MILTON — Patience was a factor Saturday night at Southern Raceway for new Pure Stock points leader Jessica Donaldson.
Donaldson kept clear of the eight issues, bringing out caution flags to win the Pure Stock feature. Carl Dodson found himself in the pits after being caught in a mishap on lap five.
Entering the night, Donaldson and Dodson were tied for the points lead until the heat races.
Dodson took a short-lived lead in the standings as he finished one spot ahead of Donaldson in their heat race.
There were car parts and pieces everywhere, and the 20-lap feature had to be shortened to 12 laps due to the race exceeding its 30-minute limit.
Bubba Fletcher took the early lead on lap two and held it until lap 10, when he and William Arnett spun coming off turn four while racing back to the caution.
With a roar of approval, Donaldson took the lead and held on as a spin by Devin Lenior set up a one-lap race to the finish.
Donaldson had no trouble holding off Adam Ellison, who finished a close second.
Rounding out the top five were Wayne Plunkett, Jacob Myers, and Christopher Brown in that order.
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John Cody showed why he leads the 2016 Vintage standings.
Cody took the lead at the drop of the green flag and held off 2015 Vintage champion James Ward for the win.
Rounding out the top five were Aleck Alford, in third, followed by Justin Scott and Mike Neihaus.
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After the Vintage feature, the top six finishers took to the track for a six-pack shootout.
Ward won the six-lap bonus race without any trouble, as Cody’s car had to be pushed off the track before the start of the race.
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The NeSmith Street Stock offered race fans plenty of action on the night with eight cautions, but all of them occurred behind the car of Stuart Wilson.
Wilson led, wire to wire, for the win.
Most of the cars racing behind him were not as fortunate.
Kevin Mitchell, who was involved in a spin on lap 10, recovered to finish second, followed by Bo Bailey, Justin Hamilton and Justin Abel, to round out the top five.
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In the Bay Area Modified feature, Jason Barnhill took the lead on lap two and never looked back.
Barnhill took advantage of Eli Williams’ misfortune as he spun on lap two while trying to cut the corner too tight.
Kyle Rutowski challenged Barnhill for the win a couple of times before finishing second by Chris Singleton, Josh Goodwin and Jason Messick, rounding out the top five.
In a special hot-dog race at intermission, the winners were Bo Bailey in the Street Stock and Eddie Rose in the Pure Stock.
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COMING UP
Southern Raceway will feature Sprint cars on Saturday and Sunday, along with regular-series racing action.
A two-day pass for Labor Day weekend costs $25. Gates open 4:30 p.m. Saturday and 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Racing begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Fans attending the races can enjoy an autograph session with the Sprint car drivers.
See www.southernraceway.com for more information about Southern Raceway.
Pure Stock Heat 1: 1. Eddie Rose, 2. Tommy Lowery, 3. Bennie Kimmons, 4. Ryan Clark and 5. David Perritt.
Pure Stock Heat 2: 1. Bubba Fletcher, 2. Christopher Brown, 3. Stephanie Jaye, 4. Tyler Taber and 5. Dusti Burger.
Pure Stock Heat 3: 1. Jacob Myers, 2. Gueston Rogers, 3. Hunter Baker, 4. Wayne Plunkett and 5. Devin Lenoir.
Pure Stock Heat 4: 1. Carl Dodson, 2. Jessica Donaldson, 3. Hunter Ward, 4. Michael Born and 5. Roy Brooks.
Street Stock Heat 1: 1. Jim Jarvis, 2. Brandon Kilpatrick, 3. Aaron Huffstutler, 4. Tim Wetzel and 5. Taras Hodivsky.
Street Stock Heat 2: 1. Kyle Kichler, 2. Bo Bailey, 3. Justin Able, 4. JC Wilson and 5. Kevin Mitchell.
Street Stock Heat 3: 1. Stuart Wilson, 2. Justin Hamilton, 3. Tim Fowler, 4. Blake Salakas and 5. Stacey Wilson.
Vintage Heat 1: 1. Aleck Alford, 2. Blake Martin, 3. Mike Neihaus and 4. Billy Roberson.
Vintage Heat 2: 1. John Cody, 2. James Ward, 3. Chris Bayhi and 4. Justin Scott.
Bay Area Modifieds Heat 1: 1. Eli Williams, 2. Kyle Rutowski, 3. Thumper Grice, 4. Josh Goodwin and 5. Jason Lockwood.
Bay Area Modifieds Heat 2: 1. Jesse Barnhill, 2. Jason Messick, 3. Chris Singleton, 4. Russ Harris and 5. Jason Barnhill.
COMING UP
Southern Raceway will feature Sprint cars on Saturday and Sunday, along with regular-series racing action.
A two-day pass for Labor Day weekend costs $25. Gates open 4:30 p.m. Saturday and 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Racing begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Fans attending the races can enjoy an autograph session with the Sprint car drivers.
See www.southernraceway.com for more information about Southern Raceway.
HEAT RACE RESULTS
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Donaldson takes Pure Stock points lead with win