Hickory, NC -18 drivers made the trip to the rural town of Hickory, NC on Monday to do battle on the 13/16 mile draft track for round 4 of the Lucas Oil Summer Sizzler Series (LOSSS).
Shock and 00 would make it from the first heat to the feature
Heat 2 would see Wheel and JSN move to the front and advance.
Heat 3 would be all WFO as Ice and Rain would make it a 1-2 finish and go to the “A”
In the “C” Main Ax would make use of a strong car and win the “C” Main with T-91, BLS 34, and Invader
“B” Main action would see Rac take home the win followed by D5, Goat, and Invader slipping into the “A” Main
After the “B” Main Ranger would come to WFO officials requesting a review of an incident with himself and Rac. It was determined that Rac was responsible for the accident but he would be able to continue to the “A” Main due to a loophole in the rules. Ice explained the rule, “If 2 drivers make contact and they do not agree to swap positions then the race will stand and penalty points will be deducted at the end of the night. After this week we are going to change that rule so that if it is for a transfer spot that we will be able to swap the position and not penalize the car that was taken out.
During all the deliberation between the “B” and the “A” Main a sinkhole would develop on the front strait. It would take several minutes for the track crew to repair but everything was eventually fixed and it would be deemed safe for the competitors to race on.
VLR would own the front row as Shock and Wheel would go into turn 1 side by side. Ice would quickly make it a 3-way battle for the lead. Unfortunately for Shock his stay at the front would be short lived as he would get sideways in the middle of 3 and 4 and Ice would make contact with him sending him back to the 6th spot. Ice would quickly fall in behind Wheel and begin to push themselves away from the rest of the field.
Lap 9 would see LOSSS points leader Rain get around the 00 car for the 3rd spot. 00 would quickly find himself in a battle with JSN and try to hold on to 4th.
Lap 10 would find trouble as D87 would go 3 wide with D5 and Invader resulting in Invader being launched off the turn 3 banking.
Up front however would be more of the same as Ice would remain content and stay tucked to the back bumper of Wheel growing their lead more and more every lap.
Lap 23 would see D5 make his way around JSN for the 5th spot and after a brief battle JSN would fall in line and try to help D5 catch the 00 car for the 4th position.
Lap 35 Ice would make the biggest mistake of the night and drive into turn 3 to hard and allow Wheel to put some distance between the 2 drivers. On lap 38 D5 would catch and pass the 00 allowing JSN and Rac to start putting pressure on him for the 5th spot. JSN and 00 would do battle and Rac would use this to try a slide job and get around both drivers. Rac and JSN would battle for the rest of the race. Ice would not be able to recover from the 1 mistake me made on the night and Wheel would motor on to victory keeping the distance the basically the same until the final few laps. Wheel would cross the finish line and pick up his 1st career win in the LOSS Series and the $20,000 check that goes along with it.
An obviously excited Wheel was spraying the crowd with some Nos Energy drink after the race (He’s only 16 so no alcohol). “What a race!!! Ice was all over me tonight. He’s one of the best at helping you draft away from a tough field. He made 1 mistake tonight and I knew I couldn’t make any or it would have likely been a repeat of Thursdays night’s race when he made a last lap pass on me. Luckily I was able to keep him at bay and come home with this win.
Ice was happy but still a little disappointed. “Wheel and I were so equal and I made the mistake that cost me a chance. He drove a perfect race and if you screw up against a guy like him he’s going to make you pay for it.”
A frustrated Rain chimed in “I just can’t catch a drafting partner here. I’ve ran 2 races in a row and I’ve been by myself for the majority of the race. I can’t wait till we get to another track!!!”
Rain will get his wish granted as the LOSS Series will head to Norfolk VA on Thursday @ DOIT. Should be some great racing and we hope to see everyone come out and support this series.