BEDFORD, Pa. — Western Pennsylvania produces some of the toughest regional Late Model competitors in the nation, and they proved it this weekend.
On Friday night at Marion Center Raceway, a pair of Connor Bobik Memorial prelim Features went to Pittsburgh-area natives Logan Zarin and Jared Miley.
Once the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision rolled into Bedford Speedway on Sunday for the Billy Winn Classic, it was Mason Zeigler’s turn to take over.
The Chalk Hill, Pa., driver had already been in contention to win this week, leading the first 14 laps at Georgetown Speedway before failing to finish and then ending up on the podium in third at Selinsgrove Speedway. Those showings made Zeigler even hungrier to finish the job at one of his best tracks – Bedford.
After earning the second starting spot for the Feature, Zeigler slotted into second behind the early race leader, Daulton Wilson. Given Wilson’s fondness for the for the half miles across the Carolinas that he grew up on, speed at a track like Bedford should have come as no surprise, and the No. 58v was the car to beat for the first half of the 40-lapper.
As the laps began winding down, Wilson’s 1.8-second margin out front began to erode. Zeigler had caught Wilson with 11 laps to go, and countered Wilson’s line on the cushion with a run to the bottom of Turn 3 before sliding up in front exiting Turn 4. Wilson briefly kept the pressure on, but Zeigler put his years of local knowledge to use in driving away to a two-second gap at the checkered flag.
Zeigler’s Bedford resume already included three United Late Model Series wins, one each with the Appalachian Mountain Speedweek and the Fall Clash Late Model Series, and a Billy Winn Classic victory as an unsanctioned race in 2023. That list is now topped by his second visit to World of Outlaws Victory Lane, seven years after his first at Port Royal Speedway in 2019.
“When we got in line there, I just thought, ‘You know, I just need to keep my tires under me,” Zeigler said. “Keep it straight, don’t slide the right-rear, that was the biggest thing, just trying not to slide that right-rear. I knew that once we got the lap traffic, if I could keep my tires under me, I could get to him. And then once we got to that lap car, I was able to use him as a pick.”
Wilson settled for second after leading the first 29 laps, while Nick Hoffman finished third to maintain the points lead by 10 over Bobby Pierce. Last year’s Bedford winner, Tim McCreadie, ended the night fourth, while Pierce completed the top five.
The finish:
Feature (40 Laps): 1. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[2]; 2. 58V-Daulton Wilson[1]; 3. 9-Nick Hoffman[4]; 4. 9M-Tim McCreadie[5]; 5. 32-Bobby Pierce[3]; 6. 74X-Ethan Dotson[10]; 7. 27-Trever Feathers[12]; 8. 19R-Ryan Gustin[14]; 9. 1-Tyler Erb[8]; 10. 23-Lane Snook[15]; 11. 22*-Drake Troutman[13]; 12. 09-Michael Leach[6]; 13. 14-Trey Mills[17]; 14. 19-Dustin Sorensen[7]; 15. 66C-Matt Cosner[16]; 16. 22-Gregg Satterlee[21]; 17. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[11]; 18. 8-Matt Sponaugle[20]; 19. 44-Shawn Shoemaker[24]; 20. 1Z-Logan Zarin[18]; 21. B1-Brent Larson[22]; 22. 10*-Levi Yetter[23]; 23. 119-Bryan Bernheisel[25]; 24. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[9]; 25. 55E-Eli Johnson[19]
