Third time's the charm as Firecracker 250 finally happens

Tri-County Speedway in Hudson was finally able to host the Firecracker 250 on Saturday, Aug. 15, after the event was postponed twice last month.

Dark clouds approached the track from the east this time around, but a light sprinkle of rain that quickly came to an end was all that Mother Nature had to offer.

Nebo native Harold Wilson, a Vietnam veteran and former driver, served as grand marshal. Meanwhile, the main attraction was the 125-lap Late Model feature, which saw Helio Meza win the pole but Thomas Beane of Hudson take an early lead during the race itself.

Beane was still out in front on the 45th lap when a planned caution flag was waved to bunch up the field. Points leader Charlie Watson brought out the second caution flag when he had a right rear tire go flat. Then Hudson Sharp got into Meza on lap 56, bringing out the third caution.

Beane remained in first place on lap 90 when another planned caution resulted in a 10-minute break. The redraw inverted the top five, putting Beane in fifth and Sharp on the pole. Billy Snodgrass, who started last because he was late getting to the track and did not qualify, started on the outside front row for the final 35-lap sprint.

On the restart, Sharp led for two laps until Chase Burgeson took the lead on the 93rd lap and built a 4-second advantage on the field as Snodgrass, 2025 East Burke High School graduate Landon S. Huffman, and Ryan Millington put on a three-wide battle for second.

The fifth and final caution came out when DJ Canipe and Andrew Patterson got together on the back stretch, setting up a five-lap dash for the win. On the restart, Huffman jumped the start from the outside of the front row. Flagman John Spence Jr. called for the restart to be redone, and this time Burgeson took the outside position.

Huffman and Burgeson battled door-to-door down the stretch, with Huffman taking the lead and holding it until the final lap, when the two made contact coming out of turn four. Huffman spun and hit the outside wall, while Burgeson was able to keep his machine straight and beat Millington to the checkered flag ahead of Snodgrass in third, Beane in fourth, and Sharp in fifth. Huffman settled for a 13th-place finish.

In the 50-lap Limited Late Model race, pole sitter Ethan Tovo took the early lead, but third-generation driver Chase Pollard passed him on the ninth lap. Owen Wilson of Lenoir was able to pass Pollard to lead three laps before Pollard got back in front of him and ultimately earned the victory, although the final 30 laps saw the two put on an amazing side-by-side battle.

Jonah Cullen beat Dakota Slagle to win the 50-lap Outlaw feature. David Messer, Shane Lisk, and Trey Epps rounded out the top five.

The 35-lap Street Stock feature opened the evening with Terrence Tucker on the pole, but Connelly Springs native John Reynolds took the lead going into the first turn. Although five cautions kept Reynolds from driving away from the rest of the pack, with both Mike Hatton of Lenoir and Jay Hensen of Hudson putting pressure on him, neither ever posed a real threat for the lead as Reynolds led from start to finish in his 8R Chevrolet owned by Stuart Huffman.

“We had a fast race car,” Reynolds said. “The cautions kept me from getting too comfortable. On the last restart I got a great jump and was able to settle in and hit my marks.”

In the Renegade division, Klint Townsend of Lenoir crossed the finish line in first place ahead of points leader Kyle Dubeau. In post-race inspection, Townsend was disqualified for improper equipment, giving Dubeau the victory ahead of runner-up Gary Ledbetter and third-place Jordan Layne.

In the 30-lap Carolina Mini Stock feature, Terry Torrence took the checkered flag ahead of Jason Garwood and Roger Nance. The division has rapidly evolved into crowd favorite, with a great number of drivers racing each week.

Smart Electric offered $2,500 to the winner of the 20-lap Crown Vic race if 25 cars entered the race. Since only 11 drivers were on hand, the $2,500 prize money has been rolled over until the next event. But Smart Electric owner Steve Smart decided to pay the winner $1,100, a tremendous jump in prize money from the weekly winning prize, and Todd Bradburry ended up taking home the winnings.

Tri-County returns to action on Saturday, Aug. 29, while HorsePower Park and Hickory Motor Speedway will both hold events tonight (Saturday, Aug. 22).