Pollard and Gray Get Historic Hickory Wins
HICKORY, NC (March 23, 2019)- A successful second race of the CARS TOUR season it was for Taylor Gray and Bubba Pollard on Saturday night at Hickory Motor Speedway. Wins did not come easy for either one of them. Both races were aggressive and put on quite a show for our fans.
LATE MODEL STOCK RECAP
The 07 of Bradley McCaskill started strong at the beginning of the race, leading 43 laps. A caution will lead the 74 of Ronald Hill into the pits. Luck was not on Hill’s side all weekend long, and the bad luck streak hit yet again early in the race.
Back to green, Taylor Gray takes the lead. Although not long after that we would be back under caution due to the aggressive 18 car of Ty Gibbs getting into the 77 of Trevor Ward. Gibbs received a one-lap penalty and was sent to the rear.
Once again, barely making it to lap 52 we see another caution thrown. This wreck caused damage to the 99 of Layne Riggs. As if the race wasn’t interesting enough, we get a dose of irony. The tow truck needed a tow truck! As we get back under green, Gray will continue leading. McCaskill has dropped back to 6th place after a strong lead early in the race.
Mini Tyrrell and Leland Honeyman Jr, both running for rookie of the year, battle it out in the back. Caution after caution, we see these competitors are hungry for a win. Their aggressive racing came to an end when the red flag was thrown with only 23 laps to go. A pile-up including Lemke, Matthews, and Hefner. After a long hard battle for everyone all day long, Taylor Gray finally brings home the checkered flag at lap 150 holding off Lemons and Berry.
SUPER LATE MODEL RECAP
Kodie Connor scored the Pole Award here at the MTP Tire 300 at Hickory Motor Speedway. Kodie has been fighting sickness all weekend long, but he managed to grab the pole and kick off the race. Bubba Pollard who entered the race on race day will start in the third position. Josh Berry will pull double duty at Hickory this weekend. After completing the Late Model Stocks in his 88, he completed the Super Late Model race in the 97. We saw Wyatt Alexander started off the race strong as he led. The lead was taken from him by Setzer, who is very strong at this race track.
After the first 40 laps, we see the supers start to get just as aggressive at the late model stocks. Damage to Hollis, Pope, and Bayne after a spin on the front stretch. Berry and Setzer battled for the lead with 40 laps remaining, but Berry spins in turn 4 causing him to lose the lead. Helmuth was disappointed with how Wyatt Alexander got into her and damaged her car. The 96 of Alexander was sent to the rear for his actions.
Pollard scores his second victory in a row with the CARS Tour Super Late Models. Pollard showed up to the race track on Saturday and entered the race. After the spur of the moment decision, he comes home with the victory. We’ve learned early that Pollard will be a tough one to beat this season. However, the talent we’ve seen in the field won’t be letting him take the checkered easily.
Sources: Chris Ragle/CARS Tour PR