After a day that saw rain, multiple Sprint Car flips, and fence repairs, a doctor was definitely needed to check on the diehard fans still in attendance at the end of the Super DIRTcar Big Block Modified feature at 3:30 a.m. ET. Fortunately, there was a doctor in the house as “The Doctor” Danny Johnson wheeled his way into victory lane at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway (NC) for the World Finals night two win.
Johnson used his track position and a handful of early restarts to take over the lead. He started third and then quickly moved into second before the first caution flag flew on just the third lap of the race.
On the first restart Johnson had the outside position, but he crossed under Jimmy Phelps in turn one to draw even off turn two. Johnson and Phelps drag-raced down the backstretch and into turn three before Johnson prevailed with the lead off turn four.
Danny Johnson slides through turn four at Charlotte. (Daryl Canfield/Speed51.com photo)
“He was tight and I knew he was going to do what he did,” said Johnson. “So I did what I did. It was pretty simple. We just had a fast hotrod.”
After taking the lead, Johnson quickly stretched out a gap of close to 15 car lengths over Phelps, Matt Sheppard and Billy Decker as they engaged in a battle for second.
Their battle for position was cut short as the caution flag waved again on lap 11 for the slow car of Duane Howard in turn four.
The three cautions during the race helped out two competitors who were moving fast through the field. Larry Wight made his way from 10th to second and was closing fast on Johnson before running out of time. Also, Brett “The Jet” Hearn started 25th in the 28-car field, but he made his way into the top 10 to finish seventh.
Now there’s just one night left for the Super DIRTcar Series season. All that remains is Saturday night at the Dirt Track. Qualifying for this race was supposed to take place on Thursday evening, but heat races were postponed to Saturday evening due to time constraints after a midday rain shower.
While qualifying still has to take place before Johnson will even know where he starts on Saturday, he’s already thinking about the weekend sweep.
“That would be really cool,” said Johnson with a laugh. “That would actually be too cool.”
For an on-demand replay of Friday night’s Trackside Now coverage of the Big Block Modifieds, click here: http://speed51.com/trackside-now-world-finals-friday-at-charlotte/
-By Rob Blount, Speed51.com Regional Editor – Twitter: @RobBlount
-Photo Credit: Daryl Canfield/Speed51.com
Super DIRTcar Series World Finals Friday Night
The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina
Unofficial Results
| 1 | 27 | Danny Johnson | 30 |
| 2 | 99 | Larry Wight | 30 |
| 3 | 91 | Billy Decker | 30 |
| 4 | 9H | Matt Sheppard | 30 |
| 5 | 66 | Stewart Friesen | 30 |
| 6 | 1d | Tyler Dippel | 30 |
| 7 | 20 | Brett Hearn | 30 |
| 8 | 98H | Jimmy Phelps | 30 |
| 9 | 66 | Duane Howard | 30 |
| 10 | 21a | Peter Britten | 30 |
| 11 | 35 | Frank Cozze | 30 |
| 12 | 7T | Gary Tomkins | 30 |
| 13 | 42P | Pat Ward | 30 |
| 14 | 85 | H.J. Bunting | 30 |
| 15 | 6 | Max McLaughlin | 30 |
| 16 | 5H | Chris Hile | 30 |
| 17 | 43 | Keith Flach | 30 |
| 18 | 66x | Carey Terrance | 30 |
| 19 | 07 | Tim Kerr | 30 |
| 20 | 7 | Rick Laubach | 30 |
| 21 | 8 | Rich Scagliotta | 30 |
| 22 | 25R | Erick Rudolph | 22 |
| 23 | 15 | Billy Pauch, Jr. | 19 |
| 24 | 56B | Mike Bowman | 13 |
| 25 | 19 | Tim Fuller | 8 |
| 26 | 14s | Craig Von Dohren | 3 |
| 27 | 33 | Mike Mahaney | 3 |
| 28 | 7z | Mat Williamson | 1 |
