Dudley, Carr Make History with IHRA Stock Car Victories
FAIRLAWN, Va. — Kyle Dudley and Brandon Carr made history as the first-ever winners in the IHRA Stock Car Series on Saturday night at Pulaski County Motorsports Park.
The series marked a return of true grassroots racing with the drivers competing for $2 million in prize money over the season.
Dudley led flag-to-flag to capture the 125-lap Late Model Sportsman feature and the $25,000 winner’s purse. Carr was victorious in the 100-lap Pro Late Model feature. Each were awarded championship belts along with their monetary prizes.
There was a scary moment for Dudley when he made contact with the lapped car of Brandon Hanks with less than 15 laps to go. Hanks went for a spin, but Dudley continued on with his hot rod and held off runner-up Coy Beard for the victory.
“This is unbelievable. Races don’t normally go that clean for you,” Dudley said. “I had a really good car, particularly how it took off on restarts. We had everything we needed. This is such a cool series here. IHRA is going to do great things for short track racing.
Beard, in the No. 75 machine, held on for second against a hard-charging Ryan Wilson in a battle of North Carolina racers.
“It was a great event, a great race,” Beard said. “We had to use a little too much tire getting around the lapped cars. But, I can’t thank IHRA enough for giving us this opportunity.”
Wilson from Randleman, N.C., the hometown of NASCAR legend Richard Petty, charged through the field over the closing laps. He blamed himself for a qualifying mistake earlier in the day for not being able to catch Dudley.
“Our first lap of qualifying we matched Kyle Dudley. Then, I messed up on lap 2,” Wilson said. “I qualified ninth instead of top three, and I feel the difference in starting back there cost us the race. I’m not sure anyone would have beaten Kyle, but I would have liked to started a little better and seen what we had.”
Kade Brown, another North Carolina driver, finished fourth with Virginia driver Derrick Lancaster rounding out the top five. It was a packed field of cars with 37 cars attempting to make the race.
PRO LATE MODEL
Carr outdueled J.P. Crabtree to pick up the $18,000 winner’s purse in the 100-lap Pro Late Model feature.
Crabtree had beaten Carr on a couple of restarts, but the black No. 6 Camaro prepared by former NASCAR Busch Series driver Dennis Setzer was simply too strong to hold back. Carr, a British karting champion, has raced USAC Midgets on dirt and now asphalt late models since coming to America.
“I had a feeling of relief. I made too many mistakes on the restarts and that’s what I need to work on,” Carr said. “But, the car was amazing. I can’t thank the guys from Setzer Racing enough. I was cruising and was able to bring it home.”
Tristan Barnes brought out the first caution with a blown engine on lap 13. Josh Hornimon got in the oil and spun into the wall between turns 3 and 4, making hard contact with the wall. He had no serious injuries.
Crabtree bolted to the lead on the restart and set the pace the next seven circuits before Carr retook the top spot. Crabtree wasn’t finished and he got back past Carr with 40 laps to go. But, Carr powered back out front four laps later.
Nick Loden, driving the No. 43 car, got by Crabtree for the runner-up spot. He finished 2.3 seconds behind the race winner.
“It was a fun race. We didn’t tear anything up,” Loden said. “The car was really good. We just needed a little more.”
The race was slowed or halted four times for accidents. Crabtree held on for third place. He talked about how it was classic short track racing.
“There was a little rubbing here and there, but with the kind of money on the line, why not rub a little bit,” Crabtree said. “We worked on the car all weekend long and I can’t thank my guys enough.”
Jeremy Williams was fourth, followed by Martin Nesbitt, Taylor Hull and NASCAR Truck Series driver Toni Breidinger.
NEXT UP
The IHRA Stock Car Series returns to action Saturday, April 18 with a visit to Cordele Speedway in South Georgia.