One driver had enough to make it to the checkered flag while another driver simply outlasted the field Saturday night as Dublin Motor Speedway opened its 2015 season with five races.
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Russell Erwin overcame a fading transmission to win the Late Model division, while Billy Workman Jr. had to fight through 13 caution flags to win the Open Wheel Modified division. Each driver won $1,500.
Other winners Saturday were Chris Powers in Super Street, Devin Williamson in Pure Stock, and John Hollard in U-Car.
Erwin led all 25 laps of the Late Model feature, including the final 12 run under green as smoke began showing from the back of his car.
“We were having some transmission troubles earlier so we think we had trouble with the transmission (at the end),” Erwin said. “It’s a good thing it lasted.”
Erwin, who lives near Richmond, Virginia, was driving this car for the first time Saturday.
“The car was good. That’s a brand new car,” he said. “We drove all the way down here to shake this new car down, and it was just awesome.
“We didn’t have tires on for the track to get quite as black as it did,” Erwin said. “We had a little bit softer tire on for shorter runs, so I was liking the cautions and the restarts because that’s what we had tires for. There at the end, the green flag run, we got the right rear to last just long enough.”
Second-place finisher Shawn Sewell of Dunn drew even with Erwin on the backstretch on lap 12, but the final caution of the race came out, and Erwin pulled away again on the restart.
“The car did good. The race track was good,” Sewell said. “I think I had him there at one time, then the restarts and the cautions kind of messed me up a little bit. He’d just pull away on the restarts. After about five or six laps, I’d get going pretty good. I wanted to win, but we’ll take this.”
In the Open Wheel Modified feature, Workman Jr. was the fastest qualifier, took the lead into turn one on the green flag, then consistently got the jump on the field after 13 caution flags in the first 19 laps. The final six laps of the 25-lap race was run under green.
“Every time the caution comes out it gives the guy in second a chance to catch up and get another shot at me,” Workman Jr. said. “It was frustrating, but I’m just glad we held on for the win. This car is really unbelievable. I’m proud to be part of this organization.”
A late caution flag was a major factor in the opening race, the 20-lap Super Street. Powers had led the entire race until a restart on lap 18 when he missed a shift and Jerry Johnson took the lead coming out of the second turn. However, a caution flag came out and, since the field had not completed a lap, the order reverted back. That put Powers in front and he hit the restart the second time.
“I thought I might have given it away, but the caution came out in my favor,” Powers said.
“I needed it to stay green,” Johnson said. “I knew he wasn’t going to fall asleep twice in a row.”
Dublin Motor Speedway results
Late Models: 1, Russell Erwin; 2, Shawn Sewell; 3, D.J. Tyndall; 4, Ryder Hammond; 5, Randy Guyton; 6, Callern Hammond; 7, Aaron Ellis; 8, Zack Cox; 9, Brian Strickland; 10, Colby Ashe; 11, Robbie Turner; 12, Bucky Causey; 13, Bobby King.
Open Wheel Modifieds: 1, Billy Workman Jr.; 2, Chris Parker; 3, Slater Wickensherfer; 4, Eric Bentley; 5, John Marshall; 6, Mack Coxe; 7, Gary Long; 8, Rocky Gasque; 9, Steve Strickland; 10, David Kendell; 11, Billy Wilson; 12, Wayne Gray; 13, Matt Canady; 14, Dustin McLaurin.
Super Streets: 1, Chris Powers; 2, Jerry Johnson; 3, Kyle Freeman; 4, Johnny Moore; 5, Greg Spivey; 6, Justin Patterson; 7, Chris McDonald.
Pure Stocks: 1, Devin Williamson; 2, Elvin Matthews; 3, Michael Butler; 4, Terry Sharp; 5, Riley Lewis; 6, Travis Byrd; 7, Robbie Williams; 8, Ryan Gilbert.
U-Cars: 1, John Holland; 2, Ronney Yarborough Jr.; 3, Junior Price; 4, Jody Patterson; 5, Joey Wilkes; 6, C.J. Locklear; 7, Andrew Holland; 8, Scott Yarborough; 9, Bart Handley; 10, Kyle Foster; 11, Sleven Plis; 12, Cameron Parks.
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