TUSCUMBIA, Ala. – Jeremy Shaw came out of retirement as a fill-in driver and left North Alabama Speedway on Saturday night as King Jeremy III after winning the third annual King of the Crates for the Durrence Layne Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series.
Shaw led a nearly perfect 59 of 60 laps in the Steele’s Dive Barry Wright to take the $5,000 win.
Shaw hung up his helmet with an impressive resume of big wins two years ago to spend time with his family, work a full-time job and begin going to college. A phone call earlier in the week from car owner Jason Steele led to Shaw standing in victory lane at North Alabama Speedway wearing a King’s Crown and holding a $5,000 check.
“This is unbelievable,” Shaw said. “Jason Steele called me earlier this week to fill in for Chase Washington, who wasn’t feeling well, and I had been in retirement for a couple of years. They gave me the best handling race car I’ve ever been in, and I want to dedicate this win to Chase. This one’s for him. It’s been seven years to the day that I won another Durrence Layne $5,000-to-win race, and I guess I was thinking too much because the second-place car came up and hit me in the door. That gave me a wake-up call, so I stepped up the pace and I didn’t see them again.”
Durrence Layne Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series point leader Jake Knowles came up one spot short of defending his King of the Crates title. Knowles had to settle for second in the Knowles Race Parts and Bodies Special.
Polesitter Dustin Harris had an up and down night in the Value Cargo Vans Special. He fell back as far as sixth, but rallied late in the race to finish third. Christian Hanger started 19th in the Hanger Racing CVR, ran as high as second, and ended up fourth.
Jaden Frame was the Cruise With The Champions Rookie of the Race with a fifth-place finish in the Frame Racing Rocket.
The finish:
Jeremy Shaw, Jake Knowles, Dustin Harris, Christian Hanger, Jaden Frame, Oakley Johns, Jordan Hedger, Josh Putnam, Evan Ellis, Zach Pilcher, Cruz Skinner, Riley Hickman, Marcus Minga, Mitchell Holloway, Jake Rainey, Matt Cooper, Tyler Wood, Seth McCormack, Justin Maxwell, Mike Henn, Donald Johns, T.J. Brittain, Braden Mitchell, Wil Herrington, Jason Markewitz, Grant Garrison.