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Story By: COLBY TROTTER / DIRTCAR – CLARKSVILLE, TN – David Breazeale didn’t start racing until he was 22. He didn’t join a national Late Model tour until he was 42. And Saturday night at Clarksville Speedway, at the age of 48, Breazeale earned his first career DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory.
Breazeale, of Four Corners, MS, led all 40 laps of the Feature while persevering through several cautions at the beginning of the race. Brezeale was strong on each restart and drove away for one of the biggest wins of his career.
“It means the world,” Breazeale said. “It’s been right at five years since I’ve won any kind of Late Model race and to come out here on the DIRTcar Summer Nationals who I don’t run with a bunch and a place I’ve never been.
“I somehow have a weird record of winning at tracks for the first time I’ve ever seen them. To come out here with this field of cars and lead it flag-to-flag, it’s a good feeling.”
Since his days as a national tour regular in 2018, the former World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year has switched to a part-time racing schedule that fits better with the full-time commitment to his self-owned logging company – a job that requires long hours before even thinking about racing.
“It’s mentally tough because it requires my presence there at the logging to make it profitable enough that we can afford to do this,” Breazeale said. “When I’m not there it’s costing me money. It’s a mental challenge to keep my head in the game and do this because a lot of times we just need to stay home and work.”
After winning his Heat Race, Breazeale redrew the pole for the Feature with Rodney Melvin lined up beside him. At the drop of the green flag, Breazeale won the mad dash to the first corner to take the lead.
Once Breazeale took the lead, he started to set the pace around the 1/4-mile oval, jumping out a few car lengths ahead of second-place Jadon Frame when the first caution flag came out on Lap 6.
The first yellow flag was a sign of things to come as four more cautions occurred before the race hit the midway point. Despite all the restarts, Breazeale stayed strong each time, holding off the rest of the field behind him.
One more caution occurred on Lap 34, but once again, Breazeale got the advantage on the restart to finish over one second ahead of runner-up Jadon Frame.
“It’s tough,” Breazeale said on the number of restarts he faced. “Knowing [Tanner English] is back there and [Dillon McCowan]. They’ve been at it every day so they obviously have way more laps, and I kept thinking somebody would try me on the outside because I felt like my pace was getting slower and slower.
“It was really up to me, and to think about it at every caution was not good, especially since I’m not used to leading races.”
UP NEXT
The DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models will crown a Week 4 champion at Tri-State Speedway Haubstadt, IN on Sunday July 7.
Tickets will be available at the gate.
RESULTS
Feature (40 Laps): 1. 54-David Breazeale[1]; 2. 818-Jadon Frame[3]; 3. 8-Dillon McCowan[6]; 4. 29-Christian Hanger[11]; 5. C6-Oakley Johns[5]; 6. 15-Clayton Stuckey[18]; 7. 28B-Carson Brown[12]; 8. 30-Mark Voigt[19]; 9. 78-Matthew Brocato[8]; 10. 54JR-Larry Barber Jr[21]; 11. 18-David Seibers[14]; 12. 27M-Rodney Melvin[2]; 13. 75-Daniel Adam[22]; 14. 31AUS-Joe Chalmers[20]; 15. 127-Robert Ardry[15]; 16. 38T-Dillon Tidmore[9]; 17. 16L-Michael Luna[23]; 18. 83-Jensen Ford[16]; 19. 212-Josh Putnam[13]; 20. 96-Tanner English[4]; 21. 174-Ethan Dotson[7]; 22. 2-Charlie Cole[10]; 23. 14JR-Trey Mills[17]
Lucas Lee Leads Flag-to-Flag at Clarksville for First Summit Modified Win of 2024
Lucas Lee has topped the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals field seven times in his career – four of which have now come at Clarksville Speedway after a dominating performance Saturday night.
Lee, of Paris, TN, led all 25 laps of the main event while holding off Friday night winner Trent Young and current Summit Modified points leader Trevor Neville. Lee said his comfortability with the track played a big role in his first Hell Tour victory since 2022.
“When I was 15 years old this was the first place I ever came to race,” Lee said. “I’ve got a lot of laps around here and that matters a lot. We grew up with a lot of competition at this racetrack and that plays a big part of it because I know where to run and not to run and that’s a big advantage.”
Lee started on the outside pole and ripped the high side around the 1/4-mile oval to take the lead on Lap 1. From there, Lee was forced to restart three times with both Young and Neville behind him, but Lee was able to get the jump he needed each time.
Try as they may, neither Young nor Neville were able to catch Lee as the Tennessee racer sped off and collected his first Summit Modified win of the year.
“This is my backyard they’re playing in,” Lee said. “It’s usually the man that starts on the pole here so I was glad I could run in there and get down. I wasn’t really in concern any.”
UP NEXT
The Summit Modifieds continue Week 4 action Sunday, July 7, at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, IN. Tickets will be on sale at the gate.
ABBREVIATED RESULTS
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 12L-Lucas Lee[2]; 2. 10Y-Trent Young[4]; 3. 777-Trevor Neville[7]; 4. 188-Jeremy Sneed[6]; 5. 54-Zachary Hawk[10]; 6. 9B-Cory Balkey[11]; 7. 94-Austin Rettig[9]; 8. 00-Troy Gay[5]; 9. 60-Jim Manka[17]; 10. 11-Brian Ashby[12]; 11. 55M-Blaze Melton[8]; 12. 66-Adam Wright[13]; 13. 86A-Kevin Burns[14]; 14. 182-Ryan Williams[19]; 15. 1-Colby Paris[18]; 16. 4-Brenden Heizer[16]; 17. 121-Caleb Slaughter[3]; 18. 8-Todd Riley[15]; 19. 14-Dalton Lane[1]