ELKIN, N.C. – Matthew Nance led flag to flag to win his 11th Blue Ridge Outlaw Late Model race of the season on Saturday night at Friendship Motor Speedway.
Nance’s 525 powered Longhorn was top notch all night as he swept the competition, setting quick time, leading every lap and winning the Six-Shooter Dash, and going wire to wire in the $1,200 main event.
Even though he was unstoppable, it was not an easy task for Nance on track.
Nance lost power steering early on in the feature, making it harder to drive then normal, and he also battled tire-wear problems at the end of the race. Nance actually rolled over the scales with a deflated right rear tire after the feature.
“The race couldn’t end soon enough,” Nance stated. “I am glad it ended when it did, because my right rear barely made it to the tech shed.”
Even though it was great to win on the Blue Ridge Outlaw Late Model tour, Nance and his team are already focused on the upcoming World of Outlaws Late Model Series swing at Lavonia (Ga.) Speedway and Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, S.C.
“We are going to head down and race with the Outlaws next weekend; at least this win will help with the tire bill,” Nance said. “Our super program has not been the best, but we have made a lot of strides and I think we are getting better.”
All-time Blue Ridge Outlaw Late Model wins leader Ricky Weeks came home second on the evening, but coming in as the runner-up to Nance didn’t surprise him.
“We had a second place car when we got here, we had a second place car when we started the feature, and we finished second,” Weeks said. “We just don’t have the motor to keep up with him right now.”
Brandon O’Neil lost some of his points lead over Mark Dysart, crossing 15th, but had a decent night when all the dust settled.
O’Neil went on to say that’s all he hoped for.
“We have been wrecked a couple times in the past couple weeks, so it is nice to be able to finish the race and keep striving towards our goal of winning a championship,” he noted.
The Blue Ridge Outlaw Late Model tour next travels to East Lincoln Motor Speedway in Stanley, N.C., for the third annual Fall Brawl on Saturday, Oct. 5.
The finish:
Matthew Nance, Ricky Weeks, Kerry Gibbons, Dan Bruer, Brad Burkhart, Mark Dysart, Chuck Smith, Tommy Jones, Eddie Baggs, Randy Kinder, Bryson Harper, Chris Allison, Travis Greer, Jeffrey Johnson, Brandon O’Neil, David Minton, Brett Mundwiler, Daniel Tucker, Josh Harris.