LUCAMA, N.C. — Ronnie Bassett, Jr. will lead the field to the green flag in Sunday’s Thanksgiving Classic Late Model Stock Car race after setting the fast time in qualifying on Saturday afternoon.
Bassett, who won the Thanksgiving Classic in 2013, recorded a 15.241 second lap to score the pole for the 25th Thanksgiving Classic. Matt Cox qualified in second, while Josh Berry, Andrew Grady, and Bobby McCarty rounded out the top-five.
“I think we got a really good race car,” Bassett said. “We worked and worked on it all weekend and gotten better each time on the race track. As most people know, qualifying’s not our strong suit, so I think it shows we’ve got pretty good speed in our Beasmer Tires Chevrolet. I’m looking forward to 250 big ones. Get some pit strategy going and see how the race goes.”
Other notables included Keelan Harvick in sixth, defending race winner Parker Eatmon in eighth, Jamey Caudill in 11th, and Lee Pulliam in 20th. Doug Barnes, Jr. did not take a time in qualifying but is still expected to compete on Sunday.
Sunday’s 250-lap race will place an emphasis on strategy. Instead of a halfway break, the race will have controlled cautions, and competition cautions after 50 consecutive green flag laps. Teams will be allowed to change up to four (4) tires during the race.
Qualifying for the Late Model Stock Car race was followed immediately by a full night of feature racing.
Ryan Zima, who swept the Legends division during Speed Week earlier this year, picked up the win in a chaotic Legends main event over Cameron White and Josh Lowe.
“We had a lot of good success early on in Speed Week, and this one’s been on the books for a while. I knew I finished second twice last year and didn’t want to do that again. I wanted to finish one spot better and we brought a better car, better driver, and got it done today.”
The 50-lap KONI Charger feature race was won by J.D. Eversole, who has had multiple runner-up finishes in the Thanksgiving Classic prior to his victory on Saturday. Eversole charged past Mason Walters and drove away from the field.
“This one was hectic, trying to dodge all the lapped traffic,” Eversole stated. “I tried trying not to kill the tire and all that, but I’ve been trying to win one. I finished second a bunch of time but we finally got one.”
Clint King finished in second while Justin Mitchell, Brandon Clements, and Mason Walters rounded out the top-five.
Walters was awarded the win from Friday night’s Limited Late Model feature after Bradley McCaskill’s victory was disallowed following a protest in post-race technical inspection.
Carter Clapp and Corbin Cannon each scored wins in Bandolero features, while Andrew Watson completed the weekend sweep in Any Car, and Brandon Brendle picked up the win in the Carolina Mini Stock Challenge race.
