GEORGETOWN, Del. – Ryan Watt punched his ticket to Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway on Friday night.
Watt not only earned a $3,000 top prize in the L&J Sheet Metal Modified main event at Georgetown Speedway, he also received a guaranteed starting position in the $53,000-to-win Speed Showcase 200 Oct. 15-17 at Port Royal Speedway.
The victory for Boyertown, Pa., native Watt was his first in a modified at the Delaware half-mile oval in 2020. He previously scored a wingless sprint car win on July 24.
The historic Georgetown facility played host to 122 race cars on a smooth racing surface.
“The track was really wide tonight,” offered Watt after exiting the Ron Roberts-owned No. 14W. “It was nice. You could race all over it and there was no dominant groove.
“My car was sticking right through the center.”
Watt rolled off the grid third in the 24-car field. For the first nine laps of the event, he chased pole starter David Van Horn Jr., making a rare Friday night start at Georgetown in Fred Vahlsing’s No. 323ov. Watt worked the inside lane repeatedly on Van Horn during a crowd-pleasing battle.
At lap 10, Watt took over a top spot he would not relinquish while spirited battles for position continued through the top-10.
Richie Pratt Jr. put the Daniel Sommeling-owned No. 51 into second on lap 15 and chased Watt for the remainder of the distance. The Woodbury Heights, N.J., driver earned a $2,000 runner-up finish.
Van Horn settled for third, followed by 14th-starter Joseph Watson and current Sunoco Championship Series leader Billy Pauch Jr. up from 12th in Rick Holsten’s No. 96.
Steven Drevicki negotiated tricky late-race lapped traffic to pick up the Rapid Tire USAC East Coast wingless 360 Sprint Car victory. The Reading, Pa., driver threaded the needle through slower cars to best a charging Alex Bright en route to a $1,500 victory.
The win for Drevicki was his fifth this season with the USAC East Coast group.
Drevicki took over the lead on the fifth circuit of the 25-lap main. Bright arrived in second on lap nine and chased him to the finish. Kyle Spence, Briggs Danner and Nash Ely completed the front five.
The Chesapeake Paving/J.W. Brown Trucking Crate 602 Sportsman 20-lap main spun off caution-free from start to finish. Stephen Kemery led the entire event after starting from the outside pole.
He earned $1,000 plus a guaranteed starting berth in the ‘Speed Showcase 50’ Crate 602 Sportsman $2,500-to-win event at Port Royal Speedway Oct. 15-17.
The all-time Georgetown Speedway Crate 602 Sportsman win leader Scott Hitchens chased Kemery for the entire distance, applying pressure inside the final seven laps.
Kemery withstood the challenge and bested Hitchens, invader Jesse Leiby, current divisional point leader Joe Toth in the Andy Belmont-owned No. 14 and Adam White.
The Southern Delaware Vintage Stock Car Club took part in twin 12-lap feature events. Jamie Eichholz utilized a last-lap pass to earn the Vintage Modified event in dramatic fashion, while Todd Miller survived numerous restarts to pick up the Vintage Sportsman checkered.
Kirk Lawson gained retribution for a tough defeat in the last event with a 12-lap Little Lincoln victory. Lawson bested Todd Sammons, Joseph Tracy, Matt White and Ryan Walsen.
Matthew Smith wired the 12-lap Delaware Super Truck event over Matt Esham, Ryan Efford, Jerry Hill and Dale Elliott. A solid 20-truck field took part in the event.
Joe Waters scored the victory in the 12-lap Delmarva Charger feature. Waters outran Geoff Carey, Chris ‘Tippy’ Martinez, Chris Carroll and Chris Myers.