Third Generation Racer Colby Howard Scores First Career Greenville-Pickens Speedway Limited Late Model Win

So Colby did, by nearly 13 seconds over his closest challenger.

The 14-year-old third generation rookie led from start to finish in a caution free event and took home a popular victory over Taylor Sorrow and Luke Sorrow.

Other winners on the night were Eddie Ray in the Renegades, Ashley Granata in the Pure Stocks, Ricky Stephens in the Super Stocks and Dannon Esco in the Four-Cylinder division.

Howard and Taylor Sorrow made up the front row for the limited late model 75-lap main. Howard took the lead and opened up an advantage of over two seconds over the rest of the field in the first 12 laps.

Taylor Sorrow stayed ahead of little brother-in-law Luke Sorrow for second, while Tasha Kummer made some early moves to run fourth at the twenty lap mark and Phillip Peters held fifth.

This race went green to checkered, and Howard’s lead kept increasing. The third generation racer from Simpsonville, South Carolina drove a flawless race and ended up sitting in Call Double Aught Bryan Ramey victory lane for his first win ever. Taylor Sorrow, Luke Sorrow, Kummer and Peters rounded out the top five.

“The car was getting tight at the end,” the happy winner said. “I just kept seeing more lapped cars and I got scared because I was afraid Luke or whoever was behind me was going to catch me. This is just awesome! I can’t thank my family, Eubanks Oil, Shell, Century Concrete, Southern Utilities and my whole team enough. They are the reason why I’m here. I don’t even know what to say right now.”

The Four Cylinder feature saw Dannon Esco and Don Tavernia up front when the green flag waved. Esco took off and opened up a half-straightaway advantage as Michael Cross and Chad Redding battled for second. Redding got by Cross for the runner-up spot on lap six but Cross’s front bumper became attached to the rear bumper of the Redding machine causing Chad to spin.

Both cars went to the tail of the field. Esco retained the lead with Tavernia, Hunter Evans and Chad Tavernia following closely. The No. 04 of Michael Webster was a car on the move as he quickly passed his way up to second as Redding winged his way back through the field to third. Finishing fourth was Evans and Don Tavernia rounded out the top five.

Chris Meinders and Ashley Granata led the field to the green flag for the 12-lap Pure Stock feature race. Meinders took the early advantage and held it until lap three when the No. 45 of Tyler Woodring went up in a huge cloud of thick smoke between turns three and four, bringing out the first yellow of the race.

When action resumed, all eyes quickly turned to the No. 28 of Granta, as “The Flying Schoolteacher” lost a couple of positions, then quickly regained them and tore off after leader Chris Meinders. She caught him with just a few laps left and the pair made contact in turns one and two before Granata squeezed by and into the lead for good, claiming her first ever victory at the speedway.

Second at the line was Charlie Meinders, with father Chris Meinders right behind him in third. Fourth went to Buck Simmons and fifth was “Fast Freddie” Hale.

Ricky Stephens and Stanley Pressley led the Super Stock field down for the start of their 15-lap feature, and the action got off to an exciting start right away as T.J. Johnson did a slow, lazy spin down the back straightaway right after the green flag flew.

On the restart, Stephens grabbed the lead but Sams quickly made his way to second. After that, the battle was on as Sams tried inside and outside to find a way by a much-improved No. 7o of Stephens. It was an exciting race to the wire but Stephens held him off to claim his first win of the year. Sams, Stanley Pressley, Danny Gilbert and T.J. Johnson rounded out the top five finishers.

The 20-lap Renegade feature event closed out the evening of racing at the half-mile. This race as all about Eddie Ray, as he led wire-to-wire to pick up his first win in his sharp No. 14. Ray held off the early advances of Terry Thurston and then pulled away late to grab the trophy. Thurston ran a strong race for second, Spenser Darnell copped third, Bobby Emory drove to fourth and Billy Brown charged from the back of the field to a fine fifth place finish.

Next Saturday night, the Southeast Limited Late Model Series will be joined by the Southeast Super Truck Series plus the Renegades and Four Cylinders. Gates will open at 4pm with the first racing green flag scheduled for 7pm. With all the first-time winners this week, excitement will be even higher for next week’s show.

For all the latest updates from Greenville-Pickens Speedway, including start times and admission prices, visit the track website at www.greenvillepickens.com, ‘Like’ them on Facebook by searching Greenville-Pickens Speedway or follow them on Twitter @GP_Speedway.

STAT ZONE – FEATURE FINISHES

LIMITED LATE MODELS: Colby Howard, Taylor Sorrow, Luke Sorrow, Tasha Kummer, Phillip Peters, R.J. West, Anthony Miller, T.J. Lollis, Ron Hall and Don Morgan.

RENEGADES: Eddie Ray, Terry Thurston, Spenser Darnell, Bobby Emory, Billy Brown, Shane Hall, Ricky Burnett, Larry Nabors, Parker Jameson, Scotty Tyner, Joe Allen, Alexx Breazele and Brandon Ellison.

PURE STOCKS: Ashey Granata, Charlie Meinders, Chris Meinders, Buck Simmons, Freddie Hale, Spencer Morgan, A.J. Davis, Dannon Esco, Zack Meinders, Darrell Meinders and Tyler Woodring.

FOUR CYLINDER: Dannon Esco, Michael Webster, Chad Redding, Hunter Evans, Don Tavernia, Chad Tavernia, Tommy Davis, Ray Mullinax, Manual Molleda, Brian Messer and Michael Cross.

SUPER STOCK: Ricky Stephens, Tim Sams, Stanley Pressley, Danny Gilbert and T.J. Johnson.

Fast qualifiers: Limiteds: Colby Howard Pure Stock: Chris Meinders, Renegades: Eddie Ray, Four Cylinders: Dannon Esco, Super Stocks: Tim Sams

GPS PR