THORNBURG, Va. - Brandon Setzer dominated a pair of Super Late Model features for the CARS Racing Tour Saturday at Dominion Raceway in Thornburg, Virginia.
Meanwhile, Layne Riggs scored the win in the first Late Model Stock duel, while Jared Fryar inherited the second duel victory after Jeff Oakley’s engine was declared illegal by series officials.
In Super Late Model action, Setzer won the pole with a 14.385-second qualifying effort, establishing the track record for Super Late Models at the facility. Both of his laps were fast enough to place him on pole for each duel race.
Chase Purdy pursued Setzer from the drop of the green flag in the opening duel ,but rarely was able to pull within a second of the leader. It remained that way until lap 64 when Cole Rouse, who was trying to chase down Purdy for second, spun in turn one to bring out a caution, impacting the outside wall.
Back under green, Quin Houff began racing with Christian Eckes for third. But contact between those two cars caused Houff to spin on lap 66, bringing out the second and final caution of the race.
Setzer held off Chase Purdy on the restart for his first win of 2017.
During race two, Setzer picked up exactly where he left off, jumping out to a one-second lead over Purdy.
Setzer appeared to be en route to an easy victory until lap 58 when Chad McCumbee cut a right front tire and hit the outside wall exiting turn four. McCumbee was able to drive his car to the pits but was done for the afternoon.
On the restart, Setzer was forced to fend off Purdy entering turn one. Purdy drew up to Setzer’s door and challenged through turns three and four when Setzer quickly retook the top spot.
Setzer cruised to a 1.134-second margin of victory over Purdy, Nolan Pope, Houff and Mike Speeney. By virtue of his highest average finish (1.0 over two races), Setzer also locked himself into the US Nationals of Short Track Racing at Bristol Motor Speedway in May.
“This is awesome and like a dream come true,” Setzer said. “What a beautiful racetrack and what a great fan count, so thankful for all the fans who came out to support us. But, man, what a blast. This car was so good, I just really have to thank all the guys and sponsors who help us to do this.
“We made some adjustments after the first race and I felt like the car was a lot better, but the 97, he was a bunch better there, too, and I wasn’t saving anything. That was all I had. He ran me really hard and clean, so that was fun and I liked racing against him and they did a good job.”
Setzer unofficially inherited the point lead by virtue of his two-win afternoon and the misfortunes of his closest point pursuer Cole Rouse.
In Late Model Stock action, Myatt Snider, and Josh Berry led the field to green in the first duel race, with Snider controlling the opening laps.
As the race wound down, Jeff Oakley made his presence felt and ended up stealing the lead from Myatt Snider on a late race restart. Snider and Berry made contact just a few laps later which resulted in Berry spinning, a move which race control deemed over-aggressive on the part of Snider and sent both cars to the back of the field.
On the ensuing restart, Jeff Oakley bobbled in turn one, setting up a free-for-all as the field raced into turn three. Layne Riggs was able to sneak underneath of Oakley for the lead in turn three, with Deac McCaskill in tow. On the final lap, McCaskill got his nose underneath of Riggs entering turn three for the lead. The two made minor contact and raced door-to-door to the checkered flag with Riggs claiming the win by a .041-second margin.
“I didn’t know if I could hold Deac off, but I know I slipped up on the last lap and I know I had a really good car and I have to thank all the guys on my team and all my sponsors,” Riggs said. “We weren’t really sure about it in the beginning, but I kept running and being consistent. I’m just so glad I finally got my first CARS Tour win.
“I was trying to save my tires, so hopefully we can win again in the next race from sixth. We were pretty loose in the beginning, and it kept getting tighter and tighter and it was about right in the end. But I just got lucky, mainly.”
In the second duel event for the late model stocks, Oakley started on the front row and quickly jumped out to a dominant lead for 74.5 of the 75 laps. A caution for the spinning car of Craig Stallard came out during the final lap before the leader had taken the checkered flag, calling for a green-white-checker restart.
Oakley once again faltered on the late race restart, allowing Jared Fryar to snatch the lead at the conclusion of lap 75 as the field took the white flag. Fryar then slipped on the exit of two, allowing Oakley past, but Fryar tagged Oakley in turn three coming to the finish line. Oakley held on to be flagged the winner.
However, as a result of post-event inspection, the engine of Oakley’s Chevrolet late was deemed illegal by CARS Tour rulebook standards after a thorough technical evaluation.
As a result, Oakley was disqualified as the winner and Fryar was declared the winner. The triumph is Fryar’s first ever CARS Tour win, joining Riggs as a fellow first-time series winner following their respective victories.
A disqualification of Oakley’s third place finish in first duel race will also be enforced along with an undisclosed fine and loss of championship points.
The CARS Tour visits North Carlina’s Orange County Speedway for their next event on April 22. For more information, visit CARSRacingTour.com.
CARS Racing Tour
Dominion Raceway – Thornburg, Virginia
River City QDMA Duels – March 25, 2017
Super Late Model Race 1
1. 6 Brandon Setzer
2. 97 Chase Purdy
3. 15 Christian Eckes
4. 81 Quin Houff
5. 34 Nolan Pope
6. 51 Cole Rouse
7. 16m Chad McCumbee
8. 37 Mike Speeney
DNS: 16 Lucas Jones
WD: 56 Gus Dean
WD: 99 Raphael Lessard
Super Late Model Race 2
1. 6 Brandon Setzer
2. 97 Chase Purdy
3. 34 Nolan Pope
4. 81 Quin Houff
5. 37 Mike Speeney
6. 16m Chad McCumbee
7. 15 Christian Eckes
DNS: 51 Cole Rouse
DNS: 16 Lucas Jones
WD: 56 Gus Dean
WD: 99 Raphael Lessard
Late Model Stock Race 1
1. 99 Layne Riggs
2. 08 Deac McCaskill
3. 28 Chris Hudspeth
4. 8a Anthony Alfredo
5. 81 Jared Fryar
6. 88 Chris Davis
7. 44 Justin Johnson
8. 74 Ronald Hill
9. 22 Grayson Cullather
10. 88b Josh Berry
11. 2 Myatt Snider
12. 8r Trevor Rizzo
13. 42 Craig Stallard
14. 32 Brandon Grosso
15. 7 Michael Hardin
16. 18s Evan Swilling
DQ: 11 Jeff Oakley
Late Model Stock Race 2
1. 81 Jared Fryar
2. 99 Layne Riggs
3. 32 Brandon Grosso
4. 8a Anthony Alfredo
5. 44 Justin Johnson
6. 22 Grayson Cullather
7. 28 Chris Hudspeth
8. 18 Evan Swilling
9. 88 Chris Davis
10. 8r Trevor Rizzo
11. 08 Deac McCaskill
12. 7 Michael Hardin
13. 42 Craig Stallard
14. 74 Ronald Hill
15. 2 Myatt Snider
16. 88b Josh Berry
DQ: 11 Jeff Oakley
