There are those who believe Friday the 13th to be unlucky. However, should you ask Kres VanDyke and Zeke Shell their thoughts, it’s a good likelihood they will strongly disagree.
With Kingsport Speedway hosting Shriner’s Night at the Races in the Model City, the two chauffeurs split NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Stock Car twin features, each picking up their second win this season.
VanDyke, from Abingdon, Virginia, and Shell from Johnson City, entered the night’s racing program only separated by two points in the Late Model Stock Car divisional point standings. VanDyke was quickest in qualifying and following the roll of the dice, the top two were inverted for the first 35-lap feature.
VanDyke and Wayne Hale led the 16-car field to green from the front row, with VanDyke taking the early lead over Hale, Justin Fontaine, Shell and Joey Trent. While VanDyke and Hale began to quickly separate themselves from their closest challengers, behind them it was a seven-car freight train of Fontaine, Shell, Trent, Ronnie McCarty, Austin Peters, Allen Hawkins and Derek Lane running nose-to-tail around “The Concrete Jungle.”
Shell was applying heat on Fontaine for the third spot, and on lap 29 racing off the fourth turn contact was made which got Fontaine out of shape. While the 18-year-old Fontaine almost held on to his mount, he finally spun just past the start-finish line to bring out the caution.
The stage was set for a six-lap shootout to the checkered flag. VanDyke fired back out ahead Hale off the double-file restart and went on to record the victory over Hale, Shell, Trent and Derek Lane, who had his best-ever Late Model Stock Car finish with the fifth-place run.
Completing the top 10 finishers were McCarty, Peters, Hawkins, Fontaine and Mardy Roberts.
The top four finishers from the first race were inverted for the second 35-lapper, which put Trent and Shell on the front row. Shell jumped out into the lead over Trent, VanDyke and Hale.
Shell served notice from the beginning that he was on a mission – to park in victory lane. VanDyke wasted no time in getting around Trent for second, and set his sights ahead on Shell. With the race running clean-and-green, VanDyke remained within striking distance of Shell should the leader make a slight mistake.
Shell was dialed-in just a little better than VanDyke, and the only time during the race Shell felt threatened was while negotiating a couple of lap cars that allowed VanDyke to momentarily stick his nose to the inside of Shell between turns three and four. But once Shell cleared those cars he put four car lengths between himself and VanDyke.
Shell would not be denied his second victory as he won over VanDyke, McCarty, Trent and Hale.
Completing the top 10 finishers were Lane, Fontaine, Hawkins, Peters and Roberts.
Royce Peters roared out to the lead at start of the Street Stock 30-lap feature and led the opening 20 circuits, before caution waved when Greg Grindstaff spun in turn four. Kirby Gobble of Abingdon, Virginia, seized the moment off the double-file restart when Peters missed a shift (coming up through the gears) on the front straightaway to take the lead. Once out front Gobble would hold on to capture his first victory over Peters, Chris Tunnell, Paul Shull and Jared Broadbent.
Through the first three events this season, “Mr. Perfect” Billy Byington had won all three races. Kingsport’s Keith Helton had recorded two DNF’s (Did Not Finish), and one fourth-place effort. Looking to change his fortune, Helton bolted out to the lead at start over the stellar 25-car field of Pure 4 competitors and led wire-to-wire in winning over John Ketron, Byington, Kenny Absher and Chris Neeley.
Billy Duty appeared headed to victory lane in the Mod 4 feature. Duty led from the green flag until the final lap, when he came out on the losing end following an incident involving Kirby Gobble. Gobble was glued to Duty’s back bumper as the duo received the white flag, and racing down the backstretch into the third turn, contact was made and Duty slammed hard head-on into the inside concrete wall and then shot back across the track forcing other drivers into evasive action to avoid further impact.
Being the race was on the last lap, even though Gobble came back around to the flag stand leading the field, he ultimately was relegated to the last-place car on the lead lap due to track officials’ call of rough driving. Jason Yates of Wise, Virginia, took his first-ever Mod 4 win at Kingsport Speedway over Kevin Canter, Jerry Miller, Chris Amburgey and Dennis Arnold.
Jamie Meadows of Castlewood, Virginia, passed Marty Tunnell for the lead on lap 14 and stayed out front to capture his first Pure Street win on the season. Finishing third through fifth, respectively, were Duke Bare, Dennis Arnold and Jay Swecker.
Trey Lane of Kingsport sped to his second Legend victory over Brandon Taylor, Reece Bowers, Les Ottinger and Dillon Hodge.
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