Old School Veterans And Rising Stars Highlight Memorial Day Weekend Bonus Races

Along with paying our heartfelt respects to the men and women who have and continue to courageously defend our nation, this Memorial Day Weekend delivered the South Eastern Crate Association another reason to be thankful as the association made its inaugural trip to The Dirt Track @ Charlotte this past Friday night. A blend of cagy veterans and rising stars were represented in the 48 car field for the 2015 Circle K/NOS Energy Outlaw Showdown.

Union, South Carolina's Trent Ivey, who has been white hot as of late, was one of the many youngsters on hand and would best the 48 car field with a lap of 16.670 in Heintz Brothers Performance Time Trials.

Once the field was set, Ivey would lead Dennis Franklin (Gaffney, SC) and Ricky Weeks (Rutherfordton, NC) to the green flag. Ivey vaulted to the lead at the drop of the green bringing Weeks and Franklin along with him. While the 2 veterans worked to reel in the youngster, other drivers were storming through the field in an effort to break into the Top 5. Intense side by side racing ensued as Zack Mitchell, Corey Gordon, and Ryan Atkins worked their way through the field.

While Ivey was clearly the better car in the early stages of the event, Weeks slid by Franklin for the runner up spot and set his sights on Ivey. After finding a groove on the top side of the speedway, Weeks worked his way around Ivey on lap 12 of the 25 lap event. Just as Weeks began to separate himself from the field, Ivey and Franklin rallied for one last charge as the laps wound down.

What transpired was one of the most exciting finishes in Outlaw Showdown history! Ivey, with Franklin in his tire tracks, remained poised and committed to the bottom of the speedway. Ivey drew close to Weeks and used a huge off of turn 4 to get by the leader with 4 laps remaining. Once in the lead, the 20 year old never looked back and would go on to claim his 6th win of 2015. Franklin cleared Weeks on the final circuit to claim the runner up spot. Weeks was followed to the line by Mitchell, Gordon, & Atkins.

“This is just awesome, to be able to be on this stage with Ricky and Rambo is pretty special", stated a jubilant Ivey on the Victory Lane stage. "These guys have done a lot in and for racing over the years, and I have always looked up to them. That was a fun race, I have so many people to thank.....my crew, my parents, and all of our sponsors. We would not be here tonight if not for each and every one of them."

The youth movement would carry over to Sunday as the teams eyed the $2,000 prize at Harris Speedway in Rutherfordton, NC. Picking up right where he left off on Friday night, Ivey would once again set fast time, as he and fellow youngster Nick Deitz (Hodges, SC) would lead the 20 car field to the green flag.

Once green, Ivey setting a blistering pace around the tricky 3/8 mile speedway. Deitz, fighting throttle issues, would relinquish 2nd to hometown favorite Ricky Weeks just before the midway point. As Weeks closed in on Ivey, Deitz regrouped and made it a 3 way battle for the lead. Lap traffic quickly became a factor and Weeks worked his way around Ivey down the backstretch. Ivey followed suit but could never regain the lead from Weeks. That would be the only room Weeks needed as he would be able to smoothly navigate the traffic for the remainder of the 25 lap event while waving at the cheering crowd as he crossed the finish line collecting his 2nd SECA feature win of the 2015 season

“I was just able to slip by on the outside, and tonight I was able to fend him off", said Weeks. "These young guys are making it hard on us veterans, but we have more wins to come. There is no place like home, and to finish ahead of these guys here makes it even more special.”

Charlotte Full Results
Trent Ivey
Rambo
Rickey Weeks
Zack Mitchell
Corey Gordon
Ryan Atkins
Teddy Musgrave Jr
Matt Lawson
Mark Parks
Larry Timms
Chris Cheek
Nick Deitz
Brandon Haley
Spencer Apple
Joey Coulter
Justin Williams
Thomas Robinson
Cole Apple
Banjo Duke
Dale Moore
Wesley Cadwallader
Steve Hendren
Chris Jackson
Cale Conley
Brian Moody

Harris Speedway Full Results
Ricky Weeks
Trent Ivey
Nick Deitz
Larry timms
Brian Carswell
Timbo Mangum
Steve Banal
Hank Taylor
Thomas Robinson
Pat Lindsay
Matt Lawson
Larry Grube
Richard Kuiken
Kale Green
James Jameson
James Plemmons
Donald Self
Justin Hudspeth
Chris Jackson
Dillon Brown

For more information about SECA please visit www.secaracing.com

Partners of SECA include: City Chevrolet, Hoosier Racing Tires, Insane Racing Graphics, RockAuto.com, To the Point Embroidery, Heintz Performance, Ellison Racing Engines, Kenny Lamb Racing Engines, Big A's Custom Graphics, Thomas Clarke Performance, Velocita, G-engineering, Gable Automotive, Hendren Racing Engines & ARbodies, JRI Shocks, Renegade Racing Fuels