Before Sunday’s World of Outlaws Bike Week Jamboree, Dustin Turnage Sr had not competed at Volusia Speedway Park since 2021.
It did not take him much time to find the avenue back to Victory Lane in the DIRTcar Factory Stocks debut at the event by racing wheel-to-wheel against the top drivers that will compete monthly for a “World’s Fastest Half Mile” division title.
Heat race winners Mike Tovet and Willy Cuddy led the field to the green flag, with Cuddy taking the top spot with momentum on the cushion. Cuddy kept pace over the top five by a half-second distance until a flurry of caution flags arose on Laps 3 and 4 that gave Tovet and Dustin Turnage Sr a chance at taking the lead away.
While Cuddy found comfort on the high side, Turnage found his rhythm on the bottom lane to take second from Tovet, then crept up to the inside of Cuddy’s No. 23 machine. The two drivers remained side-by-side on the track for multiple laps until Turnage secured the position on Lap 14.
The Vero Beach, FL driver held a 0.8-second lead on Lap 16 until a bobble through Turn 2 helped Cuddy close the gap once more for a final shot at victory. However, Turnage held the 20-year-old racer at bay as he drove to the season-opening victory for the division.
“Just luck… Just luck,” Turnage said regarding the pass on Cuddy. “I love this place. We race all over Florida, but it’s been five years since I’ve been here. To come back after that long hiatus and win is amazing.
“I did not think that I had the car to do it. Everybody here is a winner. Tonight, every guy that’s driving in these pits is a number one in the state of Florida. So, to show up with a torn-up race car and do this makes me happy.”
RESULTS: Feature (20 Laps): 1. 1-Dustin Turnage Sr[6]; 2. 23-Willy The Kid Cuddy[2]; 3. 1 SHOT-Mike Tovet[1]; 4. 20-Justin Reynolds[12]; 5. 182-Bud Chancey[3]; 6. 91-Bubba Christian[9]; 7. 118-Ron Adams[11]; 8. 24-Bruce Bennett[4]; 9. 21M-Mayson Mossow[19]; 10. 5-Blake Clouser[10]; 11. 0-Rich Pratt[5]; 12. 69-Derrick Wood[17]; 13. 25TM-Todd Morgan[15]; 14. 00-Shaun Daugharty[8]; 15. 1T-Tanner Thomas[7]; 16. 25T-Patrick Thomas[13]; 17. (DNS) 110-Corey Certain; 18. (DNS) 06-David Showers Jr; 19. (DNS) 41L-Mikey Kopka
Up Next: The DIRTcar Factory Stocks return for the final night of World of Outlaws Bike Week Jamboree alongside the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series on Monday night, March 2. Gates open at 5 p.m ET and Hot Laps will begin at 6:30 p.m.
How can you watch every lap of racing at Volusia Speedway Park? Live on DIRTVision.