PELETIER, NC – Veteran racer Louis White became the latest winner at Bobby Watson’s Carteret County Speedway, holding off Jared Fryar in Saturday night’s Solid Rock Carriers Clash at the Coast presented by Team Chevrolet of Swansboro.
White, 61, from Plymouth, North Carolina, inherited the lead after Tyler Horne was taken out of the lead, and the race, trying to pass the lapped car of Kenny Daniel on lap 58 of 75 in the Solid Rock Carriers Late Model feature. White held off Fryar, who led much of the first half of the race, to pick up his first win in his first career start at Carteret County Speedway.
“We’ve been racing a long time, I’ll be 62-years-old in October, and trust me, these things are not getting any easier to drive,” White said in victory lane. “These young guys out here now, they’ve got good cars and good folks setting them up. I realize Chris Burns and a lot of those regular guys weren’t here tonight. I’m sure it will be tougher when they get here. Anyhow, first time we’ve ever raced on this racetrack. I’ve seen a lot of things on the car I want to change and make it better. I just appreciate all these guys for coming out and helping me on this car and all the fans for coming out and pulling for us.”
White had spent much of the race inside the top-three but was not sure he would be able to get around Horne had the incident with Daniel not taken place.
“I was a little tight and I was hoping it would come to me and I saw those guys throwing it sideways,” White remarked. “If we had not had that last caution, I probably wouldn’t have got him. I was catching him just a little bit before the caution came out, but it all played in our favor.”
Prior to the incident with Daniel, Horne appeared to be on his way back to victory lane – a win that would have snapped a three-year winless drought dating back to June 10, 2017.
Instead, at the end of the night, the long road back ended up getting longer. “Stuff like that happens,” Horne said. “We had a pretty good car. We still have some issues to work through, just trying to get through tonight, definitely had a good time racing with Louis and [Jared Fryar], had a good time racing with him. It didn’t end the way we wanted it to but I can’t thank the guys enough for busting their balls and getting out here every week. Wish it could have turned out different, but we’ll just regroup and get back next race.
“It’s been three years since we found victory lane but it’s getting closer. We’ve got a good piece to work with this year.”
Jared Fryar ended up finishing second in his first career Carteret County Speedway start while Daniel Vuncannon earned a third-place finish, his best at Carteret.
Carteret Speedway statement on the passing of Shawn Balluzzo
Saturday night, at Larry King Law’s Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia, 11-time Langley Speedway Modified champion Shawn Balluzzo passed away after a violent accident. The staff at Bobby Watson’s Carteret County Speedway sends their condolences to Shawn’s wife, Terri, his three children, and to the staff, racers and fans at Langley Speedway.
“We are saddened to hear about the passing of Shawn Balluzzo,” track owner Bob Lowery said. “This is a loss for the entire racing community, and we stand with our brothers and sisters at Larry King Law’s Langley Speedway and are willing to assist and support them.”
Solid Rock Carriers Late Model Results (75 laps)
- Louis White
- Jared Fryar
- Daniel Vuncannon
- Tyler Horne
- Kenny Daniel
- Paul Williamson
