Leach drives 22nd-to-second, repping Longhorn Chassis in top-two
There’s nothing like the feeling of hoisting your first World Short Track Championship trophy in Victory Lane at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. Ty Norder got his first taste of that in only his second-career Feature win Saturday night with the Hoosier Racing Tire Pro Modifieds.
“This is only my second-ever win,” Norder said. “At this stage, I busted my butt off on this car. We struggled all week, and we bounced-back to Victory Lane.”
Norder had inherited the lead after a bit of foul play in the final laps with the leaders in front of him. Ryan Ayers made the move for the lead on Eric Bentley on Lap 12 and pulled out to a commanding advantage with a hungry Kevin Pangrazio rapidly closing in on him. Pangrazio sailed around Ayers on the outside on Lap 17 and suddenly looked to be the man to beat.
However, he and Ayers came together after a Lap 19 restart going into Turn 1, leaving Pangrazio stopped in Turn 2 after additional contact with the wall. Pangrazio retired to the pits, while Ayers was sent to the tail for the contact.
Norder had been riding third when the incident happened, and thus inherited the lead for the final restart with six-to-go. He stomped the throttle and took off, fending-off the pressure from behind to win his first career World Short Track Championship title.
Congratulated in Victory Lane by Longhorn Chassis executive Steve Arpin, Norder was ecstatic and nearly in tears with his friends and family around him to celebrate. The 18-year-old Crate Modified racer from Mooresville, NC, is an employee at Longhorn Chassis headquarters in China Grove, NC, and made it a big point to thank his company in his post-race interview.
One of his fellow employees finished right behind him in second – Michael Leach. The two put on a big chase for the lead after the final restart, but Norder was able to hold Leach off in the end.
“I work at Longhorn and his dad owns Longhorn,” Norder said. “We sit there and talk crap to each other each day at work… at the end of the day, we’re brothers. On the racetrack, we’re gonna race each other hard and clean.”
Leach earned the Hard Charger honors for the race in his impressive drive from 22nd-to-second. Though he couldn’t physically see him, Norder sensed Leach was coming and could feel his presence in the final laps.
Podium finishers Leach (left), Norder (center) and Jeff Robinson (right) in Victory Lane. (Jacy Norgaard Photo)
“I knew he started deep, and I saw the scoreboard and he was fourth or fifth,” Norder said. “I knew at that point he was running the top. So, I just went to the top and ended up in Victory Lane.”
Hoosier Racing Tire Pro Modifieds | 54 Entries
Feature 25 Laps | 00:14:50.285
1. 2T-Ty Norder[2]; 2. 09-Michael Leach[22]; 3. 14-Jeff Robinson[9]; 4. 8A-Austin Holcombe[17]; 5. 25-Robert Poole[7]; 6. 11-Eric Bentley[1]; 7. 59-Grayson Wells[14]; 8. 83-Kevin Vanhorn[6]; 9. 2J-Jake Barneycastle[11]; 10. 20S-Trey Stamper[8]; 11. 5W-Ethan Wilson[21]; 12. 23B-Spencer Boyd[10]; 13. 13-Quentin Haley[24]; 14. 23-Buck Stevens[13]; 15. 121-Chase Cardwell[16]; 16. 312-Greg Brown[18]; 17. 00-Preston Blalock[19]; 18. 44-Brian Nickerson[3]; 19. 17-Case Daniels[25]; 20. 04-Cole Wagoner[20]; 21. 18-Ray Suman[26]; 22. 18D-Phillip Benfield[23]; 23. 56-Justin Blevins[15]; 24. 6-Ryan Ayers[4]; 25. 42-Kevin Pangrazio[5]; 26. 45-Cambridge Gann[12]
Last Chance Showdown 1 8 Laps | 00:03:48.146
1. 00-Preston Blalock[1]; 2. 09-Michael Leach[3]; 3. 92-Larry Martin[6]; 4. 20H-Brandon Hall[2]; 5. 16-Daniel Allen[4]; 6. 18F-Jordan Fegter[5]; 7. 21A-Adam Favors[9]; 8. 42X-Michael Selig[12]; 9. 20-Blake Hedrick[7]; 10. 17-Case Daniels[8]; 11. 66-Jamie Throckmorton[11]; 12. 00B-JP Blalock[10]
Last Chance Showdown 2 8 Laps | 00:03:59.964
1. 04-Cole Wagoner[2]; 2. 18D-Phillip Benfield[1]; 3. 28-RK Dix[4]; 4. 15-Morgan Widener[7]; 5. 73-Chris Nickerson[3]; 6. 06-Sean Meeks[5]; 7. 71-Dennis Kirk[9]; 8. 7D-JR Davis[11]; 9. 69-Harley Stanley[8]; 10. 89-Heath Martin[6]; 11. (DNS) 8P-Jason Powers; 12. (DNS) 27-Bryan Martin
Last Chance Showdown 3 8 Laps | 00:05:10.053
1. 5W-Ethan Wilson[1]; 2. 13-Quentin Haley[4]; 3. 23A-Austin Self[2]; 4. 1G-Grayson Keaton[6]; 5. 19-Ryan Morgan[3]; 6. 35-Ryan Dolan[10]; 7. 29-Brandon Bentley[8]; 8. 50-Ronald Covey[5]; 9. 18-Ray Suman[7]; 10. 58-Brady Pyrtle[11]; 11. 72-Patrick Field[12]; 12. 12-Jerry Reich[9]
Heat 1 6 Laps | 00:07:53.728
1. 42-Kevin Pangrazio[2]; 2. 25-Robert Poole[3]; 3. 23-Buck Stevens[7]; 4. 00-Preston Blalock[5]; 5. 09-Michael Leach[9]; 6. 18F-Jordan Fegter[4]; 7. 20-Blake Hedrick[6]; 8. 21A-Adam Favors[8]; 9. 66-Jamie Throckmorton[1]
Heat 2 6 Laps | 00:04:38.741
1. 6-Ryan Ayers[1]; 2. 20S-Trey Stamper[3]; 3. 59-Grayson Wells[4]; 4. 20H-Brandon Hall[5]; 5. 16-Daniel Allen[8]; 6. 92-Larry Martin[6]; 7. 17-Case Daniels[7]; 8. 00B-JP Blalock[9]; 9. 42X-Michael Selig[2]
Heat 3 6 Laps | 00:02:12.550
1. 11-Eric Bentley[1]; 2. 14-Jeff Robinson[6]; 3. 56-Justin Blevins[5]; 4. 18D-Phillip Benfield[2]; 5. 73-Chris Nickerson[9]; 6. 06-Sean Meeks[7]; 7. 15-Morgan Widener[8]; 8. 71-Dennis Kirk[3]; 9. 7D-JR Davis[4]
Heat 4 6 Laps | 00:10:21.166
1. 83-Kevin Vanhorn[1]; 2. 23B-Spencer Boyd[9]; 3. 121-Chase Cardwell[7]; 4. 04-Cole Wagoner[5]; 5. 28-RK Dix[8]; 6. 89-Heath Martin[3]; 7. 69-Harley Stanley[6]; 8. 8P-Jason Powers[2]; 9. 27-Bryan Martin[4]
Heat 5 6 Laps | 00:04:47.720
1. 44-Brian Nickerson[1]; 2. 2J-Jake Barneycastle[7]; 3. 8A-Austin Holcombe[8]; 4. 5W-Ethan Wilson[9]; 5. 19-Ryan Morgan[6]; 6. 50-Ronald Covey[2]; 7. 18-Ray Suman[5]; 8. 12-Jerry Reich[4]; 9. 58-Brady Pyrtle[3]
Heat 6 6 Laps | 00:05:10.480
1. 2T-Ty Norder[2]; 2. 45-Cambridge Gann[3]; 3. 312-Greg Brown[4]; 4. 23A-Austin Self[6]; 5. 13-Quentin Haley[1]; 6. 1G-Grayson Keaton[7]; 7. 29-Brandon Bentley[9]; 8. 35-Ryan Dolan[5]; 9. 72-Patrick Field[8]
