NASHVILLE — Billy Wease picked up his first career sprint car victory Saturday night with his win in the 500 Sprint Car Tour event at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. Wease led wire-to-wire to claim victory in the first visit by the series to the speedway.
Wease was close to capturing his first series on two occasions last season only to see victory slip through his hands in the closing laps. He would not let this happen Saturday night. He took the lead at the drop of the green and fended off early race challenges from Kody Swanson and Bobby Santos III, before setting into a rhythm.
As the laps began to wind down, Santos III and Kody Swanson reeled Wease in, and created a three-car parade at the front of the field. The duo was unable to mount a series challenge despite Wease getting slowed by lapped cars in the closing laps of the race. Wease would beat Santos III to the stripe by .149 seconds for the victory.
“Man, this is so cool,” a happy Wease explained. “To come to Nashville and do it here is pretty cool. I really like running these big half miles, they really suit my style. It’s pretty special, and to beat out my Brother-in-law (Santos III) makes it even more special.”
The 36-year-old former Penske Racing development driver and 2006 Turkey Night Grand Prix winner had surprisingly never won a sprint car feature event of any kind before Saturday night. He can now add his name to the 500 Sprint Car Tour winners list.
The finish:
Feature: 1. 80-Billy Wease; 2. 22a-Bobby Santos III; 3. 77-Kody Swanson; 4. 67-Kyle O’Gara; 5. 1-Dakoda Armstrong; 6. 56-Tyler Roahrig; 7. 24-Jackson Mcenko; 8. 7c-Caleb Armstrong; 9. 55-Taylor Ferns; 10. 99-Dalton Armstrong; 11. 26-Kaylee Bryson; 12. 53-Justin Harper; 13. 71v-Brian Vaughn; 14. 74-Tony Main; 15. 29-Jake Trainor; 16. 27-Brian Gerster; 17. 4-Cory Butler; 18. 11-Tom Paterson; 19. 71m-TJ Moore