Canipe Jr. Takes Win

 (Newton, NC – June 18, 2018)  Racing action returned to the Catawba Valley on Saturday night with 321 Lawnmower Sales & Service Night at the Races presented by Whelen.

Leading off the evening would be the always exciting Carolina Custom Golf Cart 4-Cylinders and their 25 lap feature. Hickory Motor Speedway points leader Brian Mundy in the #6 would set fast time in qualifying and start from the pole position with the #25 of Dennis Ward to his outside. Mundy would take the early lead with Ward close behind. Ward would spin and bring out the first caution which would bunch the field for the restart. Mundy would once again get a good start and drive assume the lead with Cody Combs in the #9 giving chase. Mundy would duplicate his performance from a week earlier and drive on to take the victory over 2nd place finisher Allison Houston in the #29. Dennis Trivette in the #28 would finish 3rd, Combs would finish 4th, and Ward would round out the top 5

Rolling off the grid next would be the Hickory Vintage Racers for 25 laps of battle. The #16 of Bill Webb would lead the field to the green flag with Bill Powell in the #71 to his outside. Bill Webb would jump to the early lead with Powell close behind to keep the pressure on Webb. The pair would stay like that for the entirety of the race and see 82 year old Bill Webb grab another win. Powell would hang on for 2nd, Robert Webb in the #6 would come home in 3rd, and Tom Fenn in the #83 would finish 4th.

The Cosmo Motors Street Stocks would be the next to see on track action with their 30 lap feature. Gary Ledbetter Jr in the #32 would make a rare appearance at America’s Most Famous Short Track but make the most of it with the fast lap in qualifying and start from the point with the #7 off Jeff Sparks to his outside. Ledbetter and Sparks would put on a furious battle for the top spot. Ledbetter would eventually drive to the lead with Sparks hot in his tracks. Battles would ensue throughout the field with no one giving an inch. Ledbetter would drive on to the win with Sparks finishing 2nd. Mark Whitten in the #77 would grab a podium finish with 3rd while Troy DeMarmels in the #18 would move into the points lead with a 4th, and Marshall Sutton in the #64 would work his way through the field to finish 5th and be just 2 points out of the points lead.

The Paramount Auto Group Limited Late Models would hit the track for 50 laps in Round #5 of the Paramount Kia 'Big 10' Challenge. Fast rookies would make up the front row as Gage Painter in the #12 would grab the pole while the #14 of Vince Midas was close behind and would start to his outside. Painter and Midas would battle side by side until Painter would finally use the preferred line to take the top spot with Midas close behind. Racing would be fast and furious throughout the field until the #18 of Cody DeMarmels would have tire troubles and bring out the caution on lap 34. Painter would get a good start on the restart and leave the battle behind him for second and beyond. Painter would prove too tough on the night and take the checkered flag for his first Hickory Motor Speedway victory. Midas would hold on for a hard fought 2nd with Josh Kossek in the #44 fighting his way up to a well deserved 3rd. Taylor Gray in the #15 would work his way up to finish 4th, and Taylor Nesbitt in the #92 would work her way up from a starting position outside the top 10 to finish 5th.

Next up would see the Renegades hit the track for 20 laps of side by side action. Hickory Motor Speedway points leader Justin Austin in the #1 would set the fast time and start from the point with the #7 of Brian Larkin to his outside. Larkin would get the best start of the front row and take the early lead. Larkin would hang it out with a loose race car for several laps until Austin would catch and pass him along with the #83 of David Hasson. Austin would go on to grab the win with Hasson finishing 2nd. Kenneth Roberts in the #8 would finish 3rd, Robbie Hollifield in the #51 would finish 4th, and the #4 of Joseph Hodges would finish 5th.

Closing out the night would be the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Models with their 80 lap feature. 2015 Hickory Motor Speedway Track Champion Matt Piercy would have a week off from his Hendrick Motorsports engineering duties and decide to come back to race at his home track. He would definitely make the most of his visit setting fast time in qualifying and take the pole position with a lap of 14.939. 2016 Hickory Motor Speedway Track Champion Dexter Canipe Jr would start from the outside pole position. Row two would be made up by Zach Bruenger in the #55 and Jeremy Pelfrey in the #51. During an exciting side by side battle for the lead Canipe would nose ahead early but Piercy wouldn’t give up easily and moved back around for the top spot. Battles would rage throughout the field that was only separated by a couple of tenths in qualifying. Bruenger would move around Canipe for the second spot on lap 33 and look to chase down the leader Piercy. A caution on lap 59 would bunch the field for a restart. Piercy would move to the front again on the start but contact in turn 4 would send Piercy spinning and Bruenger to the back as well. Canipe would assume the lead on the ensuing restart with Jeremy Pelfrey in the #51 in close row. Canipe would hang on for the remaining 20 laps and grab the win. Jacob Heafner in the #95 would finish 2nd with Pelfrey grabbing 3rd. Austin Green in the #2 would finish 4th and Bruenger would round out the top 5.

The NASCAR Whelen All American Series will be back in action next week with Woodforest Bank Night at the Races featuring Twin 40s for the NASCAR Whelen All American Series Late Models, Paramount Auto Group Limited Late Models, One Design Super Trucks, Carolina Custom Golf Cart 4-Cylinders, Renegades, and the Smash and Crash Series.

On July 6th & 7th Hickory Motor Speedway welcomes the Monster Trucks of Destruction for two nights of Monster Truck Mayhem!

For more info check us out at www.hickorymotorspeedway.com, on FB, Twitter, and Instagram.

Hickory Motor Speedway - Race Results for 6/16/2018

4-Cylinders - Feature

Finish    Car No  Driver                    Hometown         DQ/DNS/DNF

1              6M         Brian  Mundy     Concord, NC

2              29H        Allison Houston Conover, NC

3              28T         Dennis Trivette Newton, NC

4              9              Cody Combs       Lenoir, NC

5              25           Dennis Ward      Hickory, NC

6              11           Robert Trivette Newton, NC

4-Cylinders - Qualifying

Finish    Car No  Driver                    Hometown         DQ/DNS/DNF

1              6M         Brian  Mundy     Concord, NC

2              25           Dennis Ward      Hickory, NC

3              11           Robert Trivette Newton, NC

4              9              Cody Combs       Lenoir, NC

5              29H        Allison Houston Conover, NC

6              28T         Dennis Trivette Newton, NC       DQ

 

Classic Sportsman Racing - Feature

Finish    Car No  Driver                    Hometown         DQ/DNS/DNF

1              16           Bill Webb             Statesville, NC

2              71P         Bill Powell            Newton, NC

3              6W         Robert Webb       Harmony, NC

4              83           Tom Fenn            Lincolnton, NC

Classic Sportsman Racing - Qualifying

Finish    Car No  Driver                    Hometown         DQ/DNS/DNF

1              16           Bill Webb             Statesville, NC

2              71P         Bill Powell            Newton, NC

3              6W         Robert Webb     Harmony, NC

4              83           Tom Fenn            Lincolnton, NC

Late Model - Feature

Finish    Car No  Driver                    Hometown         DQ/DNS/DNF

1              5C           Dexter Canipe, Jr.      Conover, NC

2              95H        Jacob Heafner   Dallas, NC

3              51P         Jeremy Pelfrey Lenoir, NC

4              2A           Austin Green     Concord, NC

5              55B         Zachary Bruenger      Granite Falls, NC

6              12B         Annabeth Barnes Crum Hiddenite, NC

7              14L         Nick Leitz             Chesapeake, VA

8              15C         Sheflon Clay       Asheville, NC

9              25           Matt Piercy         Conover, NC

10           29M       Mitch Walker     Newton, NC

Late Model - Qualifying

Finish    Car No  Driver                    Hometown         DQ/DNS/DNF

1              25           Matt Piercy         Conover, NC

2              5C           Dexter Canipe, Jr.    Conover, NC

3              55B         Zachary Bruenger   Granite Falls, NC

4              51P         Jeremy Pelfrey Lenoir, NC

5              15C         Sheflon Clay       Asheville, NC

6              14L         Nick Leitz             Chesapeake, VA

7              12B         Annabeth Barnes Crum Hiddenite, NC

8              95H        Jacob Heafner   Dallas, NC

9              2A           Austin Green     Concord, NC

10           29M       Mitch Walker     Newton, NC

Limited Late Model - Paramount Race

Finish    Car No  Driver                    Hometown         DQ/DNS/DNF

1              12P         Gage Painter      Statesville, NC

2              14           Vince Midas       Catawba, NC

3              44           Josh Kossek        Tobaccoville, NC

4              15G        Taylor Gray         Mooresville, NC

5              92N        Taylor Nesbitt    Swannanoa, NC

6              12L         Mason Ludwig   N. Branch, MI

7              21           Monty Cox          Granite Falls, NC

8              47J          Chase Janes       Harrisburg, NC

9              5B           Hannah Bell        Raleigh, NC

10           18D        Cody DeMarmels      Newton, NC

11           4W         Dylon Wilson      Taylorsville, NC

12           34           Pat Rachels         China Grove, NC

13           23D        Brendan Doyle  Harrisburg, NC

14           22L         Brandon Lemke       Eagle, WI

15           43P         Kenneth Pardue      Millers Creek, NC

16           11S         Sam Smith           Denver, NC

Limited Late Model - Qualifying

Finish    Car No  Driver                    Hometown         DQ/DNS/DNF

1              12P         Gage Painter      Statesville, NC

2              14           Vince Midas       Catawba, NC

3              34           Pat Rachels         China Grove, NC

4              21           Monty Cox          Granite Falls, NC

5              44           Josh Kossek        Tobaccoville, NC

6              4W         Dylon Wilson      Taylorsville, NC

7              15G        Taylor Gray         Mooresville, NC

8              12L         Mason Ludwig   N. Branch, MI

9              23D        Brendan Doyle  Harrisburg, NC

10           18D        Cody DeMarmels     Newton, NC

11           92N        Taylor Nesbitt    Swannanoa, NC

12           5B           Hannah Bell        Raleigh, NC

13           22L         Brandon Lemke    Eagle, WI

14           47J          Chase Janes       Harrisburg, NC

15           11S         Sam Smith           Denver, NC

16           43P         Kenneth Pardue     Millers Creek, NC

Renegades - Feature

Finish    Car No  Driver                    Hometown         DQ/DNS/DNF

1              1              Justin Austin      Granite Falls, NC

2              83           David Hasson     Newton, NC

3              8              Kenneth Roberts     Hickory, NC

4              51           Robbie Hollifield      Morganton, NC

5              4H           Joseph Hodges ,

6              7              Brian Larkin         Icard, NC

7              21           RJ Williams          Conover, NC

Renegades - Qualifying

Finish    Car No  Driver                    Hometown         DQ/DNS/DNF

1              1              Justin Austin      Granite Falls, NC

2              7              Brian Larkin         Icard, NC

3              51           Robbie Hollifield    Morganton, NC

4              83           David Hasson     Newton, NC

5              21           RJ Williams          Conover, NC

6              8              Kenneth Roberts    Hickory, NC

7              4H           Joseph Hodges ,                                             DQ

Street Stocks - Feature

Finish    Car No  Driver                    Hometown         DQ/DNS/DNF

1              32L         Gary Ledbetter Thomasville, NC

2              7S           Jeff Sparks          Acworth, GA

3              77P         Mark Whitten    Hogtown, VA

4              18           Troy DeMarmels       Newton, NC

5              64           Marshall Sutton        Burnsville, NC

6              74B         Jared Broadbent      Spruce Pine, NC

7              3              Kevin Eby            Lenior, NC

8              21C         Drew Cox            Granite Falls, NC

9              69           Trey Buff             Hickory, NC

10           2J            Ethan Johnson  Hudson, NC

Street Stocks - Qualifying

Finish    Car No  Driver                    Hometown         DQ/DNS/DNF

1              32L         Gary Ledbetter Thomasville, NC

2              7S           Jeff Sparks          Acworth, GA

3              18           Troy DeMarmels          Newton, NC

4              77P         Mark Whitten    Hogtown, VA

5              74B         Jared Broadbent       Spruce Pine, NC

6              3              Kevin Eby            Lenior, NC

7              69           Trey Buff             Hickory, NC

8              21C         Drew Cox            Granite Falls, NC

9              64           Marshall Sutton      Burnsville, NC

10           2J            Ethan Johnson        Hudson, NC               DNS