In a tight, competitive race that saw numerous great battles around the track and several different drivers contend for the win, CARS Response Energy LMSC Tour points leader once again found himself at the front of the field as he claimed his second career victory in the series after taking over the top spot with less than 40 laps remaining.
“I had seen those guys take off, and they took off really hard,” McCarty said. “We had a game plan, as this was a 150-lap race on a old, wore-out race track, and we decided to just ride and let them go. They started losing some forward drive and some rotation, and around Lap 85, I made my move, and we got out front and set sail.”
McCarty began his afternoon by securing the 4th starting position behind polesitter Ty Gibbs, who got off to a fast start by leading nearly the first-quarter of the 150-lap Late Model feature. Despite the strong start, Gibbs’ car quickly began to fade after Lap 30, and ultimately found himself clinging onto a Top 10 position after Austin McDaniel passed him for the lead on a Lap 41 restart.
The next 70 laps saw McDaniel locked in a tight battle with Craig Moore, who had climbed all the way to the front after starting in the 10th position. Moore would eventually wrestle the lead away from McDaniel during a restart on Lap 74, but McDaniel refused to let Moore out of his sights as the two drivers sought to hold off a talented group of Late Model veterans to pick up their first career victory.
As Moore and McDaniel dueled, the drivers who had saved their equipment earlier in the race began to work their way to the front, among them being McCarty, who had worked his way to the back bumper of McDaniel by Lap 111. After passing McDaniel, McCarty made short work out of Craig Moore for the lead, and would not receive a major challenge from anyone else for the rest of the evening as he cruised to victory lane.
McCarty’s victory in the Cloer Construction 300 continues a recent string of success for him that includes victories in the Hampton Heat and Do the Dew 150, and also allowed him to extend his points lead over his competition, but the Summerfield, North Carolina native does not plan to compete in the U.S. Short Track Nationals at Bristol Motor Speedway in two weeks. McCarty knows that skipping Bristol will hurt his chances of bringing home a CARS Response Energy LMSC Tour championship for his team, but he is happy to be a part of the series and is looking forward to having more opportunities to score victories.
“It would be extremely hard to miss a race and still win a championship,” McCarty said. “But like I said after Tri-County and Orange County, we are here to win races, and if we miss Bristol and somehow win the championship then that would be great and I would be extremely proud about that, but we are looking for trophies.”
2017 CARS Response Energy LMSC Tour champion Josh Berry made a charge to the front in the final laps of the race, and was able to pass Tommy Lemons Jr. for second with two laps remaining. Lee Pulliam, who started in the rear of the field and made two pit stops to make adjustments to his car, came home with a 4th place finish while Mid-Atlantic Classic winner Deac McCaskill rounded out the Top 5.
Unofficial Results:
1. 22m Bobby McCarty
2. 88 Josh Berry
3. 27 Tommy Lemons Jr.
4. 5 Lee Pulliam
5. Deac McCaskill
6. 74 Ronald Hill
7. 9 Sam Mayer
8. 57 Justin Carroll
9. 99 Layne Riggs
10. 5g Cole Glasson
11. 18 Ty Gibbs
12. 22 Grayson Cullather
13. 77 Trevor Ward
14. 9w Charlie Watson
15. 5c Dexter Canipe Jr.
16. 12m Austin McDaniel
17. 2p Brandon Pierce
18. 95 Jacob Heafner
19. 07 Bradley McCaskill -1
20. 17 Ryan Millington -1
21. 44 Will Burns OUT
22. 1m Craig Moore OUT
23. 2d Chris Denny OUT
24. 14 Ryan Repko OUT
25. 2 Cody Haskins OUT
