HICKORY, N.C. — It was almost a perfect night for Colby Howard at Hickory Motor Speedway.
The South Carolina native had a dominant car in the ASA STARS National Tour Ross & Witmer 255 presented by Appalachian Sucker Punch.
When the dust settled after 255 laps, Howard held off NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott for his first win on the Appalachian Sucker Punch ASA STARS National Tour.
The night started with Howard winning the CorvetteParts.net Pole Award with a lap of 14.294 seconds. It was an all Anthony Campi Racing front row as Carson Brown was second quickest.
From the start, Howard led the first 80 laps of the race and won the first segment over Cole Butcher and Brown.
On the restart, Butcher took the lead to pace the field for the fourth-consecutive race this season. Butcher led the charge to the second stage break on lap 160.
From the restart until the lap-220 mark Butcher was hounded by Howard who seemed to have a peak to the inside almost every other lap. The two traded paint a few times, but Butcher held the spot.
A late caution with 30 laps to go setup a restart and Butcher slowed the entire field down because he broke an axle, sending the leader to the pits.
Howard took the top spot with Elliott giving chase. The margin never got close enough for Elliott to make a move and Howard scored the win.
Elliott overcame nose damage as did third-place finisher Gavan Boschele who was involved in an early spin. Carson Brown was fourth and Bubba Pollard was fifth.
The drivers and teams will have a short rest as they head across the state line to race at Newport (Tenn.) Speedway on Saturday.
The finish:
Colby Howard, Chase Elliott, Gavan Boschele, Carson Brown, Bubba Pollard, Cole Butcher, Spencer Davis, Camden Murphy, Dawson Sutton, George Phillips, Derek Kraus, Chase Pinsonneault, Derek Thorn, Austin Nason, Kyle Steckly, Stephen Nasse, Matthew Craig, Brandon Turbush, Nick Loden, Caden Kvapil.
