ALTAMAHAW, NC :: Dustin Rumley stood victorious in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 100 at Ace Speedway on Friday night after the rain passed and the dust settled. Rumley took the lead from RD Smith on lap 45 and never looked back on his way to his fifth win of the season.
“We had a really good car,” Rumley said. “It just got better as we went. The outside wasn’t good tonight. I think the rain washed some of the rubber off. We just couldn’t get any grip up there. Barry Beggarly, of all people, went up there and spun out. It’s crazy. Starting the race on the outside, I got shuffled back to fifth spot. I had to pick them off and come back through there. I wasn’t worried. We had a really good car. I got out front there and made laps.”
Rumley started second after the top six drivers in the track points standings drew for their starting position. The draw was a result of qualifying getting rained out. Smith started on the point and led the first 45 laps. Once Rumley checked out, Smith was able to hold off the rest of the field en route to a runner-up finish.
“We just couldn’t get back up to Dustin,” Smith explained. “We had a great car early and then it took off after that one caution and it just didn’t come in like it had been. I thought the car just faded a little bit but come find out, we had a flat right rear. Dustin was fast and he just put it on us. He got right by me and we stabalized there for a little while. I’d catch him one lap and he’d beat me one lap and we matched each other. He was just out three or four car-lengths. I made some gains here and there. He’d beat me off two and I’d beat him off four. My guys did a terrific job and we’ll come back next week.”
Behind those two, attrition took its toll. A series of spins involving top contenders and a solid run propelled John Moore to a third place finish.
“The car was real tight,” Moore remarked. “We were pretty lucky to get a third place finish. “
Ryan Gray and Robert Turner rounded out the top five.
The race was slowed by five cautions in the 100 lap feature. The worst incident of the evening came when Bobby Griffin hit the wall in turn three on lap 42, ending his race. Griffin was involved in another on track incident with Coy Hedrick on lap 21. Dean Fogleman and Brian Pembleton also had an on-track skirmish in turn one resulting in both drivers spinning. Both cars drove away on their own power, although the incident left Fogleman miffed at Pembleton. The damage Fogleman sustained resulted in heavy damage to his car and the team is unsure they will be able to race again this season after the incident.
The O’Reilly Auto Parts 100 was a double points feature for the Late Model Stock Car division at Ace Speedway. Rumley’s victory allowed him to pad his points lead over RD Smith in the track’s championship standings.
The next race for the Late Model Stock Cars at Ace Speedway will be on Friday night, September 6th.
RACE22.com’s Corey Latham contributed to this report.
Race Results
1. #88 Dustin Rumley
2. #16 RD Smith
3. #4 John Moore
4. #12 Ryan Gray
5. #13 Robert Turner
6. #00 Brian Pembleton
7. #82 Barry Beggarly
8. #71 Dean Fogleman
9. #15 Trey Hutchens
10. #44 Coy Hedrick
11. #85 Bobby Griffin
12. #9 Dylan Ward
