Photo Credit: Eric Creel
PELETIER, NC – Chris Burns picked up his eighth Late Model victory at Bobby Watson’s Carteret County Speedway on Saturday night and became the all-time Late Model wins leader with his victory.
Burns, 27, from Swansboro, North Carolina, started on the pole and led early, but T.J. Barron passed Burns on lap 17 to take the lead. Burns would bypass Barron on a restart with 25 laps remaining in the 60-lap feature, making the pass on the outside line of the racetrack. Burns then held off a late-race charge from reigning division champion and seven-time Late Model winner Brandon Clements.
“We didn’t have the car to win tonight by any means,” Burns said in victory lane. “We realistically probably had a third-place car. I knew that, if we would have got behind TJ on that restart, there would’ve been no hope for it. I told dad I was going to sail it off into turn one and hope it sticks. It did pretty good there. We should have freed the car up a little more. It was too tight there and we had to turn it with the accelerator. Dad said, Brandon’s behind you, and he’s coming quick. A couple more laps and he would have got me. He had the better car.
“Racing with these guys, they’re all class acts. They’re really great racers.”
With the victory, Burns opened the gap from three points to eight points atop the division championship standings.
Clements, who is Burns’ best friend away from the track, ultimately settled for the runner-up spot but felt he could have made the pass for the win with just one more lap.
“We would have given him at least a shot,” Clements said. “This is like a win to us. Me, Wendell [Davis] and the team spent a lot of late nights this week getting this thing back together. It’s killed from the CARS Tour race. We’ve got a few more bugs to work out but she was coming on at the end.”
Barron finished in third while Tim Allensworth and Tyler Horne rounded out the top-five.
Encore Presentation
Three weeks ago, 13-year-old Carmen Odum edged her older sister Morgan in a thrilling finish in a Jr. Mini Cup race at Carteret County Speedway. The finished propelled their reputations and both drivers were featured on WITN News as the Pepsi Players of the Week in mid-July.
On Saturday night, the two sisters staged an encore presentation.
Carmen passed Morgan for the lead early in the 15-lap Coastal Carolina Jr. Mini Cup feature. In the closing laps, Morgan was able to run her younger sister back down. On the final lap, she mounted her challenge for the lead and the win, diving to the inside out of turn four. The two sisters came across the line side-by-side in another photo finish with Carmen Odum scoring the win.
“With the last couple laps, my spotter was telling me, ‘she’s there, she’s right on your bumper, so drive smart, and if she gets under you, do not turn down.’ I could feel her at my back bumper,” the younger Odum sister said. “I had a gut feeling that she was there. That was a really good race. I did not like that I led almost the entire race because that’s not fun to watch. That last race, with that photo finish, I did not expect to get that much promotion off of it but here we are. I really like it.”
Morgan felt like she had the faster car and was frustrated to come up just short against her younger sister once again.
“My car’s been slow but we finally got it ready and I’m faster than her, I should have won that race,” Morgan Odum said. “You know, I should have spun her out, that’s what I wanted to do, but you know what, I had to clean race her. It was tough, but I’m finally glad we got faster than her. I wanted to win so bad. I feel bad that she won. I was leading the [Coastal Carolina Mini Cup Series] points and now we’re tired, but I’m not letting her win the points again.”
Dominic Chisholm finished third while Caleb Braswell and Alexis Steffan rounded out the top-five.
Jacksonville’s Andrew Jackson led wire-to-wire in the 25-lap U-CAR feature, holding off Steve Sullivan for the victory and extending his points lead over Sullivan.
“Last year was a great year for us and we were going for the championship,” Jackson said. “Adam [Resnick] came out here and showed us what to do. I think I’ve got the hang of it this year. I want to thank everyone who came out and cheered us on.”
Sullivan finished in second, but behind the two drivers who have dominated the division, 19-year-old Abby Jolly relished in her first career Carteret County Speedway podium finish.
“It’s been a really tough season but now it feels like it’s kind of breaking through,” Jolly remarked. “Finally getting over that frustrating patch. We definitely have a lot more work on this car to get done but I’m really looking forward to the rest of this season and next season too.”
Mike Cooper was victorious in the Sportsman’s Wholesale Street Stock feature; Travis Miller prevailed in the Battlefield Tire Pros Mini Stock race; Tyler Warriner picked up the victory in the Virginia Mini Cup feature; J.R. Taylor scored his first win of the year in the Champ Kart race; and Steven Brewer took home the checkered flag in the Coastal Carolina Mini Cup feature.
Racing action returns to Bobby Watson’s Carteret County Speedway on Saturday, August 10th with the $10,000-to-win Solid Rock Carriers 150. Mini-Stocks, Legends and Mini Cups will also be in action as part of the Solid Rock Carriers 150.
Carteret County 7/27/19 Results
Limited Late Model
- Chris Burns
- Brandon Clements
- TJ Barron
- Tim Allensworth
- Tyler Horne
- Bobby Morris
Sportsman’s Wholesale Street Stock
- Mike Cooper
- Gary Rochelle, Jr.
- Billy Slater
- Dennis Woehrle
- John Sharp
Battlefield Tire Pros Mini-Stock
- Travis Miller
- Zac Reimer
- Stephen Sanders
- Kris Hetu
- Travis Provost
- Andrew Deal
- Peanut Evans
- Brian Bryant
Virginia Mini Cup
- Tyler Warriner
- Justin Herndon
- Johnny Shonk
- Shane Zupo
- Jim Grady
- Carmen Odum
- John Hager
- Todd Meredith
- Tyler Roach
- Dean Johnson
U-CAR
- Andrew Jackson
- Steve Sullivan
- Abby Jolly
- Curtis Lanier
- Joe Lanier
CCMCS Jr. Mini Cup
- Carmen Odum
- Morgan Odum
- Dominic Chisholm
- Caleb Braswell
- Alexis Steffan
- Joseph Bell
- Scotty Benford
- Steven Farrell
CCMCS Mini Cup
- Steven Brewer
- Matthew Brewer
- Charles Hassinger
- Chris Brewer
- Joseph Bryant
- Chase Singletry
- Charles Pudenz
Champ Kart
- JR Taylor
- Sean Wales
- Cory DiMauro
- Randy Tucker
- Bill Owens
- Lance Holt
- James Horner
- Gaston Davis
