ALTAMAHAW, NC :: Familiar faces graced victory lane on Friday night in the first race of the season at Ace Speedway.  It was a night where the racing community showed their support for a track that they thought they would lose during the offseason and showed their support for a veteran driver who’s racing for his life.

Boo Boo Dalton scored the win in a wild 40 lap Limited Late Model feature.  Dalton started in fifth and worked his way to the lead on lap six.  He’d lead the remaining 34 laps on his way to a win in the first race of the season.

Ahead of the Late Model race, Rodney Cook made a surprise appearance.  He was the honorary starter.  Cook told the fans that he appreciated their support and he plans to return to the cockpit of his racecar later this year.  Cook gave the command for the Late Models and the action was intense right behind it.

Through much of the race, the top four racers were nose-to-tail, bumper-to-bumper racing frantically for the lead.  John Moore, Dean Fogleman, Dustin Rumley and JD Smith all raced frantically for the lead before a caution waved for debris from Smith’s car.  On the ensuing restart, Rumley rocketed to the lead and never looked back.

Brad Kurth also had a strong run going before crashing on a restart when trying to pass Rumley’s car early in the race when Rumley’s car had problems getting up to speed.  Kurt tried to go to the outside and slammed the wall, ending his night.

Rumley is the two-time defending Late Model champion at Ace Speedway and started the season with a win as he chases his third consecutive track championship.

Following the race, Steve Hatley, who set the fast lap in Limited Late Model qualifying  was disqualified after failing post race technical inspection.

 LIMITED LATE MODEL RESULTS
1. #50 Boo Boo Dalton
2. #23 Ziggy Zimmerman
3. #9 Jason Payne
4. #52 David Sell
5. #07 Calvin Meadows
6. #22 Todd Gray
7. #13 Bethany Stovall
8. #99 Richard Placer
9. #4 Randy Sampson
DQ: #41 Steve Hatley

LATE MODEL STOCK CAR RESULTS
1. #88 Dustin Rumley
2. #71 Dean Fogleman
3. #4 John Moore
4. #59 Gary Causey
5. #10 Kevin Parker
6. #44 Coy Hedrick
7. #85 Bobby Griffin
8. #16 RD Smith
9. #9 Brad Kurth
10. #82 Barry Beggarly