Racers compete for glory, 30-pound gator trophy

MILTON — Drivers from across the United States and Australia competed March 10 for the 30-pound Gator as the Lucas Oil Southern States Midgets Series held its annual Gator Dirt Nationals at Southern Raceway. Competitive fields in all four classes put on shows for two nights with Saturday’s races for the giant 30-pound gator. Taking home gators on Saturday were Chet Gehrke of the Midgets division, Jimmy Young for the 600 Mini Sprints, Jonathon Joiner for the 604 Crate Late Models and Reese Nowotarski for the Slingshots.

Midget Division

In the Midget feature Chett Gehrke and Chase McDermand battled it out for the Gator. After McDermand almost lapped the entire field on Friday night, Gehrke made the necessary adjustments and stayed ahead of McDermand for the entire feature to claim the Gator. Cody Reed brought out the first two cautions of the race on laps two and three before debris brought out two more cautions. After McDermand, Reed Salony finished third followed by Andy Baugh and Jesse Vermillion to round out the top five. Friday night, McDermand stood out finishing a couple of seconds ahead of Gehrke followed by Baugh, Otto Scrape, and Ryan Fowler. Fowler, the former Open Wheeled Modified Champion as Southern, received the opportunity to work with a midget team for the first time.

600 Mini Sprint Division

In the 600 Mini Sprint feature Saturday night, Jim Young show dominated the race. Young’s closest competitor was Robby Hoffman, who finished second on both nights. Saturday night, Young had to wait to put his hands on the Gator as a six-car pileup blocked the entire track on the first lap leading to a complete restart. Tyler Walker, running third at the time, got loose coming off of turn four and his spin resulted in five more cars crashing to bring out the red flag. No one was injured in the accident. The delay did nothing to disrupt the rhythm Young had found Saturday. Rounding out the top five Saturday were Micha McCall, Tim Nye, and Zack Corski. Friday night belonged to McCall, who started from the tail end of the field, to take the lead on lap 13 passing Robby Hoffman. Rounding out the top five Friday were Young, Walker, and David Hall.

604 Crate Late Models Division

In the 604 Crate Late Models, a couple of early cautions shook up the entire field. Chris O’Connor and Jonathon Joiner immediately took a big lead at the drop of the green flag but saw their lead disappear when Tucker Byrd brought out the first caution. On the subsequent restart, Kevin Jernigan came to a stop on the back stretch for caution two, while a second incident involving Benny Boudreaux, Blake Martin, and Matt Chavers occurred in turn four. Restart number three on lap three involved the leaders. Joiner got a great run off of turn two on the high side and was challenging O’Connor in turn three. As both cars entered turn four, drivers made contact leading to O’Connor spinning and bringing out the third straight caution. O’Connor had to restart at the tail end of the field and Joiner was sent to the very back for causing the spin leaving both drivers 17 laps to get back to the front. Joiner picked his spots and managed to take the lead from James Ward in the waning laps of the feature, while O’Connor came home in third. Martin and Boudreaux rounded out the top five.

Slingshot division

In the Slingshot division, Washington State’s Reese Nowotarski dominated from the start of Friday and Saturday’s features. Nowotarski finished both features will almost a straightaway advantage both nights ahead of Abby Cauley. Rounding out Saturday’s top five were Levi Nelson, Brent Cartwright, and Dakota Fox. On Friday it was Cartwright, Fox, and Keegan Wright rounding out the top five.

Coming up

Southern Raceway

March 9 Heat Results

600 Mini Sprints

Heat 1

1. Tyler Walker
2. Rick Barrengare
3. Zack Corski
4. Bobby Z
5. Tim Nye

Heat 2

1. Jim Young
2. Robby Hoffman
3. Paige Moss
4. Freddie McCall Jr.
5. David Hall

Midgets

Heat 1

1. Jesse Vermillion
2. Chase McDermond
3. Reed Salony
4. Andy Baugh
5. Otto Scrape

Heat 2

1. Blake Vermillion
2. Rohan Beasley
3. Ryan Fowler
4. Paige Moss
5. Bob Jordan

Slingshots

Heat 1

1. Reese Nowotarski
2. Abby Cauley
3. Keegan Wright
4. Dakota Fox
5. Brent Cartwright

604 Crate Late Model Qualifying

1. Chris O’Connor 15.570 seconds
2. Jonathon Joiner 15.577
3. Kyle Bryant 16.393
4. James Ward 16.585
5. Matt Chavers 16.585

604 Crate Late Model

Heat 1

1. Chris O’Connor
2. James Ward
3. Kyle Bryant
4. Matt Chavers
5. Jonathon Joiner

March 10 Heat Results

600 Mini Sprints

Heat 1

1. Jimmy Young
2. Robby Hoffman
3. Tyler Walker
4. Tim Nye
5. Freddie McCall

Heat 2 

1. Bobby Z
2. Zack Corski
3. Eddie Moss
4. Ray Lynne Moss
5. Dirk Miller

Midgets

Heat 1  

1. Chase McDermond 
2. Chett Gehrke 
3. Andy Baugh 
4. Jesse Vermillion
5. Otto Scrape

Heat 2

1. Reed Salony
2. Frank Beck
3. Blake Vermillion
4. Cody Beard
5. Paige Moss

Slingshots

Heat 1

1. Brent Cartwright
2. Kyndall Kimmons
3. Dakota Fox
4. Lillie Strehlow

Heat 2

1. Reese Nowotarski
2. Levi Nelson
3. Keegan Wright
4. Abby Cauley (DNS)

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Racers compete for glory, 30-pound gator trophy