rubbed me a couple times but that’s racing. I appreciate people racing me clean and that’s the way I race them.”
Clements entered Saturday night’s race with four wins on the season, but he was forced to settle for second.
“As bad as this thing was all morning, we’re tickled to death with this finish,” Clements stated. “Congratulations to Jason and his team. After last weekend, we figured we’d even up the score on this one. He ran an awesome race, his car was really strong. Looking forward to next week.”
Chris Burns finished third while Gerald Benton and T.J. Barron rounded out the field.
Carteret County Speedway will host an $8,000-to-win Late Model race next Sunday night as the headline event of the fourth running of the Solid Rock Carriers Labor Day Classic. The race will mark the fourth anniversary of the track’s opening, which came on September 6, 2015.
