By Matt Skipper
Below a dim, waxing, crescent moon the COMP Cams Monster Mini-Stocks took over The Dirt Track at Charlotte for a 25-lap thriller Saturday night during the World Short Track Championship.
Starting from the pole, the #117 of Matt Gilbert launched ahead of the field faster than you could say “Trick or Teat!”
He was in full possession of the race, leading from the green flag to the checkers, bagging the biggest win of his career.
Gilbert may have made it look easy, but he said he didn’t even realize how good his car was throughout the Feature.
“This win means everything,” Gilbert said. “It didn’t feel like I was that dominant (in the car)… I thought the field was all over me the whole race. I am so glad we were able to pull this off. Big thanks to all of my family, crew, team, and sponsors for all the support and trust in me to wheel this car.”
The cars that followed him in the running order, the #96B of Stacy Brock and the #17 of Nick Broome, respectively, kept Gilbert in their sights if he had slipped once. However, there were no scares. Gilbert was flawless.
Though the lead never exchanged hands, the action around the 26-car field provided chaotic excitement throughout the race.
Multiple packs of cars saw consistent position changes, with no one willingly giving up a fight for their spot. Through the excitement that left fans at the edge of their seats, the field survived the Monster Mash and gave everyone a scary-good time.
The top five consisted of Stacy Brock in second, Nick Broome in third, Kevin Cooper in fourth, and Dustin Bolin in fifth.
RESULTS:
Feature – 25 laps:
1. 117-Matt Gilbert[1]; 2. 96B-Stacy Brock[2]; 3. 17-Nick Broome[18]; 4. X-Kevin Cooper[23]; 5. 8-Dustin Bolin[20]; 6. 96X-Tyler Riddle[16]; 7. 21-JR Warren[24]; 8. 19-Travis Mosley[5]; 9. 24-Josh Bryant[8]; 10. 10-Logan Richey[4]; 11. B03-Damien Bryant[17]; 12. 56-Nick Fulcher[26]; 13. 96-Tanner Cook[22]; 14. 5-Bryan Harrelson[19]; 15. 04-Austin Brown[6]; 16. 2W-Dylan Warden[11]; 17. 69-Billy Cline[14]; 18. H3-Harley Holden[15]; 19. 28C-Brent Couch[10]; 20. 8J11-Ronnie Johnson[3]; 21. 212-Greg Brew[21]; 22. 44-Marcus Hughes[13]; 23. 84-Kyle Cooper[7]; 24. 7X-Jessie Richardson Jr[12]; 25. 98-Michael Webb[9]; 26. 37-Ben Burnett[25]
Last Chance Showdown #1 – 8 laps:
1. B03-Damien Bryant[1]; 2. 5-Bryan Harrelson[2]; 3. 212-Greg Brew[6]; 4. X-Kevin Cooper[5]; 5. 2-James Manning[3]; 6. 21-JR Warren[9]; 7. 37-Ben Burnett[4]; 8. 62-Jason Adams[11]; 9. 07G-Raylee Shatley[8]; 10. 56A-Ken Appleton[7]; 11. 71-Bradley Southern[12]; 12. 14-Dakota Wilson[13]; 13. 56-Nick Fulcher[10]
Last Chance Showdown #2 – 8 laps:
1. 17-Nick Broome[2]; 2. 8-Dustin Bolin[3]; 3. 96-Tanner Cook[10]; 4. 1G-Grayson Keaton[12]; 5. 15-Zach Lankford[9]; 6. 12-Pete Brew[1]; 7. 72-Travis Harden[5]; 8. 5C-Connor Keaton[4]; 9. 95-Kevin Atwell[7]; 10. 12M-Randy Melton[11]; 11. (DNS) 04W-Phillip Wilson; 12. (DNS) 99-Daniel Coffey
Heat #1 – 6 laps:
1. 117-Matt Gilbert[10]; 2. 19-Travis Mosley[9]; 3. 98-Michael Webb[3]; 4. 44-Marcus Hughes[1]; 5. B03-Damien Bryant[8]; 6. 2-James Manning[5]; 7. X-Kevin Cooper[4]; 8. 56A-Ken Appleton[7]; 9. 21-JR Warren[6]; 10. 62-Jason Adams[2]
Heat #2 – 6 laps:
1. 8J11-Ronnie Johnson[6]; 2. 04-Austin Brown[10]; 3. 28C-Brent Couch[9]; 4. 69-Billy Cline[2]; 5. 5-Bryan Harrelson[5]; 6. 37-Ben Burnett[7]; 7. 212-Greg Brew[4]; 8. 07G-Raylee Shatley[1]; 9. 56-Nick Fulcher[3]; 10. (DNS) 71-Bradley Southern
Heat #3 – 6 laps:
1. 96B-Stacy Brock[1]; 2. 84-Kyle Cooper[3]; 3. 2W-Dylan Warden[9]; 4. H3-Harley Holden[4]; 5. 12-Pete Brew[10]; 6. 8-Dustin Bolin[2]; 7. 72-Travis Harden[7]; 8. 95-Kevin Atwell[6]; 9. 15-Zach Lankford[5]; 10. 12M-Randy Melton[8]
Heat #4 – 6 laps:
1. 10-Logan Richey[6]; 2. 24-Josh Bryant[8]; 3. 7X-Jessie Richardson Jr[4]; 4. 96X-Tyler Riddle[7]; 5. 17-Nick Broome[9]; 6. 5C-Connor Keaton[1]; 7. 04W-Phillip Wilson[10]; 8. 99-Daniel Coffey[2]; 9. 96-Tanner Cook[3]; 10. 1G-Grayson Keaton[5]
