{"id":49443,"date":"2025-02-07T03:03:43","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T08:03:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dirtcar.com\/?p=49443"},"modified":"2025-02-07T03:03:43","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T08:03:43","slug":"thursday-winners-spalding-strickler-falloway-mefford-stone-lee-win-dirtcar-nationals-gators-at-volusia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dirtcar.com\/recap\/thursday-winners-spalding-strickler-falloway-mefford-stone-lee-win-dirtcar-nationals-gators-at-volusia\/","title":{"rendered":"THURSDAY WINNERS: Spalding, Strickler, Falloway, Mefford, Stone, Lee Win DIRTcar Nationals Gators at Volusia"},"content":{"rendered":"
Through six Feature races that ran at the <\/span>Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals<\/span><\/i>, one driver visited Victory Lane for the first time while five drivers got to add another Golden Gator to their wins list.<\/span><\/p>\n Super DIRTcar Series competitor Justin Stone picked up his first career Gator while Curt Spalding, Kyle Strickler, Cole Falloway, Charlie Mefford, and Lucas Lee will have to make room for the Gator trophy built on their collection of Volusia Speedway Park conquests.<\/span><\/p>\n FEATURE #1<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Six years ago, Curt Spalding was standing in Turn 2 at Volusia Speedway Park, talking with a friend about racing a dirt car. The next day, that friend \u2013\u202fhis current car owner Chris Terry \u2013 called and said he hoped Spalding was serious because he ordered a car.<\/span><\/p>\n Fast forward to Thursday night during the <\/span>54th Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals<\/span><\/i> and Spalding brought Chris and his car to Victory Lane for the fourth time at Volusia and third time in the past week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But he had some work to do to get there in the first 20-lap Feature of the night.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Starting fourth, Spalding had to watch Austin Holcombe drive away with the lead at the start of the race while he had to plot his course by second-place Ryan Thomas and third-place George Dixon to have a shot at Holcombe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Thomas proved to be an easy challenge as Spalding and Dixon got by him on the first lap. They both then closed on Holcombe, but a caution on Lap 4 slowed the race before a battle for the lead could break out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When the race resumed, Spalding wasn\u2019t interested in wasting any more time in third, passing Dixon for second on Lap 5 and putting Holcombe in his crosshair on Lap 6.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Spalding closed to Holcombe\u2019s rear bumper entering Turn 1. Then stuck his nose underneath the No. 8A, creating an opening for him to pull his No. 5 car even with Holcombe down the backstretch. When the two entered the next turn, Spalding continued his momentous run and darted to the lead by Turn 4.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Dixon passed Holcombe for second in the closing laps, but Spalding was already ahead by more than fourth seconds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With the win, Spalding keeps himself in contention for his first <\/span>Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar<\/span><\/i> Nationals <\/span><\/i>Big Gator title.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt was real tight racing, and everyone was fighting for that top spot,\u201d Spalding said. \u201cConfidence it a lot, obviously, and you have to get into that air. We\u2019re just kind of clicking and everything is going right.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n RESULTS:<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 5CS-Curt Spalding[4]; 2. 77D-George Dixon[3]; 3. 8A-Austin Holcombe[1]; 4. 9T-Ryan Thomas[2]; 5. 45-Chase Holland[16]; 6. 8W-Gregory Moore[6]; 7. 17T-Tyler Evans[5]; 8. 16-Shawn Deering[10]; 9. 11J-Jesse Rupe[8]; 10. 23B-Ethan Boomsma[13]; 11. 3S-Josh Sanford[11]; 12. 0-Glenn Styres[9]; 13. 3F-Rob Fuqua[14]; 14. T9-Zack Tate[7]; 15. 5-Jonathan Taylor[17]; 16. 11Z-Zane Oedewaldt[12]; 17. (DNS) 77S-Jim Shipman\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n FEATURE #2<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kyle Strickler left Volusia Speedway Park \u201cpissed off\u201d at himself Wednesday night. After leading most of the race, he let Will Krup slip by him and steal the Victory.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Poised to right that wrong, Strickler was untouchable in the second DIRTcar UMP Modified Feature of the night.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He took the lead at the start of the Feature and after Trevor Neville got within a car length of him in the opening laps, Strickler turned on the afterburners and never let anyone close to him for the remainder of the race.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Helping Strickler pull away, Neville and Colton Profitt challenged each other for second lap after lap, not letting either one get a clean run to challenge Strickler.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The win was Strickler\u2019s 16th Feature victory at <\/span>DIRTcar Nationals<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI just had to get that dog back in me,\u201d Strickler said. \u201cFelt like I was getting a little soft. I definitely wanted to come back and have some redemption tonight. I was off my game and made mental mistakes. Just worried about what\u2019s going on behind me, more than what\u2019s going on ahead of me.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA lot of good time. A lot of ups and downs, but the car is still really fast. I feel like we can still get a lot better. I was on my game tonight and all the guys were too.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n RESULTS:<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Feature 2 (20 Laps): 1. 8S-Kyle Strickler[3]; 2. 777-Trevor Neville[4]; 3. 56-Colton Profitt[5]; 4. 88-Matt Crafton[2]; 5. 19-Dustin Sorensen[7]; 6. 51-Dalton Lanich[11]; 7. 90K-Ray Kable[1]; 8. 60M-Jim Manka[8]; 9. 11R-Reece Ogle[14]; 10. 99-Jimmy Wagner[9]; 11. 11D-Brian Diveley[12]; 12. 7X-Christopher Cole[16]; 13. 26-Adam Ogle[10]; 14. Z1-Zac Oedewaldt[18]; 15. 23S-Jerol Stepp[17]; 16. 81K-Kyle Cole[15]; 17. 8-Dave Pinkerton[6]; 18. (DNS) 2C-Ronnie Chance\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n FEATURE #3<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If race fans didn\u2019t know the name Cole Falloway before the start of <\/span>Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals<\/span><\/i>, they do now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The young Kentucky driver sprinted his way to his fourth <\/span>DIRTcar Nationals<\/span><\/i> win in six starts on Thursday night.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Trent Young, who had brought a new car and was looking for his first Volusia win since 2016, led the first nine laps of the Features before Falloway evaporated his hopes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After starting fourth, Falloway jumped to third on the first lap and then took second on Lap 4. It took him five laps to run down Young but made quick work of the pass to take the lead and drive away with the win.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n However, Falloway still feels there\u2019s room for improvement if he\u2019s going to contend for the Big Gator title on Saturday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEverybody is working hard and getting better,\u201d he said. \u201cWe got to do that too. I wasn\u2019t as good tonight as I have been and some of it might have been me. I kind of moved around some to move by Trent there and kind of stayed around the bottom, but I should\u2019ve moved back up. I think we have a good car and a good shot as long as everything goes good.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n RESULTS:<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Feature 3 (20 Laps): 1. 66-Cole Falloway[4]; 2. 10Y-Trent Young[2]; 3. 49-Brian Ruhlman[3]; 4. 25-Greg Belyea[1]; 5. 72-Todd Neiheiser[5]; 6. 114B-Clayton Bryant[7]; 7. 463-Daniel Sanchez[9]; 8. 70H-Jim Britt[11]; 9. 18-Miles Beaulieu[6]; 10. 11L-Jimmy Lennex Jr[13]; 11. 5B-Bobby Bagley[8]; 12. 72S-Eric Shepherd Jr[10]; 13. 28C-Jeff Cotterman[14]; 14. 32-Chad Roush[12]; 15. 9R-JP Roberts Jr[16]; 16. (DNS) 89W-Rick Weitekamp; 17. (DNS) 91-Chris Beaulieu\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n FEATURE #4<\/b><\/p>\n Before Thursday, Charlie Mefford\u2019s run of the <\/span>Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals<\/span><\/i> was a series of struggles and what-ifs.<\/span><\/p>\n In the opening week, the Belton, KY native failed to qualify on opening night and wrecked on Friday night before picking up his first top-10 on Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n His luck began to swing towards his side when the Big Gator points race began by picking up a second top-10 and two top fives. However, Mefford was anxious to leave Volusia with his fourth Golden Gator.<\/span><\/p>\n A pep talk from fellow competitor Lucas Lee built up his confidence before Thursday night\u2019s Feature. The message from Lee? Be a lion.<\/span><\/p>\n Mefford channeled that mentality around \u201cThe World\u2019s Fastest Half Mile\u201d by commanding the 20-lap showdown, despite the hounding of Will Krup and David Stremme chasing down the 18-year-old driver.<\/span><\/p>\n Though Krup and Stremme could not chase down Mefford in time for the Gator victory, they gained valuable points toward their hunt for a first career Big Gator title with second and third-place finishes, respectively.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAt the beginning of the week, I thought I never was going home with the Gator,\u201d Mefford said. \u201cI was down on myself, and Lucas Lee said before my race \u2018You gotta be a lion. You gotta claw, scratch, and bite your way to the top,\u2019 and I think we did exactly that tonight.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt just means more. We busted our tails on this thing today. We had so much torn up, and now we got her back together and it\u2019s ready to go. So maybe, we\u2019ll be able to get another one tomorrow night too, but at least that\u2019s three years in a row that we\u2019ve come down here and got a Gator.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n RESULTS:<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Feature 4 (20 Laps): 1. 13-Charlie Mefford[1]; 2. K9-Will Krup[4]; 3. 35-David Stremme[2]; 4. 18L-Michael Long[7]; 5. 17C-Coleman Evans[8]; 6. 24-Zeke McKenzie[6]; 7. 35A-Michael Altobelli[11]; 8. 7J-Justin Allgaier[5]; 9. 21-Scott Ladner[12]; 10. 05-David Wietholder[13]; 11. 27G-Jason Garver[15]; 12. 97-Mitch Thomas[3]; 13. 2K-Taylor Kuehl[10]; 14. S8-Jordan Stotts[14]; 15. 77C-Jason Cox[16]; 16. 07K-Curtis King[17]; 17. (DNS) 41-Brad Goff<\/span><\/p>\n FEATURE #5<\/b><\/p>\n In only his sixth-ever time competing in a DIRTcar UMP Modified, Justin Stone can leave Volusia Speedway Park with a Gator to his trophy mantle.<\/span><\/p>\n The Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modified competitor drove the first laps in his No.15X around Volusia on the opening night for <\/span>DIRTcar Nationals<\/span><\/i>. One week removed, he drove like a seasoned veteran in Thursday\u2019s Feature.<\/span><\/p>\n Starting from the pole position, Stone beat Wednesday Gator winner Mike McKinney to the first corner, then built comfort at the front of the field for the remaining 20 laps.<\/span><\/p>\n He found competition in other multi-discipline competitors, with Kyle Hammer having to meticulously work his way up to second place from a fifth-place start, and Jordan Koehler from seventh.<\/span><\/p>\n Stone\u2019s Feature win marks the 99th different <\/span>DIRTcar Nationals<\/span><\/i> winner in the UMP Modifieds ahead of Friday\u2019s six Features assigned by points accumulated since Monday night.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so new to me,\u201d Stone said. \u201cI had never even sat in (a UMP Modified) until we had it at the shop where we brought it down and drove it around in the parking lot. Everything is different, so it\u2019s been a learning curve.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI guess you could say this is a dream come true. It\u2019s a little cliche, but it\u2019s really cool. My wife is at home, and she\u2019s like, \u2018I want a gator for the mantle, so there you go, babe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n RESULTS:<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Feature 5 (20 Laps): 1. 15X-Justin Stone[1]; 2. 45H-Kyle Hammer[5]; 3. 114-Jordan Koehler[7]; 4. 21CZ-Cole Czarneski[4]; 5. 96M-Mike McKinney[2]; 6. 57-Charlie Sandercock[3]; 7. 01-Brayden Weller[14]; 8. 77-Ray Bollinger[6]; 9. 21B-Hunter Breland[13]; 10. 60-Shannon Fisk[8]; 11. 2J-Troy Johnson[10]; 12. 99W-Wade Olmsted[17]; 13. 29C-Joey Cotterman[16]; 14. 65-Matt Miller[11]; 15. 10X-Billy Uptegraff[12]; 16. 155-Gavin Shaw[15]; 17. (DNS) 1-Randy Giroux<\/span><\/p>\n FEATURE #6<\/b><\/p>\n After building up confidence for Charlie Mefford to leave Volusia with a win, Lucas Lee practiced what he preached with his first <\/span>DIRTcar Nationals<\/span><\/i> Gator in 2025 on Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n The Paris, TN driver began the night from fourth place but did not stay long in the position with a move around Kenny Wallace and Stephen Pedulla for second on the second lap to chase down Wednesday night winner Brad DeYoung.<\/span><\/p>\n Lee caught a break in the hunt as DeYoung suffered a mechanical issue that took him out of contention for a second consecutive Gator trophy.<\/span><\/p>\n The pilot of the No.12L had to manage the herd of Modifieds behind him, as Wallace used the bottom of the Barberville, FL race track to hunt Lee, but a hiccup by the No.36 cemented Lee\u2019s fourth career Feature win at the marquee February event.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe car was really good,\u201d Lee said. \u201cIt started cleaning up a lot on the bottom, and I didn\u2019t even know he broke. I hate that for Brad, he\u2019s a good guy and a good family. Those starts get so hectic, and it\u2019s hard to race here more and more. It\u2019s more technical than (Volusia\u2019s) ever been, but I\u2019ve got a lot of good people to help me and I got one good crew. If it wasn\u2019t for my guys, then I wouldn\u2019t be doing this anyway.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n RESULTS:<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Feature 6 (20 Laps): 1. 12L-Lucas Lee[4]; 2. 36-Kenny Wallace[3]; 3. 7-Evan Taylor[8]; 4. 23Z-Austin Self[9]; 5. 11-Aidan Hinds[15]; 6. 43A-Mark Anderson[17]; 7. 321-Denny Schwartz[16]; 8. 114K-Evan Koehler[11]; 9. 11N-Gene Nicholas[14]; 10. 6-Ryan Fowler[12]; 11. 1H-Ben Harmon[6]; 12. 17-Chris Wilson[10]; 13. 7D-Brad Deyoung[1]; 14. 0K-Damian Kiefer[13]; 15. 31G-Stephen Pedulla[2]; 16. 27-Michael Turner[5]; 17. 9-Ken Schrader[7]<\/span><\/p>\n Up Next: <\/b>The DIRTcar UMP Modifieds invade Volusia Speedway Park for six Feature races split by points earned through the week of racing at the <\/span>Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals<\/span><\/i> on Friday, Feb. 7. The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series joins the Modifieds once again. Tickets are available here:<\/span><\/p>\n