KINGSPORT, Tenn. - Kres VanDyke and Zeke Shell both visited Kingsport Speedway’s victory lane on Friday night, as each scored wins in twin NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Stock Car features at the Kingsport, Tennessee raceway.
VanDyke was fastest in qualifying with a lap at 15.177 seconds to earn the pole for the first 35-lap feature. He grabbed the lead at start over Shell, Ronnie McCarty, Wayne Hale and Robbie Ferguson. Racing incidents early in the race parked Nik Williams, Austin Peters and Adam Gray.
During a long green flag stretch, VanDyke held the point over Shell. With five laps remaining, Shell closed on the leader, hoping VanDyke might make a mistake to open the door to get around him.
An interesting set of circumstances over the final three laps involved Ferguson and Joey Trent, who were running in the fourth and fifth positions, respectively. Racing into the first turn on lap 33, with Ferguson on the inside and Trent on the outside, Trent was forced up high, sending him spinning to bring out the caution. That set up a double-file restart with VanDyke and Shell alongside one another on the front row.
Back under green, VanDyke retook the lead over Shell. Behind them, Ferguson and Hale battled for position, with Derek Lane, Joshua Gobble, McCarty and Trent following. On the final lap, Ferguson spun between turns one and two, leaving Hale and Trent with nowhere to go as they were collected in the three-car tangle.
With the caution flag waving the field was frozen, and VanDyke recorded his division-leading sixth feature win this season over Shell in second, followed by Lane in third, Gobble in fourth, and McCarty in fifth.
The top eight finishers from the first race were inverted for start of the second feature. Both Ferguson and Trent went to backup cars due to damage from the wreck in the first feature, with both starting at rear of the field.
The first attempt to start the feature was short-lived, with the opening lap not being completed. Trent was obviously displeased with Ferguson and the outcome in the first race, and between turns three and four contact was made between the two. Ferguson’s car came to stop high in the banking against the outside wall to bring the caution out.
The next try to start the race saw Hale surge into the lead over McCarty and Williams. Shell was on the move early, moving around Williams for the third on lap 4 with VanDyke in tow.
McCarty moved past Hale for the lead off the fourth turn on lap six. Over the next lap and a half both Shell and VanDyke also worked their way around Hale and into second and third in the running order.
Shell began pressuring McCarty for the lead, but McCarty was not going to give the position up without a valiant fight. Shell finally maneuvered his way past McCarty for the lead on lap 12.
VanDyke moved behind McCarty and tried repeatedly to get a run on him, only to have the door slammed each time. As they battled, Shell moved away to his second win of the season.
McCarty finished in second, with VanDyke settling for third over Hale in fourth and Williams in fifth.
In other action, Royce Peters assumed the lead in the Modified Street feature when Trey Lane was sidelined with a broken header, and went on to score the win. Rick Utsman finished in second, with Jason Leatherwood in third, David Brown in fourth and Jared Broadbent in fifth.
John Ketron recorded his fourth Toyota of Kingsport Pure 4 feature victory, with Kenny Absher in second, Keth Helton in third, Jason Ketron in fourth and Chris Neeley in fifth.
David Brown took the lead from Kevin Canter on lap 10 of the 30-lap Mod 4 feature, and went on to capture his fourth straight victory, with Dennis Arnold, Billy Duty, Chris Amburgey, and Kevin Canter rounding out the top five.
Jamie Meadows captured his second Pure Street feature win on the season, holding off a last-lap charge from Doug Austin as they raced off the fourth turn to the checkered flag to take the victory. Stacey Castle finished in third, with Jay Swecker in fourth, and Peter Alley in fifth.
Racing resumes at Kingsport Speedway on Friday, July 14. For more information, visit NewKingsportSpeedway.com.
Kingsport Speedway – Kingsport, TN
Race Results – July 7, 2017
Late Model Stocks Race 1
1. Kres VanDyke #15 – Abingdon, VA
2. Zeke Shell #50 – Johnson City, TN
3. Derek Lane #28 – Kingsport, TN
4. Joshua Gobble #7 – Abingdon, VA
5. Ronnie McCarty #5 – Kingsport, TN
6. Duke Bare #22 – Meadowview, VA
7. Rick Pannell #33 – Kingsport, TN
8. Wayne Hale #19 – Bluff City, TN
9. Joey Trent #26 – Gray, TN
10. Billy Light #8 – Bluff City, TN
11. Robbie Ferguson #40 – Jonesborough, TN
12. Nik Williams #32 – Greeneville, TN
13. Austin Peters #66 – Kingpsort, TN
14. Adam Gray #37 – Kingsport, TN
Late Model Stocks Race 2
1. Zeke Shell #50 – Johnson City, TN
2. Ronnie McCarty #5 – Kingsport, TN
3. Kres VanDyke #15 – Abingdon, VA
4. Wayne Hale #19 – Bluff City, TN
5. Nik Williams #32 – Greeneville, TN
6. Joey Trent #26 – Gray, TN
7. Robbie Ferguson #40 – Jonesborough, TN
8. Derek Lane #28 – Kingsport, TN
9. Duke Bare #22 – Meadowview, VA
10. Billy Light #8 – Bluff City, TN
11. Rick Pannell #33 – Kingsport, TN
12. Austin Peters #66 – Kingpsort, TN
DNS: Adam Gray
DNS: Joshua Gobble
Modified Street
1. Royce Peters #42
2. Rick Utsman #12
3. Jason Leatherwood #29
4. David Brown #88
5. Jared Broadbent #74
6. Paul Shull #48
7. Kevin Wolfe #17
8. Joey Sykes #23
9. Rusty Clendenin #40
10. Dennis Deese #24
11. Bruce Crumbley #33
12. Trey Lane #40
Pure 4
1. John Ketron #27
2. Kenny Absher #11
3. Keith Helton #74
4. Jason Ketron #28
5. Chris Neeley #94
6. Bucky Smith #99
7. Levi Cox #1
8. Billy Ketron #26
9. William Hale #47
10. Paul Stanley #40
11. Larry Stapleton #15
12. Alexcia Ray #99
13. Josh Collins #77
14. Kevin Darnell #4
15. Jason Francis #6
16. Richard Quillen #13
17. Cody Curtis #18
18. Billy Byington #11
19. Craig Phelps #00
20. Dustin Kester #19
21. Brandon Sutherland #5
Mod 4
1. David Brown #88
2. Dennis Arnold #7
3. Billy Duty #1
4. Chris Amburgey #17
5. Kevin Canter #3
6. Jerry Miller #01
7. Hershell Robinette #9
8. Larry Bowens #18
9. Jessie Amburgey #7
Pure Street
1. Jamie Meadows #11
2. Doug Austin #18
3. Stacey Castle #1
4. Jay Swecker #77
5. Peter Alley #7
6. Dustin Smith #5
7. Jeremy Draughn #7
8. Bobby Talbert #67
9. Ryan Hyatt #28
10. Bobby Durbin #2
11. Anitra Little #31
