Nik Williams made his first trip to Kingsport Speedway’s Victory Lane in Late Model Stock Car competition with a victory on Friday night. Photo: Kingsport Speedway/Facebook
Nik Williams came out on top of a spirited battle with Joey Trent to score his first NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Stock Car feature on Friday night at Tennessee’s Kingsport Speedway.
“Oh man, you just don’t have a clue how awesome this is to finally get our first NASCAR Whelen All-American Series win,” a smiling Williams said in victory. “It’s not only special for me personally in getting the win, but it means a lot to my family. To have my father (Chuck), mother (Beth), and grandfather (Eddie) here as a part of this deal, it’s just a great feeling. We’re all in this together, and we’ve really had our struggles over the past year just getting me comfortable driving the car and also in being able to really hit on good (chassis) setups consistently.
“I come from a go-kart racing background and there’s just no comparing racing a go-kart to wheeling a NASCAR Late Model Stock Car. There’s a learning curve and we’ve been fast on occasions, but we’ve just never really put ourselves out front to contend for a win until tonight. We’ve been really closing in on how we needed to be running, though.”
Kres VanDyke was fastest in qualifying at 15.065 seconds, with the 21-year-old Williams close behind at 15.978. But following roll of the dice, the top six from time trials were inverted, putting Wayne Hale and Trent on the front row, with Zeke Shell and Trey Bayne in the second row, followed by Williams and VanDyke in row three.
On the initial attempt to get the 60-lap feature under green, the caution waved before the opening lap could be completed, as VanDyke spun in the fourth turn following contact from behind by Robbie Ferguson. With VanDyke having to restart from rear of the field, this was just an omen of bad luck that would later strike the defending track champion.
Hale jumped out to the lead at the start over Trent, Shell, Williams and Bayne.
With the leaders jockeying for position, the caution flag flew again on lap 24 for an incident in the first turn involving Bryson Dennis, Dale Cline and Trey Lane.
On the ensuing double-file restart, Williams and Shell raced side-by-side for three laps before Williams pulled ahead. Behind him, Trent would move past Shell to take second while the top five raced nose-to-tail behind him.
Over the next several laps, VanDyke would begin moving through the top five. He and Shell were battling for third when contact between the two sent both hard into the inside wall. VanDyke’s car hit nose first, lifting the rear of the car up in the air, with Shell’s car sliding underneath VanDyke’s.
Fire broke out under Shell’s hood due to the weight of VanDyke’s car coming down and breaking the carburetor loose from the engine, producing a fuel fire which the track’s emergency crew quickly arrived on the scene to extinguish.
Following a red flag period for cleanup, the race got back underway with Williams and Trent racing side-by-side for lap-and-a-half. Trent appeared to get a little loose between turns one and two on lap 44, and that was all Williams needed to power into the lead.
From there, Williams went on to take the win, with Trent in second, Ferguson in third, Trey Bayne in fourth and Bryson Dennis in fifth.
In other action, Keith Helton scored his fourth Pure 4 feature win of the season, with Bruce Crumbley in second, Craig Phelps in third, Brandon Sutherland in fourth and Billy Byington in fifth.
Kevin Canter captured his division-leading eighth Mod 4 feature victory of the season over Zack Fritz in second, Dalton Thomas in third, Billy Duty in fouth and Chris Amburgey in fifth.
David Strong recorded his third Pure Street feature win on the season, with Jay Swecker, Kevin Darnell, Ricky Payne and Jon Cook in fifth.
Kingsport Speedway returns to action on Friday, July 27. For more information, visit NewKingsportSpeedway.com.
Kingsport Speedway – Kingsport, TN
Race Results – July 20, 2018
Late Model Stock Cars
1. Nik Williams #32 – Greeneville, TN
2. Joey Trent #26 – Gray, TN
3. Robbie Ferguson #7 – Jonesborough, TN
4. Trey Bayne #21 – Knoxville, TN
5. Bryson Dennis #15 – Greeneville, TN
6. Dillon Hodge #5 – Kingsport, TN
7. Wayne Hale #19 – Bluff City, TN
8. Dale Cline #99 – Wytheville, VA
9. Rick Pannell #33 – Kingsport, TN
10. Darin Silver #12 – Spruce Pine, NC
11. Zeke Shell #1 – Johnson City, TN
12. Kres VanDyke #15 – Abingdon, VA
13. Derek Lane #28 – Kingsport, TN
14. Austin Brooks #4 – Kingsport, TN
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16. Mardy Roberts #55 – Kingsport, TN
Pure 4
1. Keith Helton #9
2. Bruce Crumbley #33
3. Craig Phelps #00
4. Brandon Sutherland #48
5. Billy Byington #11
6. Josh Detwiler #38
7. Kenny Absher #20
8. William Hale #47
9. David Trent #57
10. Paul Stanley #40
11. Josh Collins #77
12. Larry Stapleton #15
13. Dennis Cross #7
14. Bucky Smith #99
15. Dennis Stanley #21
16. Chad Jeffers #38
17. Josh Trinkle #0
18. Hannah Ottinger #7
19. Joey Amburgey #53
Mod 4
1. Kevin Canter #3
2. Zack Fritz #33
3. Dalton Thomas #22
4. Billy Duty #2
5. Chris Amburgey #17
6. Jessie Amburgey #7
7. Joshua Gobble #11
8. Hershell Robinette #9
9. Dan Conn #73
10. Chris Coleman #20
Pure Street
1. David Strong #53
2. Jay Swercker #77
3. Kevin Darnell #4
4. Ricky Payne #1
5. Jon Cook #17
6. Mike Blair #84
7. Jessica Payne #12
8. Brian Eggers #74
9. Mike Mays #30
10. Sammy Ferguson #5
11. Brandon Yarber #51
12. Penny Hurd #11
13. Chris Neeley #2
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