What Won the Race: Patience. While Berry, Canipe, Watson and others were battling and running away up front, Millington saved his tires early. He methodically charged through the field in the final third of the race and drove to victory.
The Finish:
1) | 17 | Ryan Millington |
2) | 5c | Dexter Canipe Jr |
3) | 88 | Josh Berry |
4) | 9w | Charlie Watson |
5) | 18 | Casey Pierce |
6) | 77 | Travis Byrd |
7) | 47 | Brandon Grosso |
8) | 00 | Shane Lee |
9) | 1w | Dylan Wilson |
10) | 12 | Andrew Garcia |
11) | 23 | Zachary Dabbs |
12) | 07 | Hayden Humphrey |
13) | 77 | Travis Byrd |
The Skinny: Josh Berry (88) started on the pole and ran away with the opening three-quarters of the event through several early cautions. Eighth place starter Ryan Millington (17), in his Late Model Stock debut, ran down and passed Berry on lap 87 and opened up more than a full second over second-place en route to the win. Dexter Canipe Jr (5c) ran inside the top three throughout the event and passed Berry with two laps to go to grab the runner-up spot, with Berry hanging on for third.
Winning Quote: “I knew we had a really good car, I just had to save it until the end. This is a great night, I’m kind of speechless.”
Notebook: Josh Berry (88) set a new Track Record in Time Trials at 14.767.
The No. 25 car of Anthony Alfredo has already loaded up and left the track after a crash in afternoon practice.
Brandon Grosso (47) spun and backed into the turns three and four wall on his qualifying laps. The crew is working to repair his car for tonight’s feature.
Car Count: A total of 14 Late Model Stock Cars were on-hand for todays event, and it looks as though 13 will take time.
Title Fight: The Paramount Kia “Big 10” Challenge Series consists of ten Late Model Stock races at Hickory Motor Speedway. In 2015 Landon Huffman took the ten race championship over Matt Piercy and Shane Lee. A total of 55 cars earned points in the 2015 series.
Winning Chassis: Marlowe
Winning Engine: 694 Chevy
Winning Shocks: Wes Burton
Starting Line-Up:
1) | 88 | Josh Berry |
2) | 00 | Shane Lee |
3) | 5c | Dexter Canipe Jr |
4) | 07 | Hayden Humphrey |
5) | 9w | Charlie Watson |
6) | 77 | Travis Byrd |
7) | 1w | Dylan Wilson |
8) | 17 | Ryan Millington |
9) | 77t | Tal Davidson |
10) | 23 | Zachary Dabbs |
11) | 12 | Andrew Garcia |
12) | 47 | Brandon Grosso |
13) | 18 | Casey Pierce |
14) | 25 | Anthony Alfredo |
Last-Chance Race Results: There is no Last-Chance race today.
Heat Race Results: Tonight’s race lineup is being determined by Time Trials with no invert.
Qualifying Results:
1 | 88 | Josh Berry | 14.767 |
2 | 00 | Shane Lee | 14.920 |
3 | 5c | Dexter Canipe Jr | 14.921 |
4 | 07 | Hayden Humphrey | 14.991 |
5 | 9w | Charlie Watson | 15.041 |
6 | 77 | Travis Byrd | 15.072 |
7 | 1w | Dylan Wilson | 15.073 |
8 | 17 | Ryan Millington | 15.106 |
9 | 77t | Tal Davidson | 15.238 |
10 | 23 | Zachary Dabbs | 15.327 |
11 | 12 | Andrew Garcia | 15.508 |
12 | 47 | Brandon Grosso | N/T |
13 | 18 | Casey Pierce | N/T |
14 | 25 | Anthony Alfredo | N/T |
Qualifying Events: The Late Model Stocks will run Time Trials with one warmup lap followed by two laps “on the clock”.
Practice Results: The track does not have electronic timing and scoring for practice.
Event Schedule:
3:00pm | Qualifying – All Divisions |
4:00pm | On-Track Autograph Session |
4:30pm | Pre-Race Ceremonies |
5:00pm | Feature Racing |
Super Trucks – 35 Laps | |
Limited Late Models – 35 Laps | |
Street Stocks – 30 Laps | |
Late Model Stock Cars – 100 Laps | |
Renegades – 30 Laps |
Who To Watch For: In 2015 Josh Berry started just 6 of the “Big 10” Challenge Series races at Hickory Motor Speedway and took home wins in 4 of them. With the track record already broken in Qualifying, Berry has to be the odds-on favorite for tonight’s 100 lapper. Shane Lee finished off 2015 in “Big 10” Victory Lane and will be tough to beat, along with two-time winner in ’15, Dexter Canipe Jr. All three will start the 100 lapper in that order.
Entry List:
00 | Shane Lee |
1w | Donnie Wilson |
5c | Dexter Canipe Jr |
07 | Hayden Humphrey |
9w | Charlie Watson |
12 | Andrew Garcia |
17 | Ryan Millington |
18 | Casey Pierce |
23 | Zachary Dabbs |
25 | Anthony Alfredo |
47 | Brandon Grosso |
77 | Travis Byrd |
77T | Tal Davidson |
88 | Josh Berry |
The Track: Hickory Motor Speedway is a short track located in Hickory, North Carolina . It is one of stock car racing ‘s most storied venues, and is often referred to as “The World’s Most Famous Short Track” and the “Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars”. Although it has been open since 1951, the track has been reconfigured three times, it’s current layout is a .363 mile medium banked oval.
Weather: There is a slight chill in the air with the current temp at 54° under cloudy skies. There is currently a 0% chance of rain for this afternoon and evening.
Next Series Race: The next race for the Paramount Kia Challenge Series will be on Saturday March 12th.
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