The continuation of Volusia Speedway Park’s Month of Money captivated fans with four Features boasting thrilling storylines Saturday night.
Seventy-four competitors, across four divisions – 604 Late Models, DIRTcar UMP Modifieds, Thunder Stocks and Gladiators – gathered at “The World’s Fastest Half Mile” to compete for the night’s big checks.
Taking home the money and glory were Seth Geary (UMP Modified), Dustin Carter (604 Late Models), Jason Garver (Thunder Stocks) and Steven Wright (Gladiator).
604 LATE MODELS
The 20-lap Feature was a spectacle, with Jason Garver leading for 19 laps. In a thrilling twist during the final turns, Dustin Carter seized an opportunity on the inside to snatch the lead.
“There wasn’t much I could do,” Dustin Carter explained. “He (Jason) made one mistake, drove a little hard into Turn 3 and slide up and that’s when I got underneath him”
Carter stole the win with Garver having to settle for second and Mikey Kopka rounding out the podium. Tim Swartz finished fourth after his charge from ninth.
Results – Feature (20 Laps): 1. 5-Dustin Carter[3]; 2. 74-Jason Garver[1]; 3. 721-Mikey Kopka[4]; 4. 31S-Tim Swartz[9]; 5. 44P-Kole Platt[2]; 6. 86-Kody Jett[8]; 7. 41-Derike Bennett[6]; 8. 28-Austin Leamon[10]; 9. 59-Brandon Catto[12]; 10. 12-Korbin Minchew[7]; 11. 07-David Clegg[13]; 12. 23L-Lawton Minchew[21]; 13. 9W-Thomas Warnick[16]; 14. 1T-Tanner Thomas[19]; 15. 10S-Steve Shead[18]; 16. 44K-Troy Kidd[22]; 17. (DNF) 1A-Donnie Birdwell[17]; 18. (DNF) 12P-Hunter Peacock[11]; 19. (DNF) 39W-Brandon Wells[15]; 20. (DNF) 29-Tim Dowling[5]; 21. (DNF) 1J-Jason Papp[14]; 22. (DNF) 54T-Tuck Trentham[20]
DIRTCAR UMP MODIFIEDS
For two consecutive weeks, Seth Geary finds himself taking home the victory in a flag-to-flag finish.
“It feels good to win back-to-back,” Seth said. “It’s been a while since we have been in Victory Lane period. To win opening night and come back-to-back is really good for our year.”
Paul Shead started pole but lost the lead to Geary on the initial start. Five cautions plagued the pace of the 25-lap Feature, bringing the field back to Geary’s bumper each time. However, like the first start he drove away from them all each time and scored the win.
Results – Feature (25 Laps): 1. 7G-Seth Geary[2]; 2. 72-Todd Neiheiser[3]; 3. 27G-Jason Garver[7]; 4. 07-Eric Moon[5]; 5. 00B-Buzzie Reutimann[6]; 6. 11Z-Zane Oedewaldt[12]; 7. 80-Paul Shead[1]; 8. 3S-Josh Sanford[14]; 9. 99-Wade Olmsted[18]; 10. 57-Fletcher Mason[11]; 11. 12-Robert Gast[16]; 12. (DNF) 78-Raymond Rogers[8]; 13. (DNF) 8-Trevor Senterfitt[17]; 14. (DNF) 2-Joshua Kunstbeck[13]; 15. (DNF) 6B-Dave Baldwin[9]; 16. (DNF) 3D-Makayla Tyrrell[10]; 17. (DNF) 51-Dalton Lanich[15]; 18. (DNF) 1P-Mike Phillips[21]; 19. (DNF) 11P-Charlie Phillips[19]; 20. (DNF) 52-Adam Hanas[20]; 21. (DNF) Z1-Zac Oedewaldt[4]
THUNDER STOCKS
Jason Garver had a busy night finishing second with the 604 Late Models and then third with the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds. But before his night was over, he had one more chance to find his way to Victory Lane.
And he didn’t waste time doing so. At the drop of the green flag, he bolted from second to the lead and never looked back.
“A lot of times I know right out the gate where I need to get for the track to work… but all these guys are good and doesn’t take long for them to figure it out as well,” Garver said.
Putting on a showcase of peak physical and mental toughness, Garver ran nearly 100 laps between the three classes and saved a victory for the last one.
“Every car you just have to start over, it’s a new race whether the last one was good or bad,” Garver said. “It’s kind of like being a quarterback that just threw an interception. You have to go back out and score a touchdown.”
Volusia County local Joe Belkey was the hard charger of the night with a stellar run from 14th to third in the 20-lap event.
Results – Feature (20 Laps): 1. 01-Jason Garver[2]; 2. 25T-Patrick Thomas[3]; 3. 22-Joe Belkey[14]; 4. 5H-Tommy Hill[8]; 5. 12-Curt Spencer[7]; 6. 69-Derrick Wood[4]; 7. 00-Shaun Daugharty[1]; 8. 20-Justin Reynolds[9]; 9. 5-Blake Clouser[6]; 10. 23-Willy The Kid Cuddy[16]; 11. 70D-Charlie Stone[11]; 12. 44X-Daniel Baldwin[10]; 13. 73-David Szczepanik[13]; 14. (DNF) 82-John Timbie Jr[12]; 15. (DNF) 118-Ron Adams[5]; 16. (DNS) 118S-Donald Springer
GLADIATORS
The debut of the Gladiator division this year saw 15 drivers contend for the prestigious win.
Steven Wright, in only his second dirt track race, dominated the 15-lap Feature and emerged victorious at “The World’s Fastest Half Mile.”
Brandon Gaither, who was disqualified after his Heat Race, fought his way from last to third place, also recording the fastest lap.
Results – Feature (15 Laps): 1. 47-Steven Wright[4]; 2. 12-Dustin Higdon[2]; 3. 14K-Brandon Gaither[15]; 4. 2-Alex Bernard[1]; 5. 31-Camryn Kight[7]; 6. 14-Jennah Santos[8]; 7. 84-James Mattheus[10]; 8. 17-James Strehle[6]; 9. 77-Joe Sunday[5]; 10. 11-David Ladrie[12]; 11. (DNS) 20K-Mike Kurpiewski; 12. (DNS) 46-Chuck Frater; 13. (DNS) 72-Charles Friddle; 14. (DNS) 49X-Bailey Kight; 15. (DQ) 7-Aaron Foye[3]
Up Next:
Volusia Speedway Park’s weekly competition continues for the Month of Money’s grand finale on Saturday, April 27.
Unable to attend? Follow all the action live on DIRTVision.