Mark McFarland and Mike Darne picked up feature wins Saturday night at the Old Dominion Speedway in the Twin 50 lap feature for the Bailey’s NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Late Model Stock Cars. The win was the fourth of the season for McFarland, who now trails point leader Dustin Storm by 16 points with two events remaining in the NASCAR Regional chase, and four races left in the season at ODS. For Darne, it was a popular win as it was his first ever in a Late Model event after winning several races throughout his career in Grand Stocks and Mini Stocks. The first event saw McFarland take over the top spot halfway through the event after starting from the fifth position in the 26 car field. That feat was even more impressive as he had to do it without the benefit of a caution period as the entire 50 lap feature was run in less than 20 minutes. "It’s been a long time since the last win and it’s good to be back," said Mcfarland as he stood in victory lane. "The car got a bit loose there at the end, so we will have to make s few changes before the next one," he added. Rounding out the top 5 were Mike Darne, early leader Earl Case, point leader Dustin Storm, and Eric Corbett. The second fifty lapper was a bit more interesting as it took 3 restarts to finally get the feature underway. The yellow flew twice as spins occurred in turn two and the back straight as the field attempted to sort itself out. But the third time was the charm as Darne pushed his machine out in front as the pack entered turn one. His push for the win was not without a fight as Earl Case filled up his rear view mirror throughout the event, looking for his first ever feature win in a Late Model as well. Case was able to get along side of Darne on several occasions, but Darne was able to hold him off. As they crossed the stripe at the end, Case had a good run on the inside, but came up a bit short. Following Case in third was Mike Southard, followed by Storm, and Corbett. "I want to thank Earl (Case) for running me clean the entire race. I will return the favor the next time we race together," Darne said in victory lane. "I also want to thank the Keel brothers for giving me this ride. They have given me everything to go out and race. This is not even my car. They furnished me all top notch equipment and it has paid off," he added.
The Redman Fleet Service Grand Stocks also had twin features scheduled, and when it was over, point leader Jimmy Hardin and Chris Donnelly picked up the feature wins. The win was Hardin’s seventh win and Donnelly’s fourth. With his win and fourth place finish in the second event, Hardin now leads the point chase by 18 points over Willard Lawrence and Jerry Black, who are tied for second.
Once again, the D&K Electric / Aldie Construction Mini Stock point leader has changed. With the misfortune that Bill Briggs and Garry Klaus suffered in a grinding crash on the backstraight, defending track champ Steve Loughman has now put himself back in the top spot. He is tied with Adam Flis for the lead, but has two more wins than Flis, thus giving him the "official" points lead. The 30 lap feature event for the Mini Stocks was won by Vince Lanagan, who moved over from the Speedway Sportsman division several weeks ago. Langan has had a couple of tough years since starting his career at ODS, so this win was an emotional win for him. He started from the rear of the field, but worked his way through the 19 car pack, dodged the numerous crashes, and took home the win. Three time feature winner Sean Dawson came home second, followed by James Pack, Kieth Machliet, and Junior Amburgey.
Scott Lunceford, the defending track champ in the Gaston Automotive Speedway Sportsman division, picked up his first win in 2001 in the 25 lap feature for the division. Lunceford led flag to flag, beating James Lucas and Les Miranda to the stripe.
Kevin Yeatts from Powhatan Va. picked up his fourth win of the season in the 30 lap INEX Legends division. Yeatts started on the outside of row one, and beat polesitter Craig Goess Jr. from Greenville, NC into turn one, and led the entire feature. Finishing second was two time feature winner Tommy Morgan, followed by Kyle Hendershott, David Powell, and Ricky Losh.
Next Saturday night, the Bailey’s Late Model Stock Cars will be featured in a 200 lap event. Also on the schedule will be a 50 lap feature for the Grand Stocks, 30 laps for the Mini Stocks, and 25 laps for the Speedway Sportsman. In addition, the Champ Karts and the Mini Cups will have 20 lap features. Lustine Chevrolet Quick Qualifying begins at 5:15 PM, with racing for the Champs and Mini Cups starting at 6:30 PM. Stock car racing will begin at 7:00 PM.