Dale Hollidge Hauls to $3,500 Georgetown Speedway Super Late Model Payday Before Huge Friday Night Crowd
GEORGETOWN, DE – The Super Late Models made their first appearance at Georgetown Speedway of 2018 on Friday night, and no one was happier about it than Dale Hollidge.
Hollidge, of Mechanicsville, Md., dominated the ‘Clash for Cash’ 35-lap feature and picked up a $3,500 payday aboard the Greg Gunter-owned No. 0. The win was Hollidge’s second at the Sussex County half-mile oval and first since 2016.
“I look forward to coming over here to race,” Hollidge said after exiting his Rocket Chassis. “The track is different than it was before. I watched some videos to see how it raced. They did a great job with the new banking here.”
Hollidge led wire-to-wire in the 35-lap main event after picking the pole position in the redraw of top qualifiers. But the victory didn’t come without some challenges.
Lapped traffic was a factor during much of the race’s fast-paced first half.
“I tried to be careful with the lapped cars,” he said. “You don’t want to slow your pace too much, but you need to be cautious too.”
A double-file restart inside the final 10 circuits nearly changed the race’s complexion. Hollidge picked the inside lane. At the exit of turn four, his car washed up the speedway and became momentarily entangled with Tyler Bare.
Hollidge regained momentum and held the lead, while Ricky Elliott burst into second. Elliott had been in the runner-up position during the early stages before getting shuffled back to forth. The momentary restart tangle worked in Elliott’s favor.
A final caution on lap 33 set up a green, white, checkered situation, but Hollidge powered away for the victory.
Seaford, Del.’s Elliott, in his first Georgetown start aboard the Jake Marine-owned No. 85, settled for runner-up pay.
“I’ve got a lot of laps here, but you take a different approach to driving it now,” Elliott said. “The banking changed things up for us. I’m happy to get back up to second. I thought we were in trouble early on.”
Donald Lingo Jr. of Millsboro, Del., authored a steady drive to finish third. Lingo was the benefactor of the Hollidge/Bare tangle and an ensuing spin by Austin Hubbard to slide into a podium finish.
Hometown driver Ross Robinson of Georgetown advanced from 10th to finish a solid fourth, patiently advancing through traffic. Hamburg, Pa.’s Andy Haus climbed to fifth after starting the main event 14th. Haus was a late arrival to the speedway, fighting traffic on his trip.
A full field of 24 Super Late Models took part in the event.
Tyler Bare set fast time with a lap of 18.369 seconds (97.991 miles per hour).
Heat winners were Bare, Whaley and Hollidge.
Georgetown’s own Matt Hill picked up his second consecutive RUSH Late Model 20-lap victory, earning $1,000 for his efforts. Hill outgunned fellow front-row starter Amanda Whaley on the second try for the opening lap and survived a late restart to reach Victory Lane.
Hill won the previous RUSH $1,000-to-win event at the speedway on May 4.
Whaley, who competed in both the Super Late Model and RUSH Late Model events, earned a $500 runner-up finish. David Pettyjohn climbed to third at the finish, followed by Billy Thompson and Zac Weller.
Ross Robinson continued his dominance of the Southern Delaware Vintage Stock Car Club ranks, topping the 12-lap main event. Robinson battled early on with C.J. Schirmer, then drove away in the race’s second half. Jamie Eicholz finished third as the Sportsman winner, with Charlie Moore and Freddie Brightbill placing fourth and fifth.
The Little Lincoln 12-lap main produced a finish that pulled the fans to their feet. Matt White held off the final circuit advances of Landy Adams to take the win. Kirk Lawson slid beneath Adams coming to the checkered flag for second, with Adams, Jordan Herbert and Brian Piercy completing the front five.
Despite an apparent left-front tire going down, Dale Elliott held off the Delaware Super Truck field to win the 12-lap feature event. Noah Vincent, David Smith, Kirk Miles Jr. and Cory Sapp chased Elliott across the stripe.
The 12-lap Delmarva Charger feature produced a back-and-forth battle between Jerry Barker and Geoff Carey. At the finish, Barker held off Carey, having utilized a cross-over move to regain the lead. Carey was second, with Robert Paczkowski, Chris Martinez and Ashley Merritt in tow.
Next up at the speedway is the two-day ‘Monster Truck Madness’ presented by Auto Equity Loans on Friday, July 6 and Saturday, July 7 headlined by the nationally known BIGFOOT. Two complete shows are planned with Tough Trucks on the agenda both nights. Information can be found at the following link: http://www. thegeorgetownspeedway.com/? page_id=1039.
Georgetown Speedway, originally constructed by Melvin L. Joseph in 1949, is located at the intersection of Route 113 and Speedway Road in Georgetown, Del., just miles from the Delaware beaches and less than a 40-minute drive from Ocean City, Md.
A website is live for the speedway at www.thegeorgetownspeedway.com. Like Georgetown Speedway on Facebook, follow @thegtownspdwy on Twitter, e-mail georgetownspeedway@gmail.com or by contacting the speedway hotline at 302.563.GTWN (4896).
FRIDAY FODDER: A beautiful night for racing drew the season’s largest Friday night crowd to the speedway as the Super Late Models made their debut. With a 7:30 p.m. start time in place, the 35-lap Super Late Model main event was in the books by 10:01 p.m., sending fans and teams on the road early….
The pit area was bustling with a total of 81 race teams in attendance….
The ‘Clash for Cash’ is a series of races put together by the promotional teams at Georgetown, Potomac Speedway in Budd’s Creek, Md., Winchester (Va.) Speedway, Bedford (Pa.) Speedway, Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway and Delaware International Speedway in Delmar, Del. Each race offers a lucrative pay structure and all tracks worked together to schedule without conflicting dates. The top-five drivers at the end of the series in the standings with perfect attendance will receive point fund cash….
Tough ending to the night for Super Late Model fast-timer Tyler Bare, who struck an inside marker tire and spun in turn two on the 33rd lap while racing for third position….
Dale Hollidge won previously at the speedway on June 2, 2016 in an Ultimate Super Late Model Series event….
Ross Robinson left from the speedway and immediately began his trip west for Saturday’s event at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway….
‘CLASH FOR CASH’ QUICK RESULTS SUMMARY – GEORGETOWN SPEEDWAY JUNE 29, 2018
Super Late Model Feature Finish (35 laps): DALE HOLLIDGE, Ricky Elliott, Donald Lingo Jr., Ross Robinson, Andy Haus, Jamie Lathroum, Daryl Hills, Nick Davis, Danny Snyder, Kevin Scott, Allen Brannon, Amanda Whaley, Kelli Lewis, Tyler Bare, Kyle Lear, Austin Hubbard, Mark Pettyjohn, Cody Gray, Dale Murphy, Tyler Horst, Dylan Evans, Bob Geiger, David Dill Jr., Rob Schirmer.
RUSH Late Model Feature Finish (20 laps): MATT HILL, Amanda Whaley, David Pettyjohn, Billy Thompson, Zac Weller, Mike Wharton, Joey Warren, Trevor Collins, Charles Shawver, Matt Glanden, Devin Brannon, Chace Biron, Daniel Hudson, Derek Magee, Brandon Sturgis.
Southern Delaware Vintage Stock Car Feature Finish (12 laps): ROSS ROBINSON, C.J. Schirmer, Jamie Eicholz (Sportsman Winner), Charlie Moore, Freddie Brightbill, Dave Schamp, Jamie Schirmer, Joe Walbert Jr., David Tucker, Robert Paczkowski, Robert Blann.
Little Lincoln Stock Car Club Feature Finish (12 laps): MATT WHITE, Kirk Lawson, Landy Adams, Jordan Herbert, Brian Piercy, Bunky White, Joe Tracy, Ryan Walsen, Wayne Seaton.
Delaware Super Truck Feature Finish (12 laps): DALE ELLIOTT, Noah Vincent, David Smith, Kirk Miles Jr., Cory Sapp, Jerry Hill, Mike Kennedy, Dick Beauchamp, Jake Nelson, Bill Dean, Michelle Jackson.
Did Not Start: Thomas Jackson.
Delmarva Charger Feature Finish (12 laps): JERRY BARKER, Geoff Carey, Robert Paczkowski, Chris Martinez, Ashley Merritt, Derek Swafford, Joe Waters, Randy Merritt, John Bailey, Ben Knotts.
Sources: Brett Deyo/Georgetown Speedway PR