D. Davlin Wins Second, Bohanan and Latham Win Fourth as Williams Wins Fifth
Rob Nugent, Track Announcer/Social Media/PR
THE EVENT
POCOLA, OK (September 8th, 2018) – Mother Nature definitely played nice for the famous high banks in Pocola, OK. While it rained everywhere, it didn’t rain at all during the week at the mighty Tri-State Speedway. Even former hurricane Gordon couldn’t make it rain. Temps were in the upper 80’s with a northerly breeze for Saturday night’s action. The track prep guys had the track in great condition once again for three and four-wide point racing action.
The pre-race ceremonies started at 7:20 PM with the invocation along with the top point cars presenting the American flag during the national anthem. Also joining the parade lap cars was Harli White, who was making her first racing appearance in a race car other than a sprint car.
Heat races were determined by the driver’s draw at sign in. The driver’s advanced to their features via a random car invert drawn by the last heat race winner of each class.
History was made at the legendary track as sprint car driver, Harli White, competed in her first modified race. She "borrowed" the #5 Out-Pace USRA B-Mod, usually piloted by Steve Holzkamper, from Dustin's Dream Racing Team. She hot lapped the car with the regular class hot laps, plus was given a few extra solo hot laps to get a little extra seat time. Harli ran her heat race without any problems.
At intermission everyone grabbed themselves some great food items from the concessions along with an ice-cold Pepsi or Gatorade. Some previous week’s feature winners also received their trophies for their previous wins.
TOP THREE
No NexGen drivers were on hand, but time is running out to get racing this season with your own NexGen car. The NexGen class is an entry-level, low-cost, no racing experience class. You can find the simple rules under Driver Info and then Rules. Blaise Leatherman (94L – Muskogee, OK) is the current points leader.
After intermission, the first A Feature on the track was for the Factory Stocks. Andrew Bohanan (X – Stigler, OK) took his fourth win of the season over Justin Johnson (55 – Van Buren, AR). Kyle Hamby (7K - Hackett, AR) finished in third. Hamby stays at the top of the point standings with only a single point race left and a 56-point lead. He only needs to start the A Feature next week to secure the 2018 class championship.
Next out onto the track, for their A Feature, was the Out-Pace USRA B-Mods. Brian Williams (4$ - Fayetteville, AR) took home his fifth win over Roy Long (7X – Stilwell, OK) and Hunter Byers (88B – Rogers, AR). Daniel Tarkington (2 – Checotah, OK) moves to top of the point standings with an 80-point advantage over second. He will only have to start the A Feature to capture the 2018 championship.
Harli White started mid-pack in the A feature and was holding her own before getting bumped from behind causing her to spin. After restarting at the back of the 23-car field, she finished the Out-Pace USRA B-Mod A feature in seventh place.
The Super Stock A Feature was up next and saw Dylan Davlin (26D – Shady Point, OK) take the win over Neil Johnston (17 – Fort Smith, AR). Robert Knowles (44K – Buffalo Valley, OK) finished in third. H. Palmer (X15 – Muldrow, OK) remains the point leader by 20 points. This class will come down to the final A Feature to determine the 2018 championship.
The last A Feature on the track was for the USRA Modifieds. Trevor Latham (27L – Rogers, AR) took the very high side, only inches from the outside wall, and road the cushion from his ninth starting position for the win. Brian Williams (26 - Fayetteville, AR) finished in second as Michael Hines (57M – Van Buren, AR) took home third. George Martin (15 – Fort Smith, AR) is still on top of the points, but by a very small four points. The 2018 class point championship will come down to the final A feature’s finishing positions to determine the winner.
Complete race results can be found on our website under the “See All Results” link at the bottom of the Results menu page or by clicking on results menu link. The Points menu link has the complete current points.
NEXT TIME
The next event for the mighty Tri-State Speedway will be the 10th Annual Tillman Evans Memorial and 48th Annual Point Championship races on September 15th. The event will also feature a $1,568 to win 100-lap Enduro. Don’t forget, the 39th Annual Spooker is only one month away. Mark your calendars now!
We will see YOU soon!