USMTS News:
Being second has been the key to finishing first for Johnny Scott during the first two nights of the 9th Annual Summit USMTS Winter Speedweeks at the South Texas Speedway.
In front of a hearty crowd at the 3/8-mile clay oval in Corpus Christi on Saturday night, the 28-year-old from Cameron, Mo., started on the outside of the front row to start the 40-lap Summit USMTS Southern Series main event, but polesitter Bobby Malchus of Red Oak, Texas, seized control when the green flag was displayed.
Challenging the leader on several occasions, Scott shadowed Malchus throughout the opening laps while Cade Dillard, Rodney Sanders and Ethan Dotson tussled for the other positions inside the top five.
Lapped traffic came into play with 14 laps in the books, and after three more laps Malchus made contact with a back-marker which sent him into a spin and out of contention for the win.
That left Scott to set the pace for the next green-flag restart with Dillard, Sanders, Dotson and Joe Duvall in tow. Dotson, competing in just his second USMTS race, slipped past Sanders for third but that was the final change of position among the leaders as Scott cruised the final 22 laps to score his second win in a row to kick off the 2018 campaign.
SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT “A” MAIN (40 laps):
1. (2) 1st Johnny Scott, Cameron, Mo., VanderBuilt/Durham, 40, $3000.
2. (4) 97 Cade Dillard, Robeline, La., MBCustoms/Knowles, 40, $1700.
3. (3) 174 Ethan Dotson (R), Bakersfield, Calif., MBCustoms/ChevPerf, 40, $1200.
4. (5) 20 Rodney Sanders, Worthington, Minn., MBCustoms/Hatfield, 40, $1000.
5. (6) 91 Joe Duvall, Claremore, Okla., MBCustoms/ChevPerf, 40, $800.
6. (7) 24m Manuel Williams II (R), Fouke, Ark., Bandit/Kraft, 40, $700.
7. (18) 65 Carlos Ahumada Jr. (R), Canutillo, Texas, GRT/BMS, 40, $600.
8. (17) 4 Bo Day (R), Greenville, Texas, MBCustoms/Mullins, 40, $500.
9. (12) 4r Dereck Ramirez, Woodward, Okla., Hughes/Cornett, 40, $450.
10. (19) 20t Jordan Weaver, Woodward, Okla., BlackWidow/ProPower, 40, $350.
11. (10) 20r Bryan Rowland, Woodward, Okla., BlackWidow/ProPower, 40, $375.
12. (8) 23 Logan Robertson, Shamrock, Texas, MBCustoms/Knowles, 40, $350.
13. (9) 24z Zane Ferrell (R), Hermitage, Ark., MBCustoms/ASI, 40, $325.
14. (15) 5 Jon Mitchell, Texarkana, Texas, MBCustoms/Sput’s, 40, $300.
15. (21) 260 Erik Thorne, Baytown, Texas, Calif.M/ChevPerf, 40, $250.
16. (14) 33f Jardin Fuller (R), Memphis, Mo., Hughes/Mullins, 40, $300.
17. (16) 21 Austin Bonner, Elk City, Okla., MBCustoms/Karl, 39, $300.
18. (13) A1 Phil Dixon, Crosby, Texas, Elite/CB, 33, $300.
19. (22) 110 Kelly Buckallew, Memphis, Mo., Rage/Adams, 26, $250.
20. (11) 23 Adam Kates, Tonganoxie, Kan., VanderBuilt/Speedway, 25, $300.
21. (20) 24 Manuel Williams Sr. (R), Fouke, Ark., Bandit/Kraft, 18, $300.
22. (1) 4m Bobby Malchus, Red Oak, Texas, Rocket/Wells, 17, $300.
(R) = Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year contender