Clary wins Renegades feature race at HP Park
Week two of the racetrack revival at HorsePower Park in Morganton was held on March 21.
The Renegades were the featured class and the No. 822, driven by Bud Clary, beat TJ Nolan and John Fox to the checkered flag.
Valdese driver Chandler Barker won the 12-lap Crown Vic feature ahead of Kyle Moore and Robbie Davis. Moore made contact with crowd favorite Joey Barker in the division’s second heat race, causing Barker to flip upside down on the front stretch. Barker wasn’t injured, but he was unable to start the feature.
Burke County drivers Tim Moretz (left) and Mason Pugh (right) collected third-place finishes in the Thunder Bomber and Pro Four divisions, respectively, at HorsePower Park on March 21.
Also that evening, Blake Walker made it 2 for 2 this year by winning the FWD feature again. Brandon Marshall won the Pro Four feature, with Chris Butler and Mason Pugh rounding out the podium finishers.
The Saam family finished 1-2 in the Young Guns feature, with Colton beating Braden for the victory. In the Thunder Bomber main event, Lenoir driver Nathan Starnes took the win ahead of Joey Barker and the Morganton Missile, Tim Moretz.
The final race of the night was a five-lap Powder Puff race won by Kelly Rash.
HorsePower Park will be back in action with multiple divisions of dirt track racing on April 18.
Other local tracks
Tri-County Speedway in Hudson kicked off the 2026 season with a staggering 86 total race cars entered in nine different divisions on March 21.
The 75-lap Late Model feature was won by Justin Carroll. Last year’s track champion Landon Huffman finished second. Huffman drives Carroll’s car on the CARS Tour. Lenoir driver Thomas Beane finished ahead of Graham Hollar to take third.
Wyatt Miller, grandson of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, started fourth and finished 10th in his Tri-County Late Model debut. Walter Jenkins beat Chase Pollard, grandson of Harry Gant, and Owen Wilson to win the Limited Late Model feature.
Tri-County returns to action on April 4.
Hickory Motor Speedway featured Twin 40-lap races for the Limited Late Models, with Mason Walters winning both. He finished ahead of Mark Johnson in the first one and Nick Tucker in race two.
Also at HMS, 75-year-old driver Marshall Sutton was runner-up to Cody DeMermels in the Street Stock feature. The ARCA East tour visits the historic track for the first time today (March 28) before weekly action returns April 4.
Chris “Smokey” Madden became $20,000 richer Saturday night after winning the Ginger Owen’s Memorial at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, S.C. Madden won the rain-shortened Super Late Model feature that headlines the annual two-day March Madness season opener. Cherokee’s next event is also today.
Elsewhere, East Lincoln Speedway in Stanley opens its season with a two-night event that started late Friday and concludes today. And Harris Speedway in Rutherford County resumes action this evening with the Monster Mini Stock touring division.
