By Hunter Thomas
Dillon Motor Speedway hosted its 6th annual Independence Day celebration on Saturday, June 30.
The teams and fans didn’t let the record setting temperatures stop them from having a great Saturday night at the speedway. The Southeastern Limited Late Models were in town this past weekend to put on a Challenger race as well as a $3,000 to win Pro division feature. The speedway also took up donations for Logan Gause. She is a teenage girl who is suffering from cancer. The young girl had the strength after having a chemo treatment to come out and take in the sights and sounds of a loal racing Saturday night.
Locals Chad Webster and Raymond Polk dominated the majority of the Challenger feature. The two went back and forth for a while, but on lap 15, something went wrong with Polk, sending him to the pits. The race looked to be in the hands of Webster, but as the laps dissipated, local Kent Harper charged into the lead. With only six laps to go, Harper and second place Garrett Jones got caught up in a crash involving a lapped car coming out of turn four. Harper bounced around eventually slamming the outside wall ending his night in the Challenger feature.
Once the green flag waved, Garrett Jones took off and never looked back. The 12-year old driver went to Victory Lane for the first time in his career. After he climbed out of the car, he needed assistance to stand up on the door and wave to the crowd. Brandon Clements was the runner up, while Chad Webster had to settle for a third place finish. Nick Leitz finished fourth, and Shane Bowen finished fifth.
The local drivers absolutely dominated the Southeastern Limited Late Model Pro division feature. In the final 30 laps, the top-five cars were all bumper-to-bumper. They were literally lifting each other’s rear tires off the ground as they scrambled to the low groove waiting for someone to slip up. In the end, Jason Calhoun led all of the 100 laps to claim victory at the speedway. Marty Griggs held on to finish second in the tough, yet clean race. Josh Morris finished third and 12-year old Garrett Jones finished fourth after coming from the rear. Justin Hicks also came from the rear to capture a strong fifth place finish.
The Four Cylinder feature came down between Kevin Jackson and Randy Freeze. The two drivers fought each other all night, but in the end, Randy Freeze crossed the finish line first. This marks the second race in a row that Kevin Jackson didn’t take home the trophy, that’s a very rare sight at the speedway. However, Jackson did finish a close second. Art Chambers finished third, David Ward fourth, and Doug Penny finished fifth.
Sam Hardee captured his first victory of his career in the Mini Cup dash feature. Bill Willis dominated the Mini Cup main event. Chris Connor made one last move coming to get the checkered flag, but he had to settle for a second place finish. Dennis Owens finished third and dash winner Sam Hardee finished fourth. Chris Bachman rounded out the top-five.
Dillon Motor Speedway will be back in action on Saturday, July 7 for Western Sizzlin/Quincy’s Night. The Super Trucks will be back in action along with the Chargers, Street Stocks, Four Cylinders and UCARs. Practice will begin at 4 p.m. and the green flag will fly at 7:30 p.m.
For more information, please visit our website online at DillonMotorSpeedway.com or the Facebook and Twitter page. You may also call the race hotline at 843.496.4790.
