By Alex Nieten
Layton Sullivan is finally a World Short Track Championship winner.
The Gaffney, SC native has been trying to conquer The Dirt Track at Charlotte since the event launched in 2016. He’d come so close on multiple occasions. A podium at the 2019 Pro Late Model All-Star Invitational. A runner-up in the 2024 Pro Late Model Championship Feature. A fourth place finish earlier Saturday night with the Fox Factory 604 Pro Late Models.
No more waiting for Sullivan.
He finally got the job done on Saturday with the Race City Performance 525 Late Models. Sullivan lined up second and snatched the top spot by narrowly squeezing around Tyler Leach in Turn 2.
The job was far from over as he had to fend off not only Leach but also two-time World Short Track Championship winner Trent Ivey, who surged into second late. Ivey looked like he might have a shot in the closing laps as traffic slowed Sullivan, but the door never opened. Sullivan stayed ahead and finally grabbed a Charlotte checkered flag.
“I’m really just so proud of our guys and everybody who helps us,” Sullivan said. “We’ve got so many people here with us. I couldn’t be more proud. I had a really good car in that 604 Feature, and we kind of figured out what we needed to do to this one. The racetrack changed, and that changed the game. I didn’t expect that. I just did my best to hold them off. I just tried to minimize the mistakes. I’ve been coming to this thing since the first one, so this is freaking awesome.”
The victory came in Sullivan’s 14th overall World Short Track Championship Feature appearance as he can finally call himself a winner under the bright lights of Charlotte.
Trent Ivey fell just a spot shy of his third World Short Track Championship triumph, settling for runner-up.
Jordan Koehler wheeled from eighth to third to round out the podium.
Dillon Brown and Tyler Leach completed the top five.
FEATURE RESULTS:
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 2-Layton Sullivan[2]; 2. 28-Trent Ivey[5]; 3. 114-Jordan Koehler[8]; 4. 6-Dillon Brown[6]; 5. 05-Tyler Leach[1]; 6. 121-Blake Craft[9]; 7. 22-Russell Erwin[14]; 8. 8-Joe Leavell[12]; 9. 21B-Jamison McBride[4]; 10. 30-Tyler Bare[15]; 11. 28M-Justin Mintz[7]; 12. 71-Billy Thompson[16]; 13. 67-Bryan Mullis[10]; 14. 537-Jesse Rockett[17]; 15. P4-John Price[25]; 16. 57-Adam Yarbrough[11]; 17. 5J-Braden Jones[20]; 18. 7-Daniel Breuer[22]; 19. 4-Kale Green[23]; 20. 52-Timmy Mills[21]; 21. 18-Austin Mintz[19]; 22. 14-Baron McDowell[27]; 23. 07T-Larry Timms[24]; 24. 09-Michael Leach[13]; 25. 22T-Terry Caples Jr[28]; 26. D5-Justin Hobgood[18]; 27. 55-Matt Long[3]; 28. 42S-Anthony Sanders[26]
