For the second week in-a-row, Jordan Gage has defeated the Chevy Performance Street Stock League regulars. This time, he drove 20 mistake-free laps around the half-mile of Williams Grove Speedway to score the $100 check and his third career DIRTcar eSports victory.
Points leader Tyler Jackson put relentless pressure on Gage throughout the race, but was unable to make a move for the top spot and came home second, maintaining his spot atop the points standings. With only two races remaining on the schedule, time is running out for the other competitors to try and stop a repeat championship from T-Jack.
Reigning DIRTcar eSports Tour champion Kendal Tucker scored his first victory of the season in his third start Wednesday night, taking the lead from polesitter Nick Cooper in the early going and holding on for the $250 victory.
Jackson takes 43-point lead into final race next Wednesday at The Dirt Track at Charlotte
The two biggest forces in the Chevy Performance Street Stock League have battled neck-and-neck all season long, and it came to a boiling point on Wednesday night at Williams Grove Speedway – just one week out from their epic championship finale.
With points, pride and money on the line, Carl Kilgore hung tough out front of points leader Tyler Jackson through 20 defensive laps on the very bottom of the track, enduring relentless pressure from behind to win his fourth Feature of the season.
“I love it when this place gets around the bottom,” Kilgore said. “It’s a hit-your-mark kind of place and we just hit ‘em every lap.”
With both drivers making up the front row for the initial start, Kilgore, of Greenville, MS, had to get a great start to get the jump on Jackson and win the battle heading into Turn 1. Which, he did, setting him right up for a non-stop defensive battle on the bottom over the next 20 circuits.
Jackson, of Rockford, IL, did all he could to try and pry the top spot from Kilgore’s hands, but could only muster a few thwarted pass attempts by the checkered flag. Digging harder every lap, Jackson tried and tried to get even lower than Kilgore on the track but could not do so without hitting the inside wall.
In the final laps, Jackson knew he had to try something quick. He drove his Osman Racing #25 in deep and gave Kilgore a few taps on the quarter-panel to try and break the defending race winner loose, but was unsuccessful in the end.
“He left a little crack open down there and I figured I’d shove it in there and see what happened, but he did a good job of cutting back down,” Jackson said.
Kilgore was able to hold it together and drive back around to the stripe to collect another $100 prize check.
Coming into Wednesday night, Jackson sat a comfortable 48 points ahead of Kilgore in the standings, on the back of three Feature wins since the start of the season. With Kilgore’s fourth win of DIRTcar eSports Season 3 Wednesday, he shaves five points off Jackson’s lead heading into the final race at Charlotte.
Joe Grabianowski Photo
And while 43 points in one race is a lot to make up, considering Jackson’s finishes this season, Kilgore’s not out yet. A big wreck, technical difficulties or one bad miscue somewhere in the qualifying events does have the potential to ruin Jackson’s lead.
Kilgore has the scenario in the back of his mind, but isn’t going to let that distract him from getting a fifth win next Wednesday night on DIRTVision presented by Drydene.
“We’re gonna give it our all, but we’re here for the $100-to-win though,” Kilgore said.
UP NEXT
The Chevy Performance Street Stock League puts a cap on its second season of action next Wednesday night, May 26, with a final stop at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision with a FAST PASS subscription.
With his fifth career Feature victory Wednesday night, Evan Seay is now the all-time winningest driver in DIRTcar eSports Tour history.
Seay, of Chesnee, SC, took the lead on Lap 1 of the Feature and never looked back, leading all 50 laps en route to his second Tour win in-a-row – this time, with the VP Racing Fuels Big Block Modifieds.
“Coming out on top will definitely help us gain back some of those points we lost with that okay finish at Weedsport,” Seay said. “Hopefully, we can make all the races and get this points title.”
Indeed, Seay had an “okay” 8th-place finish in the season opener with the Big Blocks at Weedsport Speedway on March 24 after an early-race incident knocked him to the back of the field. But he completed the charge back to the top-10 and salvaged the evening before losing too many points in the standings.
The next week, he put it all together and won from the second row in the Summit Racing Equipment UMP Modified Feature at Bristol Motor Speedway. This week, in a similar fashion, Seay held off all chargers from behind to win yet another $250 top prize.
Several caution flags turned the race into quite the marathon event, running just a few minutes shy of the time limit by checkered fall. This forced Seay to be on top of his restart game.
DIRTcar eSports Tour Season 2 champion Kendal Tucker, of Mt. Airy, NC, ran up front throughout the race and was able to slip underneath Dylan Houser, of Ocala, FL, on the final restart in the closing laps to claim another runner-up finish. While they aren’t chasing points titles in Season 3, both drivers looked hungrier than ever for good points finishes with their relentless chase of each other in the back half of the race.
The DIRTcar eSports Tour resumes racing next Wednesday night, April 14, with a stop at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, racing the Drydene Pro Late Models – catch all the action live on DIRTVision.