GREENWOOD, La. — Ryan Gustin continued to flex on the strengths of his No.19R Todd Cooney Racing Infinity Chassis at a brand new track in the form of Boothill Speedway on Friday night.
The Marshalltown, Iowa native had to battle against a wide variety of World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models to capture his fifth feature win of the 2024 season.
Current series points leader Brandon Sheppard led the field to the Gorsuch Performance green flag with Chatham, Ill. driver Brian Shirley to his outside. On the preferred outside line, Shirley swung by the New Berlin, Ill. driver for the lead on the first lap.
Gustin, who started directly behind Shirley, followed his tire tracks up to second place while Sheppard had to manage his running position from his direct championship rivals, Oakwood, Ill.’s Bobby Pierce and Mooresville, N.C.’s Nick Hoffman.
At the front, Gustin got by Shirley for the lead of the Feature through a crossover maneuver that put the “The Reaper” at the front of the field of cars.
Shirley continued to falter in track position as Pierce and Sheppard moved up to second and third respectively around the No.3S to chase down Gustin for the win.
Then, MD3 Rookie of the Year points leader Dustin Sorensen found pace on the track’s bottom line from his 12th-place starting spot and moved his way around Pierce to take second place with momentum on his side.
When Gustin became gridlocked in a wall of lap traffic, Sorensen pounced on the opportunity to take the lead with 15 laps remaining in the Feature.
Sorensen suffered his share of issues with lap traffic that forced the Rochester, Minn. native to lose the lead to Gustin once more. This time, Gustin never relinquished the top spot.
As Sorensen pulled out all the moves he could make to result in forward momentum with Pierce hot on his tail, Gustin crossed the finish line for his fifth series win of the 2024 season.
“Yeah, (Sorensen) had me rethinking out there,” Gustin said. “Tim (Douglas) was closing the sticks up more and more, and I saw lap traffic on the bottom. When I tried it and slipped up, I felt like I was leaving the top open for somebody to pass by me. So, I went back up top and tried not to rip the spoiler off of it. I felt like we had to pick it up or we were gonna run second. So, that’s what we did and luckily it worked out.
“If it wasn’t for the wall of lap traffic, Dustin might’ve won it. He’s a heck of a racer and his time is coming soon. I probably raced him more than anyone besides Cade (Dillard). He’s gonna get there, I can promise you that. Hats off to all my guys, sponsors, family, and those that support this team.”
Pierce got by Sorensen by using the bottom lane to take home a second-place result at Boothill. His finish closes the points gap to Sheppard to 50 markers with four races remaining in the season.
“It was definitely tough to transition around,” Pierce said. “When I was here earlier this year, the bottom never moved at all. We had a pretty racey track from top to bottom. If we had gotten down sooner, I might’ve gotten by Gustin. When Sorensen got by, it was too late because I followed him there, then the lap traffic really ended a good race there. We’re happy to come home second. Definitely a good night though, and luckily nothing bad happened.”
Sorensen took his third podium finish of the season at the Bayou Classic. The MD3 Rookie of the Year points leader is happy with the finish but is hungry to drive his No.19 Longhorn Chassis to Victory Lane with the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models.
“The night ended a lot better than it started,” Sorensen said. “Hit the fence, bent some s*** up, qualified like s***, Heat race went well but had to start 12th in the Feature. I knew in the Heat that the car was good, I just needed some laps and the Feature really showed it.
“I was really thinking I was gonna get one there. I couldn’t run the top like Gustin could and lap traffic hogged the bottom. I got by a couple of guys, then Gustin got back around and I ran out of patience and started trying some s*** and he got away. I’m happy with it though. I want one of these wins really damn bad, so hopefully one comes soon.”
Sheppard finished fourth to keep his title hopes in solid shape ahead of the final four races that await the No.B5 Longhorn Factory Team Late Model.
Robeline, La.’s own Cade Dillard rallied from ninth place to finish in the top five driving a throwback design to his family’s first race car.
Feature Finish (50 Laps)
1. 19R-Ryan Gustin[4]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[6]; 3. 19-Dustin Sorensen[12]; 4. B5-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 5. 97-Cade Dillard[9]; 6. 9-Nick Hoffman[3]; 7. 22*-Max McLaughlin[16]; 8. 97JR-Cody Overton[15]; 9. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[11]; 10. 3S-Brian Shirley[2]; 11. 40B-Kyle Bronson[5]; 12. 1B-BJ Robinson[10]; 13. B1-Brent Larson[20]; 14. 9H-Shane Hebert[19]; 15. 16-Tyler Bruening[14]; 16. C8-Timothy Culp[18]; 17. 14W-Dustin Walker[24]; 18. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[23]; 19. 75-Patrick Daniels[13]; 20. 74X-Ethan Dotson[8]; 21. 5-Jon Mitchell[21]; 22. 90-Brian Rickman[17]; 23. 1G-Tony Lindsey[22]; 24. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[7]