DeMarmels, McMurray sweep twin features at Hickory Motor Speedway

Hickory Motor Speedway hosted five divisions of weekly racing on Saturday, Aug. 22, highlighted by twin features in the Street Stock and Limited Late Model divisions.

In the opening race, Cody DeMarmels started on the pole for the first 20-lap Street Stock feature. On the initial start, DeMarmels’ car didn’t get up to speed, and the chain reaction caused Steve Smart to slam into Jacob Hayes, breaking the left front spindle and ball joint on Smart’s No. 16 car to take him out of the race.

On the restart, John Reynolds took the lead going into turn one when a light rain started to fall that later became a heavy downpour on the fourth lap. DeMarmels spun going into turn two, though, causing points leader Trey Buff, Marshall Sutton, Jon Austin, and Robert Divanna to all crash in the same spot, with Buff getting the worst of the incident.

Following a 90-minute delay, the rain passed and the track dried, allowing the race to continue. Race officials let DeMarmels regain his second-place position when the race started back, and he passed Reynolds for the top spot on the fifth lap before Reynolds moved back in front two laps later. Nonetheless, DeMarmels made the winning pass on the 12th lap, with Reynolds settling for second and Hayes coming in third.

The 20-lap Crown Vic race was won by Jake Caprio after original winner Michael Lipe failed a post-race inspection, while the first Limited Late Model feature saw second-generation driver Carter McMurray win the pole and lead the opening eight laps before Dexter Canipe III took the lead on the ninth lap and newly elected District Attorney Mitch Walker moved into the runner-up spot.

McMurray eventually made his way back to the front of the pack as he earned his first-ever Limited Late Model win, while Canipe came in second, Zach Bruenger finished third, Walker took fourth, and Ethan Tovo rounded out the top five.

The 35-lap Leapfrog Landscaping Super Truck feature was dominated by pole sitter and points leader Michael Bumgarner, who remained in front throughout the entire race. Hayes was the runner-up, while Mike Toner Jr. finished third.

Smart started on the pole in the Renegade division, jumping out in front right away as DeMarmels and Jordan Cook battled door-to-door for second. Smart ultimately took the checkered flag, with DeMarmels, Cook, Shawn Thomson, and John Vassh Jr. finishing second through fifth.

The second 20-lap Street Stock feature started in the order that the drivers finished the opening race, with points leader Buff making a deal with Austin to drive his No. 51 machine to get as many points as possible toward the season-long track championship. After 12 laps of side-by-side action between DeMarmels and Reynolds, DeMarmels pulled away for the win, Reynolds settled for second, and Hayes came in third in a repeat of the top three finishers in the first race of the night.

In the second Limited Late Model race, the field was set by inverting the top nine finishers from the first race, with Billy Jack Lester starting on the pole and leading the opening portion of the 40-lap main event. However, Christopher Martin Jr. passed him on the 10th lap and veteran driver Don Carlton took over second place.

Carlton passed Martin for the lead shortly thereafter, although a crash later took both men out of contention. The caution allowed McMurray to start on the front row, and from there he drove to his second career victory as Bruenger finished second and Walker came in third.

Hickory Motor Speedway will be the site of the 50th annual Bobby Isaac Memorial on Sept. 5.

HorsePower Park hosts Back to School Bash

The Back to School Bash took place at HorsePower Park in Morganton on Aug. 22, with six divisions of weekly racing taking place along with candy drops and other activities for the younger fans.

Second-generation driver Jason Hamrick beat John Fox and TJ Bolin to win the Renegade feature, while Drexel driver and points leader Clay Ross found victory lane in the Pro 4 division. The win was Ross’ fifth of the season, and he finished ahead of runner-up Blake Walker and third-place Brandon Marshall.

Zac Moore drove his No. 243 car to victory lane in the Crown Vic feature as Joey Barker came in second and Austin Teague finished third. Meanwhile, Josh McAbee was the winner of the Thunder Bomber main event ahead of Freddie Frady, Tim Moretz, Mike Brown, and points leader Nathan Starnes in second through fifth.

In the night’s remaining races, Kevin Roberts won the FWD feature and Brayden Saam emerged victorious in the Young Guns division. Mike Vance and Kevin Saam finished second and third, respectively, in the FWD race, while Nova Benfield was second in Young Guns and Cody Benfield Jr. took third.

HorsePower Park will host a Labor Day weekend celebration on Sept. 5, while the only local racing action scheduled for tonight (Saturday, Aug. 29) will take place at Tri-County Speedway in Hudson as the track holds Sunbelt Night at the Races, an event that was originally slated for Aug. 1 but was unable to be completed due to rain.