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Dean Bowen knew he needed to be on the front row for his best chance to win Saturday night’s Rattlesnake Showdown at Dublin Motor Speedway. When pole winner G.R. Smith twice jumped the start in the Super Late Model race, Bowen had his opportunity.
Smith, who set a track qualifying record of 14.911 seconds Saturday, and front row partner Willie Milliken were moved back to the second row as a penalty for the false starts. That put Bowen on the pole and Daulton Wilson on the outside of the front row. On a night when drivers struggled to find a second racing groove, it was all Bowen needed to lead from start to finish in the 30-lap featured race that paid $3,000 to win.
“The way the track was you had to be out front,” said Bowen, who won by 1.349 seconds. “There was not going to be a lot of passing. Once I got out front I was trying to save the tire because it was tire issue tonight. Just glad we could hold on get the win.”
For Milliken, who finished third after taking over the spot on lap 7 when Smith pulled out with mechanical issues, there wasn’t much he could do to pressure Bowen or runner-up Wilson.
“Pretty much it was whoever got out front was going to win the race,” Milliken said. “The race track really wasn’t worth passing on. (I was) just kind of stuck in third. They need to tear this place up, turn it and get this place racey again. Now, it’s just follow the leader is all it is.”
Smith eclipsed the qualifying record of 15.07 seconds set last year by Chris Ferguson. However, he ran only seven laps before retiring Saturday. Earlier in the week at another race, his car had transmission issues.
The final caution of Saturday’s race came on lap 20, giving Wilson and Milliken a final chance to pass Bowen for the win. Two laps after the restart, Bowen had built a comfortable lead and rolled to the win.
LATE MODEL
Shaun Harrell beat pole-winner Wilson to the first turn on the start and led the 25 laps to win the first race of the six-card show. Bowen moved into second place on lap 15, and almost pulled even with Harrell with nine laps to go, but couldn’t finish the pass.
“I think it’s just kind of an advantage the outside pole man has,” Harrell said. “We were able to beat (Wilson) to the corner and stay low and hold on for the win. I think we pulled away a little bit early, but I could hear somebody coming behind me, so we just held the bottom.”
Wilson remained in second until the restart on lap 15 when his car pushed on the restart and he fell to fourth. He did manage to move up a spot and finished third.
“(Harrell) had the better line on the start,” Wilson said. “The outside line has been pretty good. He got the jump and that was pretty much all you needed. The track was pretty much hammered down. We were pretty equal but there wasn’t any way we were going to get around him.”
OPEN WHEEL MODIFIEDS
Andy Boahn started on the pole and dominated the 20-lap race, finishing 1.729 seconds ahead of Ryan Ayers, for his second win in as many starts at Dublin.
“The car performed real well and I was glad to get the lead early because track position means a lot,” Boahn said. “The man I race for, Greg Honeycutt, had it handling pretty good.
“I always feel a little threatened with the competition level we’re running against. I knew the next two or three cars in line were real good cars. My spotter was showing me we had a good lead.”
SUPER STREET
Not even a lack of power steering could keep Benji Thompson out of Victory Lane. He beat Jerry Johnson to the first turn on the start, then fought off a determined challenge from Cameron Norris IV midway through the 20-lap race. Norris left the race with four laps to go due to a problem with his car.
“The car lost power steering about lap one, so, it was kind of rough on me,” said Thompson, who won for the eighth time this season at Dublin. “We fought through it. We had somebody breathing down our neck, but something happened to them. But you’ve got to finish 20 laps.
“We got a good jump on the start. Looked like Jerry might have spun his tires a little bit. I was glad to see him back in the car tonight.”
PURE STOCK
Veteran Cameron Norris III was an easy winner, finishing 1.54 seconds ahead of Elvin Matthews in the 15-lap race. Norris, who started on the pole, beat Dublin points leader Ryan Gilbert to the first turn and pulled away. Gilbert, who has six wins at Dublin this season, had to settle for fifth.
We had a real good race,” said Norris, who has been racing for 37 years. “I still like doing it once in a while. I just do this for fun. We work on (the cars) all week. We build (the cars) ourselves. The hard work pays off. My son sets it up. I just sit in and drive it. It’s a lot of fun.”
U-CAR
Brandon Jacobs easily won the 15-lap final race, beating a solid field of 12 cars to the finish line. He started from the outside pole and won the race by 3.681 seconds over Dillon Thompson.
“You’re just riding by the seat of your pants,” Jacobs said. “I just get lucky. The car didn’t let me down. I had some good competition tonight. It’s always tough racing in Dublin. We appreciate (promoter) Richard Bailey and all the track staff putting all this hard work in to give us a place to race.”
SUPER LATE MODEL: 1. Dean Bowen ($3,000), 2. Daulton Wilson, 3. Willie Milliken, 4. Ethan Wilson, 5. Michael Rouse, 6. Mason Price, 7. Colby Ashe, 8. G.R. Smith, 9. Randy Lucas, 10. Lance Brasington, 11. Mike Parker.
LATE MODEL: 1. Shaun Harrell ($1,000), 2. Dean Bowen, 3. Daulton Wilson, 4. Ethan Wilson, 5. Mason Price, 6. John O’Donnell, 7. Jeremy Cumbee, 8. Colby Ashe.
OPEN WHEEL MODIFIEDS: 1. Andy Boahn ($1,000), 2. Ryan Ayers, 3. John Marshall, 4. Macke Coxe, 5. Robbie Turner, 6. Carlos Jaramillo.
SUPER STREET: 1. Benji Thompson ($525), 2. Johnny Moore, 3. Jamie Barnes, 4. Jerry Johnson, 5. John Dyson, 6. Cameron Norris IV.
PURE STOCK: 1. Cameron Norris III ($300), 2. Elvin Matthews, 3. Martin Sweatt, 4. Rick Razillard, 5. Ryan Gilbert, 6. Devin Williamson, 7. Robbie Williams, 8. Tony Williams.
U-CAR: 1. Brandon Jacobs ($250), 2. Dillon Thompson, 3. Daniel Stephenson, 4. John Roach, 5. Chris Bron, 6. George Herring, 7. David Kelly, 8. Sarah Benson, 9. Frank Medina, 10. Greg Strickland, 11. Glenn Register, 12. Chris Reeve.
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