MARTINSVILLE, VA – Kyle Dudley picked up his second Martinsville top-10, finishing eighth in Saturday night’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300.
Dudley, a former multi-time champion at Franklin County Speedway, had to transfer into the feature race from a heat race. After starting in the 29th position, he was able to avoid multiple incidents and methodically raced his way up through the field.
Following his valiant eighth place effort, the Roanoke, Virginia driver was elated.
“Stoked about the day. We had a really good car,” Dudley told Race22 after the race. “I knew the car was going to be pretty decent. I knew we didn’t have anything to win with unless something major happened, but I knew we could have a top-15 car, especially if we kept the fenders on it. That’s a big deal here. Just kept the fenders on it, kept it pointed straight, got up there and kept battling. There at the end, we were there. We saved our tires until the end like you should. We were really good there at the end.”
The finish was Dudley’s second top-10 finish at Martinsville. In 2014, the only other year he made the field for the race, he finished ninth.
“I’ve had pretty good luck when I make this thing, it’s just so hard to make it,” Dudley explained. “I haven’t had the luck in the heat races. Step in the right direction. I think we proved we’ve got a good car and we’re learning every time we come here. We’ll keep hammering at it and see if we can’t improve on that next year.”
Dudley is unsure of what races he will run in the final months of the season, but will most likely compete in the Southern Turkey Derby at Franklin County Speedway in November.
“It’s been a long year for us. We haven’t had a lot of help. We’ll see how it goes. We should be at Franklin County. It’s so close to home. We’ll see what I can talk my dad into.”
Josh Berry picked up the win in Saturday night’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300.
