Volusia Speedway Park was back in action for Back to School Night with four action-packed Features to kick off the second half of the season.
The Saturday night spectacle featured more than 71 cars among four divisions – 604 Late Models, DIRTcar UMP Modifeds, 602 Late Models and Thunder Stocks.
Seth Geary (UMP Modified), Kale Vansickle (602 Late Model), Garret Stewart (604 Late Model) and Patrick Thomas (Thunder Stocks) stood atop their cars as Saturday night victors.
604 Late Models
The action started with a 20-lap 604 Late Model Feature. Garret Stewart and Kole Platt fired together and raced side by side into Turn 1. They stayed neck and neck all the way through Turn 4 before Stewart gained the better momentum on the high side and pulled away with the lead.
Stewart had distanced himself from Platt each lap before catching the rear of the field on Lap 8, allowing Platt to close back in. While Stewart struggled to pass the slower car of Steve Shead, Platt stuck his nose under Stewart going into the corner, looking to make the pass. But instead, he made contact with the leader, causing him to wobble and send he and third-place Lawton Minchew into the inside wall.
Stewart continued to struggle with getting around Shead, allowing the rest of the field to close on him. But once he did, he drove away to a 2.6 second lead.
With five laps to go, Tuck Trentham fell off pace, bringing out a yellow and the field back to Stewart’s rear bumper.
When the race restarted, Stewart jumped out to a 1.3 second lead within one lap and sailed away with the victory.
“Getting clean air was the key to success,” Stewart stated. “The lap car did scare me as he messed my air up and I couldn’t really maneuver around.”
DIRTcar UMP Modifieds
The start of the 20-lap DIRTcar UMP Modified Feature saw Seth Geary jump from the outside pole to the lead on the first lap.
A caution flag was brought out on Lap 6 when Shawn Tyler experienced engine problems forcing him to end his night. On the restart, in Geary fashion, catapulted to the lead and held it until another yellow was brought out by the halfway mark on Lap 11.
On the restart, Robert Gast and Dillon Buhr who had been battling each other for second, were side by side when Buhr wobbled, slipped high and fell back eight spots with Geary leading and eight laps to go.
With three laps to go, following another caution and another restart, Geary cruised to the front and all the way to Victory Lane.
“Tonight was a mental game more than anything,” Geary shared. “When the track is hammer down, everybody is fast, so hitting your marks, doing everything right and getting through the mud is key.”
602 Late Models
With the third Feature of the night, Kale Vansickle, the 602 Late Models point leader, looked to bring home his fourth win of the season and was set up to do so from the pole position.
When the green flag dropped, Vansickle took the early lead with the four cars behind him battling for position. Davy Cline got tangled up with Brody Smith, causing Cline and Austin Leamon to spin out down the back straight away on the first lap. With no lap completed, the field reracked.
On the restart, Brandon Yates looked to take control of the race early by making a move in Turn 2 on the inside of Vansickle, but Vansickle didn’t let it happen as he shot out of the turn and down the back straight away, establishing his lead.
By Lap 6, Vanisckle had just over a three second lead, when Cline ran into some car trouble brining out a yellow. The left front nose of his car ripped and jammed under the driver side tire, locking it up and limiting his steering control, sending him to the pits for the night.
With 14 laps to go, on the restart, the cars on the outside could not find the groove, pushing David Showers, who was in second, back to fifth. Showers kept the leaders in sight and wasted no time maneuvering himself back into contention for third.
Vansickle was ahead by 3.4 seconds on Lap 12 when he started to run into slower traffic. That led to a scare when he had to take evasive action to avoid JR Gray after his car went up in smoke.
After the restart, the field started to spread out by Lap 15 and Vansickle cruised into Victory Lane with no challenger in sight.
“We got a lot of rain and had to change the car up just a little bit and ended up running pretty good,” Vansickle said. “With it being wet, I was able to hammer it a little bit more.”
Thunder Stocks
The Oviedo, FL driver Patrick Thomas started on the pole in search of his first win of the season. In his last two races at Volusia Speedway Park, he finished in second within reach of the checkered flag.
When the race officially started, the pack was tight going into Turn 1 with two groups three wide. Blake Clouser was rubbing doors with Willy “The Kid” Cuddy, which caused him to swerve. As he started to regain control another driver clipped the nose of Clouser’s car and somehow was able to hold on.
Thomas was sandwiched between two drivers and was able to inch his way into the lead going into Turn 4.
Three more cautions brought the field back to Thomas, but each time he had something for them. When David Showers tried to look low into Turn 4, Clouser closed the door. When Joe Belkey found a charge around the outside and tried to pass him for the lead on a restart, Thomas again defended with ease.
Thomas efforts kept him out in front for all 20 laps reeling in his first Victory Lane appearance this season.
