CONCORD, N.C. — As one of the Carolinas most recognizable local racers, a win at The Dirt Track at Charlotte has been a long time coming for Donny Atkins.
On Sunday night, he got it, leading every lap of the SRI Performance/Stock Car Steel Thunder Bombers main event to bank the $2,000 payday and his first World Short Track Championship title.
“I’ve had over 500 wins in my career, and this tops them all,” Atkins said.
At the drop of the green, Atkins wasted no time, beating polesitter Tyler Parker into Turn 1 and taking the lead out of Turn 2. From there, he never looked back, surviving multiple restarts with a slew of the best competition from both North Carolina and South Carolina right on his heels all the way to the checkered flag.
“You’ve got that young kid Bryson Guice — he’s won everywhere he’s went — and you’ve got Austin Brown, Nate Jackson, Luke Doggett, all some of the best in the business,” Atkins said.
With the win, Atkins becomes the fourth different driver in four years of the Thunder Bomber division’s participation at World Short Track Championship to win the main event, joining Rod Tucker (2022), Luke Doggett (2023), and Mattison Hoots (2024).
The finish:
Feature (15 Laps): 1. 71-Donny Atkins[2]; 2. 28-Bryson Guice[3]; 3. 97D-Luke Doggett[10]; 4. 04-Austin Brown[20]; 5. 21-Nathaniel Jackson[15]; 6. 119-Jason Edmonds[5]; 7. 51-Dustin Taylor[14]; 8. 97-Mark Towell[9]; 9. 46-Bailey Hipp[16]; 10. 05-Cruz Mattison[7]; 11. 14-Christian Patterson[11]; 12. 1-Justin Watts[6]; 13. 22-Walt Waddell[27]; 14. 19-Stetsen Todd[12]; 15. S4-Tyler Smith[24]; 16. 135JR-Trenten Jamieson[22]; 17. 00V-Keith Vane[21]; 18. 14W-Russell Williford[8]; 19. 82B-James Baker[4]; 20. 75EC-James Gottlieb[17]; 21. 14P-Tyler Parker[1]; 22. 2-Garrett Sweatt[18]; 23. G41-Grant Burton[26]; 24. 48-Cole Hooper[28]; 25. S1-Bryson Sweatt[25]; 26. P8-Christopher Patterson[23]; 27. 43-Jacob Funderburke[19]; 28. 82-Gary Dillon[13]
