By Matt Skipper
After rain postponed the remainder of Thursday’s DIRTcar UMP Modified Features at Volusia Speedway Park, drivers and teams returned Friday to complete the three postponed Features.
Todd Neiheiser, Clay Harris and Michael Long all earn a gator trophy to complete the Thursday night portion of the 52nd Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals.
Feature #4 – Todd Neiheiser
A familiar driver to weekly Volusia Speedway Park events, Neiheiser utilized his years of experience to lead all 15 laps of the DIRTcar UMP Modified Feature.
The start of Feature #4 involved a multi-car accident, including the #99G of Gavin Graham flipping three times across the front stretch before he landed on the back bumper of Tim Ward. All drivers walked away unharmed.
After the cleanup and the Feature got underway with racing, Neiheiser drove his #72X straight to the lead after starting on the front row with Dale Kelley.
Neiheiser, of Panama City, FL, used the fresh track to his advantage, winning by five seconds over second place Kelley. When Kelley received a challenge from third place Curtis King, Neiheiser drove away to earn his Gator Trophy.
Brandon Green and Zeke McKenzie completed the Feature’s top-five finishers.
Feature 4 (15 Laps): 1. 72X-Todd Neiheiser[2]; 2. 22K-Dale Kelley[1]; 3. 07-Curtis King[3]; 4. 51G-Brandon Green[6]; 5. 24-Zeke McKenzie[5]; 6. 09-Michael Leach[7]; 7. 114-Clayton Bryant[8]; 8. 21C-Taylor Cook[11]; 9. 00EH-Steve Arpin[12]; 10. 60-Shannon Fisk[4]; 11. 22TW-Tim Ward[9]; 12. 9-Ken Schrader[10]; 13. 77B-Ray Bollinger[14]; 14. 99G-Gavin Graham[16]; 15. 2A-Matt Altiers[13]; 16. 0-Glenn Styres[15]
Feature #5 – Clay Harris
Like Neiheiser, local Volusia Speedway Park driver Clay Harris earned his gator in hard-charging fashion after starting 12th.
The Jupiter, FL driver went straight to business, grabbing fifth place by the end of Lap 1. It did not take long after that to hold the top spot, passing Trent Young on Lap 7 en route to winning his second career gator trophy.
The #21J did not surrender his first place running from that point on, completing his hard-earned battle to win.
Young finished second but used up all the track to finish over third-place Trevor Neville.
2022 DIRTcar Deep South Regional Champion Seth Geary finished fourth, and Raymond Kable locked up the top five finishers.
Feature 5 (15 Laps): 1. 21J-Clay Harris[12]; 2. 10Y-Trent Young[1]; 3. 777-Trevor Neville[8]; 4. 7G-Seth Geary[3]; 5. 90R-Raymond Kable[2]; 6. 43A-Mark Anderson[5]; 7. 7-Evan Taylor[7]; 8. 49-Brian Ruhlman[4]; 9. 5CS-Curt Spalding[9]; 10. 11S-Jared Spalding[13]; 11. 51-Dalton Lanich[14]; 12. 05-Dave Wietholder[16]; 13. 90-Jason Beaulieu[11]; 14. 35-David Stremme[10]; 15. 99M-Mike Mullen[15]; 16. 97-Mitch Thomas[6]
Feature #6 – Michael Long
Winning his second gator trophy of the 2023 Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals in Feature #6 was Illinois’ Michael Long.
Starting from the outside of the front row, Long grabbed the lead early and lead until a caution for rain was thrown on Lap 14 of 15. The race was deemed official, handing Long his fourth career gator.
The driver of the #18L had elite company to hold off, including NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Justin Allgaier and 2022 Emil & Dale Reutimann Champion Ethan Dotson. Allgaier and Dotson finished second and third respectively, giving Long a grueling battle for the win.
Kyle Hammer finished fourth, and the “High Side Tickler” Kyle Strickler completed the star-studded top five to wrap up the makeup races from Thursday night.
Feature 6 (15 Laps): 1. 18L-Michael Long[2]; 2. 7A-Justin Allgaier[4]; 3. 00E-Ethan Dotson[10]; 4. 145-Kyle Hammer[3]; 5. 8-Kyle Strickler[7]; 6. 25-Tyler Nicely[9]; 7. 5T-Drake Troutman[5]; 8. 88-Matt Crafton[12]; 9. 4-Mike Learman[13]; 10. 12L-Lucas Lee[16]; 11. 13-Charlie Mefford[11]; 12. 21CZ-Benji LaCrosse[14]; 13. 8A-Austin Holcombe[15]; 14. 77-George Dixon[6]; 15. 99-Justin Haley[8]; 16. 95-Michael Altobelli[1]
UP NEXT
The DIRTcar UMP Modified action at Volusia Speedway Park will continue Friday night with the prestigious Gator Championship – the most coveted trophy in DIRTcar UMP Modified racing.
Tickets are available at DIRTcarNationals.com or at the gate. If you can’t be in attendance, watch every lap live on DIRTVision.
