They were cracking open a few tinnies after the Big Block Modified feature was completed on Friday night, February 14th at the Volusia Speedway Park when popular Australian driver Peter Britten topped his first main event in three years during the DIRTcar Nationals to highlight the racing program on the next to last night for racing in 2025. Devin Moran also put on a show as for the second straight night he made a charge up through the field and this time it resulted in a thirty five lap World of Outlaws Late Model triumph.
Thursday night's racing action was a bit tough on some of the competitors as particularly in the Big Blocks, a couple crashes sidelines a few competitors for the remainder of the mini series with five less drivers signing in to race on Friday night. Still, the program was unaffected for them with four heats and a pair of B Features setting the field for their thirty lap main event. In the initial but very important time trials, Matt Williamson would be quickest overall at 17.227 seconds while Britten topped group B with a 17.236 second lap. Both would win heat races later and after the redraw of the top two finishers in each heat, Alex Payne would start on the pole.
Payne got the early jump on Britten, who started on the outside of him and then led the first two laps. Then Britten picked up the pace and with a power move down the back chute, he took over the lead. This would mark the first lead change in the Big Blocks this week as drivers have complained about the difficulty to pass, citing track conditions, the high speeds here and the placement of the pan hard bars on the cars now, which I understand little about but do know that it is currently a huge source of controversy.
In any event, Britten then put some distance on the field as Payne then battled for second with Erick Rudolph to keep the second spot. There were three slowdowns in the first half of the event, with two being for Matt Sheppard as he blew a tire on lap ten and then parked on the track once again two laps later. He ended up being one of only two drivers that wouldn't complete the race.
By the halfway point of the contest, Matt Williamson had moved into fourth with Jake Lehner in the top five also. Britten seemed to slow slightly just after that point with both Payne and Rudolph closing on him. Payne, in fact, got to the inside of the leader at the two thirds mark of the race but Britten was able to fight him off and then seemed to find a faster line as he then began to pull away again.
Over the last few laps of the event, the drivers got pretty well spaced out with them settling into their positions and Britten had no difficulties as the Aussie drove home for the popular win amongst the Big Block crowd. Payne, Rudolph, Williamson and a charging Alex Yankowski completed the top five in a race that saw the last eighteen laps run off green to checkers.
The car count has held up well in the Late Model division with fifty eight still on hand to race on Friday night. The second Outlaw show of the week followed their normal format with two groups of qualifiers then split into six heat races with the top three in each making the show. Only two come out of the three B Features with the rest of the starting grid filled with provisional and emergency provisional starters. Ricky Thornton Jr. continues to be the master of qualifying as for the third straight night he stopped the clocks quickest at 15.534 seconds while Ethan Dotson at a .569 topped group B.
Kyle Strickler topped the drama in the heat races when he finished third in a heat, only to fail inspection as the car's nose was too wide and this ultimately ended his night as he failed to race out of a B Feature.
The track was fast on Friday but it also had quite a berm and this lip seemed to cause the drivers difficulty all night as countless drivers jumped the cushion and lost positions or worse as a result of this. There were a couple significant moments in the Late Model feature that were a direct cause of drama happening and while the drivers seemed to enjoy the track, it was also a very technical and tricky oval to drive.
This race was broken into two parts as the first nineteen laps saw the yellow wave seven times for various calamities and then the last sixteen laps ran off nonstop.
Garrett Alberson got the jump on the green but Thornton Jr, showing great speed, blasted past Alberson before one lap was completed to take the early lead. Dotson, Alberson and Davenport funneled in behind him in the early going. Moran redrew poorly, starting eighth and this gave him the chance to show the speed that he had broken out on Thursday as he moved up to fifth by the time the first yellow waved as Pierce had already jumped the cushion once and lost a few spots.
Just a lap later, Bobby would again jump the cushion in turn four and get tagged by Sheppard who had no where to go and the yellow would wave. The field then got stuck on lap seven as first Mark Whitener stalled on the track and then Pierce, slow to leave the hot pit after work under yellow, just parked on the back chute to trigger the yellow and allow him to catch up to the pack.
Now, at any short track in America, such a move would be followed by an immediate black flag from the starter and a chorus of boos from the stands for the action, but on this night, it was tolerated and with not an eye being blinked by series officials. You think about that one.
Meanwhile, back at the race, Thornton Jr. continued to lead but Moran was on the move, picking off Davenport and Alberson and moving up to third. On lap twelve, Thornton Jr. jumped the cushion in turn one and Dotson, with no where to go, piled into the back of Ricky's car. And while Thornton Jr. was able to keep going and retain the lead, even while showing front end damage, Dotson was an unlucky victim and his night was done.
Thornton Jr. was now a sitting duck however, and while he managed to fight off Moran for a few laps, his poor handling caught up with him and on lap nineteen, Moran would drive past him and take the lead. The last sixteen laps would be a cruise for Moran as he pulled away from the field without a challenge for the front spot.
Davenport got past Thornton Jr. on the final restart on lap twenty when Brandon Overton rolled to halt and he would finish in that spot. Thornton Jr, Alberson and Ryan Gustin then completed the top five with a number of top running cars like Pierce, Drake Troutman, Dotson and Mike Marlar sitting in the infield by the time the checkers waved.
Saturday night the Federated DIRTcar Nationals wrap up another Speed Weeks season at VSP. The World of Outlaws Late Models will be going fifty laps for their largest prize of the week while the Big Blocks will match that with their own fifty lapper. Dirt Vision will provide the viewing for those not in attendance in central Florida.
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