Burt Myers Claims Rusty Harpe Memorial At Caraway Speedway
Cody Griffin Nabs Bounty Cash in Challenger Feature; Josh Lowder Goes Back-to-Back in 603 Modifieds; Jon Morton on Top in Bootleggers; Daniel Hughes Takes UCAR Win; A.J. Sanders Tops Caraway Classic Mini Stocks
(Sophia, NC): When Burt Myers races at Caraway Speedway it seems to be either feast or famine at the .455-mile track. Saturday night turned out to be the feast as Myers clawed his way from the sixth starting spot to the lead on lap 18 and held that spot throughout the remainder of the 99 lap “Revolutionary 99”, the feature event of the “Rusty Harpe Memorial presented by Daggett Shuler Attorneys.
While Myers did lead most of the laps, it was not a walk in the park as he was stalked most of the way by Brian Loftin early, and a charging Tim Brown late in the race. Myers slipped past early leader, Brandon Ward bringing Loftin and Joey Coulter along for the ride to the “Bell Helmets “Stage Break” on lap 30. On the restart, the running order remained basically the same but the bright orange and white #25 was cutting through the field. Brown slipped past Loftin after a Loftin bobble allowed Brown to the inside and into second spot on lap 68. Ronnie Williams, driving the Jamie Tomanio ride moved from his 20th starting spot to third but had nothing for the two leaders. Myers and Brown carried their usual cat-and-mouse game right to the finish. Brown made a dive for the lead around lap 90 but couldn’t make it stick and Myers used some lapped traffic to maintain the point to the finish. Myers win marked the first repeat winner for the SMART Tour in 2023 and his second-in-a-row after a win at Franklin County in May.
Brown settled for second with Williams in third. Coulter finished fourth with Loftin in fifth. Bobby Labonte finished sixth followed by Carson Loftin, Bobby Measmer, Jr., Jimmy Wallace, and Tom Buzze completed the top ten. Eleventh went to John Smith followed by Jason Myers, Jake Crum, Daniel Yates, Jonathen Cash, Brandon Ward, Johnny Kay, Jeremy Gerstner, Jason Poole, Busy Beavers, Johathan Brown, Dennis Holdren, Caleb Heady, Zach Brewer, Jason Tutterow, and Brittney Zamora completed the rundown.
Cody Griffin came to Caraway Saturday night with one thing on his mind. That was to win the race and claim the extra $300.00 “bounty” on the head of Allen Vance. Vance has been the dominant driver in the Challenger division this year and track Owner, Darren Hackett, posted the “bounty” on Vance to add some incentive to teams chasing the black #8 this season. Matthew Smith survived an early incident to charge back to second spot at the finish. Jacob Brooks finished third ahead of Caleb Allred and Vance in fifth in a car running on seven cylinders most of the race. Sixth went to Casey Kepley, Jr. with Evan Ingram, DJ Dean, Brian Melville, Dante Curtis, Brody Duggins and Luke Travis rounding out the field.
Josh Lowder made it two-in-a-row in the 602 Modified 50 lapper. Lowder bested Luke Baldwin who gave Lowder all he could handle before fading near the end. Slate Myers had his best finish against a strong field claiming third ahead of Devin Steele and Billy Gregg in fifth. Jody Utt finished sixth with Gabriel Saavedra, Justice Calabro, Mitchell Wright, Dylan Ward, and Jack Baldwin.
A.J. Sanders won the 40-lap feature for the Caraway Classic Mini Stocks. Sanders took over the lead from Chuck Wall on lap and never looked back, leading the rest of the way. Luke Smith finished third with Michael Wells and Bryson Pickard finishing out the top five. Patrick Mullen returned to Caraway and claimed sixth spot ahead of Isaac Wright, Kenny Guffey, Rudy Hartley, and Phillip Jones.
Daniel Hughes survived a wild night of UCAR action to take the win in the 15-lapper for the little front-wheel-drive cars. Blair Patterson finished second ahead of Jason Richmond, Titi Clapp, and Jacob Clapp in fifth. Sixth went to Steven Hedrick, Kevin Johnson, Jeremy Moose, Josh Phillips, Justin Smith, and Ron Mock.
Jon Morton remained the car to beat in the Bootleggers division. Morton got by fast qualifier, 10-year-old Bentley Black, and ran away from runner-up Robbie Perkins. Black, Lowe Smith, and Jaclyn Morton completed the top five.
Racing takes a little mid-summer vacation at Caraway Speedway next week but the 336 Meets Drift gang can fill your need for action on July 8th. Racing returns on July 22nd for the Ready Mart “Hot Summer Clash” with “twin” features for the Late Models, Challengers, 602 Mods, UCARS, and Bootleggers along with action for the Bandoleros and US Legends Cars. Race time is 8:00 PM.
For more information on Caraway Speedway, check us out at www.carawayspeedway.com or on Facebook at Caraway Speedway or you can call the track at 336-629-5803. Someone will return your call.
Sources: Randy Myers/Caraway Speedway PR