Kilgore, Hackney collide in closing laps, Bellomy Hard Charger in 24th-7th drive
DIRTcar eSports’ all-time winningest Dirt Street Stock driver is back.
Tyler Jackson, of Rockford, IL, put it in Fairbury Speedway Victory Lane Wednesday night, winning the fourth race of the Chevy Performance Street Stock League for his fourth career victory with the League in a very rough-and-tumble Feature event.
“I’m not gonna lie, it took a little longer than I would have liked it to in race #4,” Jackson told DIRTcar eSports announcer Chase Raudman in the DIRTVision post-race interview. “But the competition level is a lot higher than it was last year. It was a great race – I’m still catching my breath.”
While Jackson started inside Row 2, just ahead of him was last week’s Feature winner and Street Stock bigwig, Carl Kilgore. He and his #021 took off from the pole and appeared to have the car to beat until Jackson’s car came in and took the lead just slightly past the halfway point. The two played cat-and-mouse around the virtual quarter-mile before a dramatic ride to the finish presented itself on a restart with just three laps remaining.
Jackson took the inside lane for the restart and threw a big slide job on Kilgore in Turns 1-2. Kilgore, of Greenville, MS, turned it back underneath him and returned the favor in Turns 3-4, but only slightly. Jackson kept his foot in the accelerator on the very top side and retained the spot as they crossed the stripe.
“That’s what won me the race,” Jackson said. “I knew I had to get a good start with him.”
Two more slide jobs by Kilgore on the following lap were unsuccessful in stealing Jackson’s spot. But as he prepared for what was likely going to be a third, Kilgore received a rear bumper full of former Extreme Savage teammate, Keith Hackney.
Hackney’s and Kilgore’s bumpers met at the entrance to Turn 1, sending Kilgore around, collecting several other cars.
Jackson (left) and Kilgore (right) battling for the lead (Joe Grabianowski Photo)
“I got into him a little bit. I apologize for that, majorly. I didn’t want to have second that way, by no means,” Hackney said after the race.
As Hackney, of Calhoun, GA, drove away with the spot, several other wrecks unfolded around the track, and Kilgore was left with a 17th-place finish. Hackney was later penalized to the tail of the lead lap (21st) by League admins in post-race examination for the incident.
This moved Nathan Lemons up into second and Jamie Massey into third, marking the best finishes of their DIRTcar eSports careers.
The Chevy Performance Street Stock League action continues next Wednesday night, April 21, at the Cedar Lake Speedway. Catch all the action live and FREE on DIRTVision presented by Drydene.
Feature (25 Laps) – 1. 25-Tyler Jackson (3); 2. 225-Nathan Lemons (6); 3. 2-Jamie Massey (9); 4. 54-Larry Barber Jr. (7); 5. 26-Sean Stevens (13); 6. 003-Thorne Zimmerman (15); 7. 002-Clifford Bellomy (24); 8. 029-Lane Phillips (17); 9. 546-Randy Axner (16); 10. 260-Sage Luther (10); 11. 717-Bobby Rafferty (12); 12. 48-Kyle Vaughn (19); 13. 23-Brayden McMahan (18); 14. 29-Joshua Divine (23); 15. 21-Jim Reavis (14); 16. 021-Carl Kilgore (1); 17. 18-Justin Henson (21); 18. 04-Joshua Dennison (20); 19. 111-Jaron Valley (8); 20. 121-Eddie Farness (5); 21. 69-Keith Hackney (4); 22. 53-Aidan Skraha (22); 23. 077-Holden English (2); DQ. 005-Devin Ramsey (11) Hard Charger: 002-Clifford Bellomy (+17)
