Dillion, SC. — January 4th, 2012: Dillon Motor Speedway’s car counts on Sunday, January 1 were phenomenal as 100 cars entered to compete.
The speedway has had higher car count in the past, but records were shattered for the New Year’s Day Raceolution. Every division that competed destroyed their previous record of car counts at Dillon Motor Speedway. John Newsome GM Parts of Hartsville gave away a crate motor to a lucky driver, and Complete Scene Intervention gave out pole awards.
The Carolina Eastern Mini Cup Association (CEMCA) kicked off the weekend with a 25 lap feature. Carl Britt led every lap in route to a victory. The 2011 champion Bill Willis finished second after spinning on the first lap. Nicholas Robinson, 10 years old, finished third overall, but he also captured the Mini Cup Jr. victory. John Sofiled Jr. finished fourth, and Sarah Mabe rounded out the top five.
The premier event of the night was the massive 28 car Street Stock field. Drivers from Texas, Florida, and the New England region came to battle it out for $2,000 against the best drivers from around the Pee Dee.
Gary Ledbetter Jr. led an astounding 150 laps in route to his first career victory on New Year’s Day at the speedway. Jason Garver fought hard all night long, but he came up just a little short to finish second. Last year’s winner Kevin Benton had a very interesting night as he overcame a mid-race spin to round out the top three. Local racer Ricky Locklair Sr. finished fourth, and Larry Isenhower rounded out the top five.
This year was the first time that the Four Cylinders competed on New Year’s Day. Michael Tucker had an extremely strong car during the feature. He led all 30 laps and held off runner-up and 2011 champion Kevin Jackson for the first victory of the year. Randy Freeze rounded out the top three, and Emory Herring finished fourth. David Barnes finished fifth.
The Walls Roofing UCAR Clash brought a record 26 cars to the speedway. Due to rain and a time limit the feature was cut a little short, but it still had an epic finish. The top three drivers were rubbing doors and pushing each other through the corners coming to get the checkered flag. In the end, Todd Langdon came out on top for the victory with Lynn Waller and Sam Pacitti right on his back bumper. Keith Brain finished fourth, and John Belfiore finished fifth.
The Carolina Competition Sports (CCS) brought a huge field of Legends and Bandoleroes. Tate Fogleman won the Bandolero feature after overcoming a late race spin. Matt Murphey finished second, and Grant Shadduck finished third. In the Legend feature, Matt Pappa took the lead late in the race to capture the checkered flag and the trophy. Kyle Beattie who led the majority of the feature had to settle for second. Payton Ryan finished third.
Dillon Motor Speedway would like to thank all of the sponsors, fans, and teams who made this past weekend possible. The speedway will be back in action on March 10 as the Pro All Star Series heads to town. The speedway unveiled the new website this weekend as well. Be sure to vote for the 2011 Most Popular Driver on the new site. If there’s a driver not on the list that you’d like to see then please contact track officials through Facebook or the website.
For more information, please visit www.DillonMotorSpeedway.com or the Facebook and Twitter page. You may also call the race hotline at 843.774.1888.
