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| WHITNEY LAIL AFTER THE FLAG (PHOTO BY SHERRI STEARNS) |
HMS driver climbs her career ladder
By Tom Gillispie
Whitney
Lail of Hildebran took her first Super Truck win Saturday and then did
something that fans in attendance will probably remember forever.
She
climbed the fence to get the checkered flag. Lail says the climb was planned.
“The
night I got my pole (Aug. 2), I told the flagman (Jason Sherrill) not to come
to me if I ever won; I’d come to him,” she said.
Why
climb the stand?
“I
wanted to do something other than a burnout, so I climbed the fence,” she said.
“I’ve been doing this (racing trucks) three years, and this is my first win.”
She
said there was a little drama during the race.
“We
had a caution, and on the restart, I was third,” she said. “First and second
(Spencer Boyd and Lee Queen) kinda had a fight and wrecked.”
She
managed to hold off the field the rest of the way.
On
the importance of the win, she said, “It’s a big relief to prove to everybody that, even though I’m a
girl, it doesn't mean I can't win.
 |
| WHITNEY LAIL AND DAD JEFF. (PHOTO BY SHERRI STEARNS) |
Other results last Saturday
Tal
Davidson was second in the truck race, with Queen, Boyd and Zach Hale filling
out a five-truck field.
Chase
Pollard of Taylorsville won the 4-Cylinder race from the pole, followed by
Eddie Gilbert, Matt Elledge, Dennis Trivette and Rob Lewis.
Dillon
Bassett took his fourth Late Model win of the season, all in the Paramount Kia
Big 10 Challenge. Josh Berry was second, followed by Matt Piercy, Dalton
Sargeant and Bret Holmes.
Points
leader Taylor Stricklin won the 13-car Limited Late Model race from the pole,
followed by Casey Pierce, Trent Barnes, Monty Cox and Evan Duggins.
Points
leader Kevin Eby of Lenoir took the Street Stock race. Wayne Edwards was
second, followed by Jonathon Smith, Cody DeMarmels and Kevin Townsend.
Trivia question
Did any drivers win from the pole on March 15 (the second
week of the 2014 season)?
If you go Saturday…
• Because of an earlier rainout, two Late Model races are scheduled,
with the Limiteds, Street Stocks and Renegades also racing.
• Grandstands open at 4:45, followed by qualifying. Autographs
are at 6, with pre-race at 6:30 and racing at 7.
• Admission is $11 for most adults, $9 for teens and seniors,
free for kids 12 and under.
HMS schedule
• The Bobby Isaac Memorial race is set for Aug. 30, and
that 150-lap race will count as one of the Paramount Kia Challenge races.
• On Sept. 6, twin races are set for Late Models, Limiteds
and Street Stocks. A single 4-Cylinder race is scheduled.
• On Sept 13, Championship Night, they run a 100-lap
Challenge race, plus Limited Late Models, Street Stocks, trucks, Renegades and
4-Cylinders.
Bobby Isaac trivia
Bobby Isaac, the great race-car driver, started his career
and ended it at Hickory (Motor) Speedway. The Catawba native died Aug. 14, 1977
and was buried two days later. That was the day Elvis Presley died.
Worth noting
• Whitney Lail’s win puts her two points ahead of Spencer
Boyd in the Super Truck standings, and Josh Berry regained the lead in Late
Models.
• Chase Pollard almost had a big Saturday, winning the
4-Cylinder race and winning the pole for the Street Stock race. He finished
second in the Street Stock race but was disqualified. “Our tread width on the
front tires was an eighth of an inch too wide,” he said Sunday.
• Hickory’s points races are pretty close. The leaders are
Matt Elledge (by two in 4-Cylinders), Bob Park (by 12 in Classic Sportsman), Josh
Berry (by six in Late Model), Taylor Stricklin (by 20 in Limiteds), Kenneth
Roberts (by eight in Renegades), Kevin Eby (by 24 points in Street Stocks), Whitney
Lail (by two in Super Trucks); Dillon Bassett (by six in Paramount Kia
Challenge).
NASCAR’s state
leaders
Hickory has five drivers in NASCAR’s Division I standings
in North Carolina. Dillon Bassett, a four-time Late Model winner this year at
HMS, leads the standings. Josh Berry is 10th, with William Byron 15th,
part-timer Dalton Sargeant 19th and Austin McDaniel 20th.
PASS South update
Newton’s Brandon Setzer finished third in Saturday’s PASS
South race — the Southern National 150 — at South Boston (Va.) Speedway.
Hickory’s Tyler Church, who went into the race as the PASS
South points leader, finished eighth. The winner was Preston Peltier, Church’s
car owner.
Worth quoting
Whitney Lail, after her Super Truck win on Saturday: “I
was excited for my pole, but this
tops it.”
Trivia answer
Josh Berry (Late Model), Kevin Townsend (Street Stocks)
and Spencer Boyd (Super Trucks) all won from the pole on March 15.
Tom Gillispie, the author of “Angel in Black: Remembering
Dale Earnhardt Sr.,” writes about racing at Hickory Motor Speedway for HDR
Sports. He can be reached at nc3022@yahoo.com.
Contact: I can be reached at tgilli52@gmail.com or nc3022@yahoo.com. Also, my Twitter handle is EDITORatWORK.
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