COLUMBUS, Miss. — Taking the lead for good on lap 29 and then surviving a rapidly deflating left rear tire on the final lap, Florica racer Trey Mills pocketed the $20,000 COMP Cams Super Dirt Series Cotton Pickin’ win on Saturday night at Magnolia Motor Speedway.
The victory was his first with the series.
“I was trying to save (my tires) as long as I could and I seen (Ethan) Dotson slip out of (turn) two one time and we’re racing in the rubber for 20 grand,” Mills said. “I filled the hole, we made a little bit of contact, but we’re racing for $20,000, the biggest win of my career, so I took the chance and got it done. Then we had that (left rear) flat on the last corner of the race and I thought I lost it. I was holding on, but we managed to get the job done.”
Polesitter Sam Seawright led the first lap with Ethan Dotson inching ahead to lead laps 2-5. Seawright regained control on lap 6 and set the pace until lap 10, when mechanical issues ended his night.
Dotson held the point until the 29th circuit when the sixth-starting Mills muscled past for the lead. While Mills led the remainder of the 60 lapper, he and Ethan Dotson made contact multiple times.
Ultimately Dotson caught the backstretch wall on lap 59, cutting his right-rear tire. Dotson limped home to a sixth-place finish, while Mills scored the win by 4.215 seconds over Jimmy Owens, ninth-starting Neil Baggett, Spencer Hughes and Cade Dillard.
The finish:
Feature (60 Laps): 1. 14-Trey Mills[6]; 2. 20-Jimmy Owens[3]; 3. 21XXX-Neil Baggett[9]; 4. K3-Spencer Hughes[5]; 5. 97-Cade Dillard[4]; 6. 74X-Ethan Dotson[2]; 7. 1C-Chad Thrash[13]; 8. C6-Oakley Johns[12]; 9. 1-BJ Robinson[10]; 10. 10-Ryan Crane[19]; 11. 86B-Kyle Beard[23]; 12. 66-Eli Ross[14]; 13. (DNF) 25-Shane Clanton[8]; 14. (DNF) 15-Shane Stephens[25]; 15. (DNF) 54-David Breazeale[20]; 16. (DNF) 388-Jackson Hise[16]; 17. (DNF) 2-Charlie Cole[24]; 18. (DNF) 14M-Morgan Bagley[11]; 19. (DNF) 7-Hunter Lewis[17]; 20. (DNF) T1-Todd Morrow[22]; 21. (DNF) 21-Billy Moyer Sr[21]; 22. (DNF) 16S-Sam Seawright[1]; 23. (DNF) F1-Payton Freeman[18]; 24. (DNF) 11A-Austin Smith[7]; 25. (DNF) 14C-Haiden Cowan[15]
