By Reese Fant/Contributing Writer
GPS PHOTOS by Jonathan Torres
John Lewis Hightower has only
been racing three years, but he has been making his presence known, and Saturday
night he made everyone know it by leading 35 of the 50 laps of the first
Late-Model Stock main event and taking the victory.
He backed up his first win with a third-place
finish in the nightcap while Roger Powell led from start to finish in a
caution-free race. Marty Ward, who had a terrible race in the opener,
encountering engine problems and not finishing the first race, started his
back-up can and worked his way from the rear to come all the way to second
place.
"I knew it was going to be my night," Hightower
said in Victory Lane for the first race. "I had a feeling about tonight. We
ate ice cream just before the race, and it looks like we will be eating a lot of
ice cream this season."
Defending champion Ward had let the
early laps if the opener, but the mechanical problem left him sitting in the
pits while the other cars kept racing.
But there was plenty of excitement in that first
race. Hightower was out front, showing a lot of levelheaded control when he
was challenged, and Kenneth Headen worked his way up to finish second. Anthony
Anders took third, with Jeremy Burns four and current points leader Roger Powell
was fifth.
In the nightcap, with Powell in front and Ward in
second, Hightower was third and Anthony Anders finished fourth. Kenneth Headen
took fifth in the nightcap.
Ricky Burnett made racing look easy in the first
Renegade race, moving up from last to first for his third straight
victory. Burnett went by Terry Hawthorne for the win, with T.J.
Lollis, Terry King and Freddy Hale, Jr. rounding out the top
five.
Jeremy Drummond took control early and held on to
win the second Renegade race. Dale Stancil came up from the rear to take second,
and Matt Hale was third. Travis Cox took fourth and Zach Meinders was
fifth.
Ricky Stephens started on the front, jumped out to
a commanding lead, and stayed right there to take the victory in the first
Charger main event.
James Johnson and Jamie Tate battled it out for
second, with Johnson taking the spot. Andy Norris finished fourth and
Walt Anders took fifth.
Michael Mote grabbed his first victory at GPS
in the second Charger race, after surviving an early altercation with
his son, Mike Mote, who came back to finish second. Bryan Davis was
third, with Tyler Stephens fourth. Phillip Peters took fifth.
C.M. Knight started in the front for
the Sportsman main event, and stayed right there for the victory. Jamie Altop
took second, and Randy Ballew was third. Tony Bridgeman was fourth and Steve
Hollingsworth was fifth in his first race of the
season.
| Finish |
Start |
Car |
Driver |
Hometown |
|
| 1 |
1 |
21 |
Roger Powell |
Waynesville , Nc |
|
| 2 |
17 |
38 |
Marty Ward |
Marietta , Sc |
|
| 3 |
5 |
16 |
John Lewis Hightower |
Travelers Rest, Sc |
|
| 4 |
3 |
36 |
Anthony Anders |
Easley , Sc |
|
| 5 |
4 |
99 |
Kenneth Headen |
Piedmont , Sc |
|
| 6 |
2 |
81 |
Jeremy Burns |
Simpsonville , Sc |
|
| 7 |
6 |
34 |
Michael Cherry |
Tampa , Fl |
|
| 8 |
12 |
03 |
Randy Hawkins |
Travelers Rest, Sc |
|
| 9 |
7 |
7 |
Mitchell Mote |
Easley , Sc |
|
| 10 |
14 |
30 |
Tasha Kummer |
Easley , Sc |
|
| 11 |
9 |
52 |
Don Satterfield |
Spartanburg , Sc |
|
| 12 |
18 |
51 |
Barry Boggero |
Greenwood , Sc |
|
| 13 |
11 |
20 |
Michael Kriz |
Duncan , Sc |
|
| 14 |
10 |
40 |
Travis Allen |
Greenville , Sc |
|
| 15 |
22 |
36XX |
Amanda Lynch |
Greenville , Sc |
|
| |
| Finish |
Start |
Car |
Driver |
Hometown |
|
| 1 |
3 |
80 |
Jamie Altop |
Easley , Sc |
|
| 2 |
8 |
63 |
Randy Ballew |
Greenville , Sc |
|
| 3 |
6 |
3 |
Tony Bridgeman |
Travelers Rest, Sc |
|
| 4 |
5 |
29 |
Steve Hollingsworth |
Greenville , Sc |
|
| 5 |
2 |
43 |
Bob Root |
Easley , Sc |
|
| 6 |
4 |
97 |
Rob Horton |
Easley , Sc |
|
| 7 |
7 |
50 |
Tim Lollis |
Easley , Sc |
|
| |
| Finish |
Start |
Car |
Driver |
Hometown |
|
| 1 |
3 |
48 |
Michael Mote |
Easley , Sc |
|
| 2 |
1 |
84 |
Mike Mote |
Easley , Sc |
|
| 3 |
2 |
15 |
Bryan Davis |
Greenville , Sc |
|
| 4 |
7 |
6 |
Tyler Stephens |
Greenville , Sc |
|
| 5 |
4 |
1 |
Phillip Peters |
Pelzer , Sc |
|
| 6 |
5 |
25 |
Chad Hunter |
- |
|
| 7 |
6 |
57 |
Andrew Bell |
Greenville , Sc |
|
| |
| Finish |
Start |
Car |
Driver |
Hometown |
| 1 |
1 |
42 |
Jeremy Drummond |
Greenville , Sc |
| 2 |
11 |
20 |
Dale Stancil |
Easley , Sc |
| 3 |
10 |
7 |
Matt Hale |
Greenville , Sc |
| 4 |
6 |
76 |
Travis Cox |
Greenville , Sc |
| 5 |
4 |
1 |
Zach Meinders |
- |
| 6 |
5 |
17 |
Bobo Johnson |
- |
| 7 |
7 |
81 |
Benny Taylor |
Travelers Rest, Sc |
| 8 |
9 |
9 |
Michael Burke |
Woodruff , Sc |
| 9 |
8 |
28 |
Jackie Manley |
Greenville , Sc |
| 10 |
2 |
38 |
Shane Hill |
Easley , Sc |
| 11 |
3 |
74 |
Alvin Stokes |
Central , Sc |