Story By: JORDAN DELUCIA / DIRTCAR – CONCORD, NC – Thirty-six Summit Racing Equipment DIRTcar UMP Modifieds returned to The Dirt Track at Charlotte Friday night for Heat Race action in the seventh annual World Short Track Championship. Sixteen have since earned their way into Saturday’s Championship Feature and are ready to contend for the $4,000 grand prize.
Taylor Cook, Kyle Strickler, Mike McKinney and Justin Haley all emerged victorious in their respective Heat Races and now face the redraw for Saturday’s Feature lineup. The top-four finishers in each eight-lap sprint also advanced to the main event, while everyone else went to the Last Chance Showdown.
Heat 1 (8 Laps) | 00:03:32.442 – Taylor Cook
Facing the pressure of Thursday’s All-Star Feature winner Ethan Dotson to his inside as the green flag dropped, Taylor Cook got the jump he needed to zoom past the Longhorn Chassis house car driver on the initial start and grab the lead. With Dotson on his tail the entire distance, Cook’s unwavering execution in every corner propelled him to the win as he held off the hard-charging Californian.
1. 21-Taylor Cook[2]; 2. 00-Ethan Dotson[1]; 3. 5-Jonathan Taylor[4]; 4. 77-George Dixon[3]; 5. 44-Jeff Parsons[5]; 6. 12R-Ty Rhoades[6]; 7. 74-Mike Franklin[9]; 8. 463-Daniel Sanchez[8]; 9. (DNS) 7T-Drake Troutman
Heat 2 (8 Laps) | 00:07:20.163 – Kyle Strickler
He’s one of only two winners of the UMP Modified division in six years of the World Short Track Championship, and he’s looking like a strong contender to do it again on Saturday. Kyle Strickler jumped out to the lead from the outside pole and led all eight laps en route to the win, handling the pressure of Dan Davies and Kenny Shaw behind him with ease.
Strickler won the Championship Feature in 2016, 2017 and 2020.
1. 8S-Kyle Strickler[2]; 2. 71D-Chris Madden[1]; 3. 21S-Kenny Shaw[4]; 4. 95J-Justin Cullum[9]; 5. 99-Cole Hilton[7]; 6. 72-Todd Neiheiser[6]; 7. 52-Colin Green[5]; 8. 55-Alyssa Rowe[8]; 9. (DNS) 5CS-Curt Spalding
Heat 3 (8 Laps) | 00:03:54.802 – Mike McKinney
With the way he drove from fifth to the lead in the first seven laps of Heat 3, it seemed as though Mike McKinney had hundreds of previous laps around The Dirt Track. The Plainfield, IL-native, making his World Short Track debut, ripped the high line around the 4/10-mile oval and made the pass for the lead on outside polesitter Austin Holcombe coming to the white flag to score the victory and a spot in Saturday’s redraw.
1. 96M-Mike McKinney[5]; 2. 8-Austin Holcombe[2]; 3. 7-Evan Taylor[3]; 4. 79D-John DeMoss[6]; 5. T2-Greg Hauger[7]; 6. 35-David Stremme[1]; 7. 814-Samuel Lamborgini[9]; 8. 6-Ryan Ayers[4]; 9. 9T-Mason Canter[8]
Heat 4 (8 Laps) | 00:05:07.394 – Justin Haley
Scoring another win for drivers making their first laps around The Dirt Track this weekend, NASCAR Cup Series driver Justin Haley made the most of his debut World Short Track Heat appearance by jumping out to the lead at the drop of the green. He wheeled his brand-new Elite Chassis around the track in swift fashion, building his lead up to 1.5 seconds over runner-up Chris Arnold as the checkered waved.
1. 99H-Justin Haley[1]; 2. 99W-Chris Arnold[2]; 3. 11-Troy Loomis[3]; 4. 25-Jason Altiers[4]; 5. 18-Brandon Kinzer[5]; 6. 88-Matt Crafton[6]; 7. 12-Skylar Marlar[9]; 8. 22-Donnie Levister[8]; 9. 4M-Tim Monroe[7]
Last Chance Showdown 1 8 Laps | 00:03:14.100 – Jeff Parsons
Jeff Parsons, the three-time World Short Track champion of the Pro Modified division from Union Grove, NC, won the Last Chance event, leading all 10 laps and taking Brandon Kinzer, Ty Rhoades, Cole Hilton, Matt Crafton and Greg Hauger with him into Saturday’s main event.
1. 44-Jeff Parsons[1]; 2. 18-Brandon Kinzer[4]; 3. 12R-Ty Rhoades[5]; 4. 99-Cole Hilton[2]; 5. 88-Matt Crafton[8]; 6. T2-Greg Hauger[3]; 7. 74-Mike Franklin[9]; 8. 12-Skylar Marlar[12]; 9. 4M-Tim Monroe[20]; 10. 9T-Mason Canter[19]; 11. 22-Donnie Levister[16]; 12. 814-Samuel Lamborgini[11]; 13. 55-Alyssa Rowe[14]; 14. 463-Daniel Sanchez[13]; 15. (DNS) 6-Ryan Ayers; 16. (DNS) 52-Colin Green; 17. (DNS) 72-Todd Neiheiser; 18. (DNS) 5CS-Curt Spalding; 19. (DNS) 35-David Stremme; 20. (DNS) 7T-Drake Troutman
Six Heat Race Winners Stand Atop Pro Modified Division
Boasting the second-highest car count of all 10 divisions, 54 Hoosier Racing Tire Pro Modifieds took to The Dirt Track at Charlotte Friday night for six Heat Races, setting the first nine rows of Saturday’s World Short Track Championship Feature event.
The six-lap dashes revealed the top drivers thus far in the division, as all six Heats were led flag-to-flag by the winners. Kevin Pangrazio, Ryan Ayers, Eric Bentley, Kevin Vanhorn, Brian Nickerson and Ty Norder each took their front-row starting spots and ran with them, surviving the multiple restart opportunities in their respective races to bag the wins.
The top-three finishers from each were taken into the Championship Feature, while the rest were filed into one of three Last Chance Showdown races that will open Saturday’s program, taking the winner and the runner-up into the main event.
Don’t miss a moment of the Last Chance and Feature racing action from The Dirt Track as the seventh annual World Short Track Championship concludes.
Hoosier Racing Tire Pro Modifieds | 54 Entries
Heat 1 6 Laps | 00:07:50.684
1. 42-Kevin Pangrazio[2]; 2. 25-Robert Poole[3]; 3. 23-Buck Stevens[7]; 4. 00-Preston Blalock[5]; 5. 09-Michael Leach[9]; 6. 18F-Jordan Fegter[4]; 7. 20-Blake Hedrick[6]; 8. 21A-Adam Favors[8]; 9. 66-Jamie Throckmorton[1]
Heat 2 6 Laps | 00:04:31.572
1. 6-Ryan Ayers[1]; 2. 20S-Trey Stamper[3]; 3. 59-Grayson Wells[4]; 4. 20H-Brandon Hall[5]; 5. 16-Daniel Allen[8]; 6. 92-Larry Martin[6]; 7. 17-Case Daniels[7]; 8. 00B-JP Blalock[9]; 9. 42X-Michael Selig[2]
Heat 3 6 Laps | 00:02:04.152
1. 11-Eric Bentley[1]; 2. 14-Jeff Robinson[6]; 3. 56-Justin Blevins[5]; 4. 18D-Phillip Benfield[2]; 5. 73-Chris Nickerson[9]; 6. 06-Sean Meeks[7]; 7. 15-Morgan Widener[8]; 8. 71-Dennis Kirk[3]; 9. 7D-JR Davis[4]
Heat 4 6 Laps | 00:10:16.244
1. 83-Kevin Vanhorn[1]; 2. 23B-Spencer Boyd[9]; 3. 121-Chase Cardwell[7]; 4. 04-Cole Wagoner[5]; 5. 28-RK Dix[8]; 6. 89-Heath Martin[3]; 7. 69-Harley Stanley[6]; 8. 8P-Jason Powers[2]; 9. 27-Bryan Martin[4]
Heat 5 6 Laps | 00:04:34.395
1. 44-Brian Nickerson[1]; 2. 2J-Jake Barneycastle[7]; 3. 8A-Austin Holcombe[8]; 4. 5W-Ethan Wilson[9]; 5. 19-Ryan Morgan[6]; 6. 50-Ronald Covey[2]; 7. 18-Ray Suman[5]; 8. 12-Jerry Reich[4]; 9. 58-Brady Pyrtle[3]
Heat 6 6 Laps | 00:05:02.879
1. 2T-Ty Norder[2]; 2. 45-Cambridge Gann[3]; 3. 312-Greg Brown[4]; 4. 23A-Austin Self[6]; 5. 13-Quentin Haley[1]; 6. 1G-Grayson Keaton[7]; 7. 29-Brandon Bentley[9]; 8. 35-Ryan Dolan[5]; 9. 72-Patrick Field[8]
Gilbert, Johnson, Brock, Richey Score Mini-Stock Heat Wins To Lock Into Saturday’s Show
Forty COMP Cams Monster Mini-Stocks battled to fill 16 lock-in spots Friday night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte for the seventh annual World Short Track Championship.
Split into four Heat Races, the top four drivers from each Heat transferred to Saturday’s Feature event.
Matt Gilbert, Ronnie Johnson, Stacy Brock, and Logan Richey won each of their respective Heat Races, while 14 others transferred with them.
HEAT RACE 1
Matt Gilbert had the performance of the night, making his way from last to win in Heat Race 1.
A pileup on the first lap played a big role in that move. The accident ended the night early for competitors JR Warren, Ken Appleton and front-row starter, Jason Adams.
That then left the door open for Gilbert and other to make an easier charge forward and try to lock into Saturday’s Feature.
Gilbert grabbed the checkered flag, with a dogfight for the transfer spot behind him. In the end, Travis Mosley, Michael Webb, and Marcus Hughes joined Gilbert in being locked into the Saturday night’s Feature.
Heat 1 Results:
1. 117-Matt Gilbert[10]; 2. 19-Travis Mosley[9]; 3. 98-Michael Webb[3]; 4. 44-Marcus Hughes[1]; 5. B03-Damien Bryant[8]; 6. 2-James Manning[5]; 7. X-Kevin Cooper[4]; 8. 56A-Ken Appleton[7]; 9. 21-JR Warren[6]; 10. 62-Jason Adams[2]
HEAT RACE 2
After some shuffling of positions in the first few laps of Heat 2, the top four found their place by the halfway point and comfortably maintained them to the end.
Ronnie Johnson bagged the win, with Austin Brown in second, Brent Couch in third, and Billy Cline rounding out the locked-in cars.
Heat 2 Results
1. 8J11-Ronnie Johnson[6]; 2. 04-Austin Brown[10]; 3. 28C-Brent Couch[9]; 4. 69-Billy Cline[2]; 5. 5-Bryan Harrelson[5]; 6. 37-Ben Burnett[7]; 7. 212-Greg Brew[4]; 8. 07G-Raylee Shatley[1]; 9. 56-Nick Fulcher[3]; 10. (DNS) 71-Bradley Southern
HEAT RACE 3
Stacy Brock schooled the Monster Mini-Stock field in Heat Race 3, leading from start to finish.
The opposite occurred for his early race competitor, Dustin Bolin, who suffered an issue and dropped to the rear. That helped open the door for a new challenger to find their way into a transfer spot.
Kyle Cooper finished second, with Dylan Warden third and Harley Holden fourth.
Heat 3 Results:
1. 96B-Stacy Brock[1]; 2. 84-Kyle Cooper[3]; 3. 2W-Dylan Warden[9]; 4. H3-Harley Holden[4]; 5. 12-Pete Brew[10]; 6. 8-Dustin Bolin[2]; 7. 72-Travis Harden[7]; 8. 95-Kevin Atwell[6]; 9. 15-Zach Lankford[5]; 10. 12M-Randy Melton[8]
HEAT RACE 4
Heat Race 4 saw the night end early for several competitor as a parking lot of cars formed in Turn 2 due to one car spinning and others having nowhere to go.
When the race went back to green flag racing, it was nothing short of a war between the drivers around the final transfer position. Logan Richey drove like he was shot out of a cannon, going from row three to the lead in a matter of two laps.
While he sprinted across the finish line for the win, there was a photo finish for the transfer spot behind him.
Second went to Josh Bryant, who almost spun on the last lap – which could’ve sent him to the Last Chance Showdown. Third was Jesse Richardson Jr., and the last transfer driver was Tyler Riddle.
Heat 4 Results:
1. 10-Logan Richey[6]; 2. 24-Josh Bryant[8]; 3. 7X-Jessie Richardson Jr[4]; 4. 96X-Tyler Riddle[7]; 5. 17-Nick Broome[9]; 6. 5C-Connor Keaton[1]; 7. 04W-Phillip Wilson[10]; 8. 99-Daniel Coffey[2]; 9. 96-Tanner Cook[3]; 10. 1G-Grayson Keaton[5]
Grady, Duvall, Pryor, Langley Pick Up Street Stock Heat Wins, 14 Others Lock Into Saturday’s Feature
Forty-seven ARP Street Stocks, split between four six-lap Heat Races, battled for 16 available transfer spots Friday night at the Dirt Track at Charlotte for the seventh annual World Short Track Championship.
Those who finished in the transfer spots, locked themselves into Saturday’s Feature event.
Here is how the Heat Races played out…
HEAT RACE 1
Two cautions hindered the flow of Heat Race 1 within the first six laps.
Hurt the most by them was 2020 World Short Track Championship winner Calob McLaughlin. He was involved in a pileup in Turn 1, forcing him to now have to make up ground in Saturday’s Last Chance Showdown.
From that point on, the race went green-to-checkered, seeing Mike Grady Jr. win the first Heat Race of the night.
The other three transfers were Brandon White, Bradley Weaver and Justin Barber, respectively.
Heat 1 Results:
1. 70-Mike Grady Jr[1]; 2. 26-Brandon White[6]; 3. 2-Bradley Weaver[4]; 4. 81-Justin Barber[7]; 5. 92-Tanner Fortune[9]; 6. 73-Timmy Smith[11]; 7. 7B-Mickey Barnes[5]; 8. 40B-Todd Bolin[2]; 9. 7-John Cagle[3]; 10. 83-Calob McLaughlin[8]; 11. 5N-Nick Evans[10]
HEAT RACE 2
Mitchell Duvall reigned supreme in Heat 2, leading all six laps. But behind him, drivers waged war for the final transfer spot.
Dalton Pannell finished second, Patrick Lyon third and Phoenix Lawter hung on to the final transfer spot at the end.
Heat 2 Results:
1. 18D-Mitchell Duvall[3]; 2. 96-Dalton Pannell[5]; 3. 01-Patrick Lyon[4]; 4. 51-Phoenix Lawter[9]; 5. 7DD-David Duke[10]; 6. 15-Rick Potter[8]; 7. 11-Robbie Mooneyham[6]; 8. 9S-Chris Steadman[2]; 9. 40-TJ Bolin[1]; 10. 1-Brandon Blair[11]; 11. 39-Steve Greene[7]
HEAT RACE 3
In the third heat, chaos ensued from the drop of the green flag. Second-row starter, Blake Pryor, took the front row three-wide into Turn 1, with him gaining the lead at the end of Turn 2.
It was smooth sailing for the driver out of Mooresboro, NC for the rest of the race, taking the Heat 3 victory. From there on, the transfers were Dalton Perry in second, Chris Stowe in third, and Russell Douville rounding out the top-four transfers.
Heat 3 Results:
1. 78-Blake Pryor[3]; 2. 9P-Dalton Peavy[6]; 3. 17-Devon Morgan[7]; 4. 41-Mattison Hoots[9]; 5. 06-Andrew Durham[10]; 6. 91F-Chris Stowe[2]; 7. 14-Megan Erwin[5]; 8. BB2-Jesse Wall[8]; 9. 17D-Russell Douville[1]; 10. 17M-Cameron Martin[4]
HEAT RACE 4
Heat 4 provided, arguably, the wildest race for the final transfer spot.
Like Heat 3, the race began with drivers battling three-wide into Turn 1 for the lead. Kade Langley, who started on the outside pole, prevailed, and ran away with the lead.
The rest of the field was left jostling for spots in the remaining laps.
Heat 4 ended with a last-lap crash, involving four cars, locking the finishing order in place. That gave Langley the win, while Ronnie Mosley finished second, Bailey Loftin finished third and Ricky Greene rounded out the top four.
Heat 4 Results:
1. 11L-Kade Langley[2]; 2. 9-Ronnie Mosley[7]; 3. Y44-Bailey Loftin[5]; 4. 18-Ricky Greene[10]; 5. 32-Garrett Killman[1]; 6. 00-Cody Ussery[9]; 7. 15L-Donovan Long[3]; 8. 53-Eric Grant[6]; 9. 11W-David Wells[4]; 10. (DNS) 5-Junior Johnson