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Street stock racer Josh Hellams at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. (DIRTcar photo)
Southeast

Huge Night Of Heat Racing At WSTC

November 2, 2024

CONCORD, N.C. — Numerous drivers from across the country visited victory lane during a full night of heat race competition at the World Short Track Championship at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

Crate Modifieds

Heat 1

Stephen Pedulla and Cambridge Gann led the field to green on the front row, but before they made it to the backstretch on Lap 1, Chase Cardwell and Tyler Love made contact and pounded the wall in Turn 1. Cardwell was able to continue with cosmetic damage, but Love was done for the night. 

The yellow was thrown again immediately after the restart, this time for Sheldon Martin spinning in Turn 2. 

Pedulla nailed the ensuing restart and led the next two laps until Michael Selig spun in Turn 3 to necessitate the third caution of the race. 

Pedulla was unfazed by the rash of yellows, driving away from the field to take the checkers by 1.5 seconds. It was his second Heat Race victory of the event after he won Heat 4 in the Summit Racing Equipment DIRTcar UMP Modified division earlier in the night. 

Heat 2
Garrett Killman started on the pole and took the lead through Turns 1 and 2 on the opening lap with second-place starter Jesse Rockett in tow. 

Killman paced the field for the majority of the race until Ronnie Covey spun into the Turn 3 wall to bring out the caution on the final lap. Killman didn’t let that bother him though, as he won the one-lap dash to the finish to advance to Saturday’s Feature.

Heat 3
Austin Holcombe slid up in front of Oliver Gentry on the start and rode the top to an early advantage, while Jake Barneycastle pulled a slider on Gentry on Lap 1 to move up to second. 

One lap later, Grayson Wells stopped at the top of Turn 3 to bring out the caution. The rest of the field was unable to capitalize on their chance at Holcombe though, as the No. 8A led the remainder of the race by a straightaway. 

Heat 4
Jeff Robinson nailed the start from the pole while Grayson Keaton, Cole Wagoner and Brian Nickerson duked it out for the final two transfer spots on the opening lap. 

Keaton and Wagoner settled into second and third respectively while Robinson was long gone. The top three spots would go unchanged the rest of the way, with Robinson taking the checkers by nearly three seconds. 

Heat 5
A pair of North Carolinians shared the front row, with Fayetteville’s Ethan Wilson on the inside and Newton’s Ryan Ayers on the outside. Wilson took the early lead and went to work on building a gap over Ayers and the rest of the field. 

He did just that in the caution-free affair, crossing the line more than two seconds ahead of Ayers.

Heat 6
The final Crate Modified Heat Race of the night began with Adam Favors on the pole and Robert Poole on his outside. Favors drove away in the opening set of corners, while Poole came under fire from Jeff Parsons for second. 

After racing side-by-side for nearly a lap, Parsons managed to wrestle the spot away from Poole and set his sights on Favors. He was unable to catch the No. 21A though and trailed Favors at the checkers, while Poole held off Larry Martin late in the race to secure the third spot. 

Street Stocks

From the 69 RaceQuip Mid-East Street Stocks that entered the ninth annual World Short Track Championship, 18 drivers have locked a position into Saturday’s Championship Feature.

Heat 1

Woodruff, SC driver Josh Hellams kicked off the Street Stock action with a green-to-checkered victory as he distanced himself from the field.

Rutherfordton, NC driver Jake Jackson followed suit behind Hellams to finish second, and Kade Langley, of Rock Hill, SC, had to charge his way up from an eighth-place starting spot to make the final transfer spot on the final lap of the Heat.

Heat 2

Cody Ussery led the field to the drop of the green flag, but his time at the front did not last long as a spin in Turn 2 shook up the lineup at the head of the pack.

The biggest beneficiary was Belmont, NC driver Calob McLaughlin, who took the lead on the only restart of the Heat to drive his way toward the Street Stock win.

Heat 3

Andrew Durham smoothly drove towards the Heat 3 win with no pressure affecting him. The Jonesville, NC driver led the field to the start, and never looked back once he was clear with the lead.

Joining Durham in Saturday night’s Feature includes second-place finisher Austin Brown of Union, SC, and Jeff Parsons of Union Grove, NC. 

Heat 4

Rod Tucker knows how to get a win at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, and he is poised for another World Short Track Championship trophy after dominating in Heat 4.

The Greenville, SC driver took full control by leading every lap from starting in the pole position. Blake Bentley and Stephen Ford followed Tucker’s moves to grab the two remaining transfer spots.

Heat 5

Hank Taylor picked up a thrilling win in Heat 5 with a last-lap pass around Patrick Lyon.

Lyon, of Gastonia, NC, led every circuit until the final one, with Taylor, of Lancaster, SC, making a decisive pass around Lyon to better his odds at winning the Championship Feature. 

Lyon finished second, and DuBois, PA driver Andrew Gordon finished in the third place transfer.

Heat 6

Bradley Weaver picked up the final Street Stock Heat win with ease in a flag-to-flag triumph to better his chances for glory on Saturday night. 

Bostic, NC driver Steve Greene finished second, and Iron Station, NC driver Garrett Killman sent a hail mary pass around Brian Sipe on the final corner to bag the final transfer spot up for grabs.

Mini-Stock

Friday’s ninth annual World Short Track Championship saw 18 MMSA COMP Cams Monster Mini-Stocks earn a starting place in Saturday’s 25-lap Championship Feature.

Brad Hamm, Logan Richey, Matt Gilbert, Cody Keith, Daniel Coffey, and Kevin Cooper won the six Heat races set for The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

 

Thunder Bomber

After six SRI Performance Thunder Bomber Heat Races at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, 18 drivers are locked into Saturday’s championship Feature at the World Short Track Championship.

Mattison Hoots, Luke Clements, Jason Edmonds, Jonathan Hinson, and Stetson Todd all earned victories in Friday’s Heat Races, putting themselves in an excellent position for Saturday’s finale.

 

DIRTcar Sportsman 

With one of largest VP Racing Sportsman car counts in World Short Track Championship History, 16 drivers are locked into Saturday’s Championship Feature.

Donovan Lussier, Jessica Power, Carter Crooker, and Dave Rogers earned Heat Race victories on Friday afternoon, gaining valuable momentum toward their quest for Victory Lane at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

 

Pro Stock 

The top full-fender drivers in the Northeast traveled to The Dirt Track at Charlotte, with two drivers earning momentum toward Saturday’s World Short Track Championship Feature.

Zach Sorrentino and Denis Gauvreau won their MSD Pro Stock Heat Races, getting the edge on their competitors for Saturday’s finale.

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