AUBURNDALE, Fla. — Daniel Miller captured Saturday night’s second annual Dave Westerman Memorial at Auburndale Speedway.
It was Miller’s second Southern Sprint Car Shootout Series victory of the season.
When the green flag waved, polesitter Tommy Nichols assumed the lead. A hard-charging Davey Hamilton Jr., who started in the inside of row two, assumed the point from Nichols on lap four. Hamilton Jr. bean to build a slight lead and appeared as if might be the man to beat early in the race.
A lap-11 caution flag changed the complexion of the whole race. On the double-file restart, Sport Allen got alongside Hamilton Jr. entering turn one. Allen would hold his live on the high side as the duo raced down the backstretch. The two made contact and Hamilton Jr. went spinning toward the infield bringing out another caution. Hamilton would have to restart at the tail of the field.
On the double-file restart, Allen became the new race leader, but it wouldn’t last long as Miller assumed the top spot one lap later on lap 12. Miller would hold off Allen the remainder of the way for his second SSSS victory of the season and cushioned his series points lead in the process.
Following Miller were Allen, Brian Gingrass, Hamilton Jr., and Bruce Brantley rounding out the top five.
“I kind of got a bad restart to be honest” Miller explained. “I noticed there was nobody on the inside. Sport went into one and slid up. I was able to get underneath him and get the pass done. If he wouldn’t have slid up there, I probably wouldn’t have got the pass done.”
The finish:
Daniel Miller, Sport Allen, Brian Gingrass, Davey Hamilton Jr., Bruce Brantley, Gary Wiggins, Albert Ferianc, Tommy Nichols, L.J. Grimm, Sonny Hartley, Shane Butler, Bo Hartley, Doug Elliott, Stephen Hollinger.