World Short Track Championship Begins with Gresham, Lussier, Hammer, Baker in Victory Lane
CONCORD, NC (Oct. 31, 2024) — The ninth annual World Short Track Championship kicked off at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Thursday night with the opening round of on-track activity for all 532 entries in the 10-division program.
Following practice sessions for all cars, four divisions took to the track for the first Championship Feature events of the weekend. Here's how each played out:
Mario Gresham Opens Ninth World Short Track Championship With Pro Late Model Triumph
By Matt Skipper
Mario Gresham opened up the ninth annual World Short Track Championship as his way to make up significant ground from problems suffered at the start of Thursday’s program.
Dealing with carburetor problems in his Qualifying session, the Rome, GA driver’s worries were withdrawn when he got to work in the Crate Racin’ USA Fox Factory Pro Late Model Feature by leading every lap to win at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
Madison, AL driver Dalton Dowdy brought the field to the opening flag of the Feature but lost the lead immediately as Winchester, VA driver Davin Kaiser and Gresham flew by on the top side of the track.
Kaiser got clear of Dowdy down the backstretch, while Gresham was stuck next to him. Going into Turn 3, Gresham slung his No.21 Late Model down to the bottom to edge Kaiser to the line on the opening circuit.
Gresham kept the momentum rolling to clear Kaiser as Ellenville, NY driver Brock Pinkerous followed his tire marks to take over second place.
While “Bam Bam” used any open space around the 0.4-mile surface to close the distance, Gresham extended his lead to over two seconds on the 14-year-old driver.
Taking the checkered flag of the World Short Track Championship in a caution-free race, Gresham wheeled his way to victory in Thursday’s main event as he looks to mirror the drive in Friday’s Heat races for the Pro Late Models.
“I knew we had to go early,” Gresham said. “I think we qualified dead last for tomorrow, the carburetor wouldn’t run and had some problems. I was hoping to race to make sure everything was good on it. But once we made it through the first lap, I knew we were ok. The car was really good tonight.”
Pinkerous went on to finish the night in second, and Tyrone, GA driver Jody Knowles finished on the podium in a climb from an eighth-place starting spot.
Salisbury, NC driver Colby Quick finished fourth with an 11-position climb from a 15th-place beginning. Lake Elmo, MN’s Matthew Larson - son of World of Outlaws CASE Late Models competitor Brent Larson - finished his night by climbing up four positions for a fifth-place result.
UP NEXT: The Crate Racin’ USA Fox Factory Pro Late Models return to the racetrack on Friday, Oct. 27, for the second day of the ninth annual World Short Track Championship at The Dirt track at Charlotte.
For tickets to the World Short Track Championship, CLICK HERE.
Feature (15 Laps): 1. 21-Mario Gresham[4]; 2. 555-Brock Pinkerous[5]; 3. 66-Jody Knowles[8]; 4. 5-Colby Quick[15]; 5. 8-Matthew Larson[9]; 6. 22W-Jimmy Webb[11]; 7. 6-Dillon Brown[12]; 8. 24-Jacob Brown[7]; 9. 515-Bubba Roling[16]; 10. 22T-Jimmy Thomas[6]; 11. 11K-Davin Kaiser[3]; 12. 18G-Ricky Greene[14]; 13. 88D-Dalton Dowdy[1]; 14. P4-John Price[13]; 15. 98-Matt Dooley[10]; 16. 2S-Layton Sullivan[18]; 17. (DNS) 47-Gavin Cowan; 18. (DNS) 23-Beckham Malone; 19. (DNS) 00R-John Ruggiero Jr; 20. (DNS) 127-Austin Yarbrough; 21. (DNS) G4-Trent Ivey
Donovan Lussier Opens Ninth World Short Track Championship with DIRTcar Sportsman Feature Win
Fifteen Feature wins. An Airborne Park Speedway track championship. And now, a Feature win at The Dirt Track at Charlotte for Donovan Lussier.
The 20-year-old from St-Denis-sur-Richelieu, QC, made the 1,000-mile trip south to the famed dirt track in Concord, NC, to compete in the World Short Track Championship for the first time in his career and wasted little time making his mark, scoring the win in Thursday night’s VP Racing DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Feature.
Lussier took the green flag from outside Row 3 in the 15-lap main event. Working the middle lane around the 4/10-mile oval, Lussier advanced four spots in the opening lap to move to second and set his sights on leader and fellow Quebec-native Jeffrey Lapalme.
The two crossed the start/finish line less than 0.2 seconds apart. Lussier charged hard into Turn 1 and used the momentum from the fast middle groove to pull ahead of Lapalme at the exit of Turn 2.
Lapalme dove deep into Turn 3 in an effort to defend the spot but could not outmuscle Lussier’s speed. Lussier then completed the pass out of Turn 4 and crossed the stripe to lead Lap 2.
From there, it was smooth sailing for Lussier out front as he led the rest of the distance unchallenged to claim his first career DIRTcar Sportsman Series win in his first-ever appearance at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
“Starting on the outside there helped me,” Lussier said. “I didn’t know if the groove was good, but once I passed a couple cars, I knew I could stick right there in the middle and slide up on exit and be good and fast.”
Lapalme held on to finish second while David Rogers completed the podium in third. Cody Ochs drove from eighth on the starting grid to finish fourth while Savannah Laflair rounded out the top five.
UP NEXT
The VP Racing DIRTcar Sportsman return to action at The Dirt Track at Charlotte on Friday, Nov. 1, with a round of Heat Races which will set a portion of Saturday’s Championship Feature lineup.
Tickets for the event are on sale at DIRTcar.com/WorldShortTrack and will be available at the track on race day. If you can’t be there to watch in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.
RESULTS
Championship Feature (15 Laps): 1. 61L-Donovan Lussier[6]; 2. 88-Jeffrey Lapalme[1]; 3. 44-David Rogers[2]; 4. 02-Cody Ochs[8]; 5. 16X-Savannah Laflair[4]; 6. 165K-Karston King[3]; 7. 52-Jessica Power[5]; 8. 14-Payton Talbot[14]; 9. 80-Joshua Jock[20]; 10. 32C-Carter Crooker[10]; 11. 49-Chris Jakubiak[19]; 12. 38JR-Jason Parkhurst Jr[9]; 13. 01-Zachary Buff[18]; 14. 26-Derrick McGrew[17]; 15. 10-Darin Gallagher[12]; 16. 35T-Cameron Tuttle[13]; 17. 23-David Dickey[16]; 18. 20X-Kevin Ridley[15]; 19. 6W-Kyle Whitney[11]; 20. 57-Ray Hall Jr[7]
ON THE HAMMER: Kyle Hammer Holds on for DIRTcar UMP Modified Championship Feature Victory
Hammer begins World Short Track Championship Week with an impressive win
By Alex Nieten
Kyle Hammer put the hammer down on Thursday night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte as the ninth World Short Track Championship came to life.
The Clinton, IL-native entered the Summit Racing Equipment DIRTcar UMP Modified Championship Feature hungry for his first win of the year. A front row starting spot put that opportunity within his grasp, and Hammer capitalized.
A strong first lap allowed Hammer to get the lead early before things got a little dicey in traffic late, but ultimately he held on and led every lap on his way to The Dirt Track at Charlotte Victory Lane.
“I felt like we were pretty good there,” Hammer said. “Until one time in Turn 4, I thought I was knocking the wall down, lost the air off the nose behind one of the lapped cars and went sliding across the track. But I felt like we were good. I don’t know how far we were ahead. I think we have a good car and something to work on.”
Hammer became the seventh different winner of the DIRTcar UMP Modified Thursday Championship main event. He’s the first from the “Land of Lincoln” to top the event.
Pole-sitter Gary Dillon got the initial jump out of Turn 4 when the green flag waved on the 15-lapper, but Hammer ripped the top side of Turns 1 and 2 to lead down the back straightaway. Michael Leach slipped by Dillon in Turns 3 and 4 to snag the runner-up spot.
Hammer wasted no time growing his advantage north of a second in the opening circuits, but it wouldn’t be an easy cruise to Victory Lane as lapped traffic became a factor late. With four laps remaining, Leach cut Hammer’s lead down under seven tenths of a second as Hammer fought dirty air.
Right when the margin between first and second tightened, Hammer managed to clear a couple lapped cars just in time and was able to drive away to victory and start his World Short Track Championship on a high note. Michael Leach and Will Krup completed the podium after Krup fended off a late surge from Cole Falloway.
A little further back, three-time Summit Racing Equipment DIRTcar UMP Modified Championship Feature winner, Kyle Strickler, put on a show. The “High Side Tickler” charged all the way from the tail of the field (20th) to a top five without the help of a caution.
UP NEXT: The Summit Racing Equipment DIRTcar UMP Modifieds are back in action at Charlotte on Friday, Nov. 1 with Heat Races before Last Chance Showdowns and their $4,000-to-win finale on Saturday. For tickets, CLICK HERE.
If you can’t make it to the track, don’t miss a lap on DIRTVision.
RESULTS:
Championship Feature (15 Laps): 1. 45-Kyle Hammer[2]; 2. 00-Michael Leach[3]; 3. K9-Will Krup[4]; 4. 66-Cole Falloway[5]; 5. 8-Kyle Strickler[20]; 6. 12R-Ty Rhoades[8]; 7. 18-Charlie Mefford[11]; 8. 8A-Austin Holcombe[6]; 9. 5-Jonathan Taylor[14]; 10. 82-Gary Dillon[1]; 11. 88-Matt Crafton[18]; 12. 35-Carder Miller[19]; 13. 21-Taylor Cook[13]; 14. 7-Evan Taylor[10]; 15. 44-Dave Hess Jr[7]; 16. 84-Ryan Toole[17]; 17. 25-Greg Belyea[12]; 18. 6-Ryan Ayers[9]; 19. (DNS) 5T-Drake Troutman; 20. (DNS) 31G-Stephen Pedulla
Slater Baker Wins DIRTcar Pro Stock Feature on Opening Night of Ninth World Short Track Championship
In his first career appearance at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, Slater Baker is taking a trophy from the World Short Track Championship back home to Gloversville, NY.
The 27-year-old Capital Region driver scored his first career DIRTcar Pro Stock Series win Thursday night, leading every lap of the MSD Pro Stock main event from the pole of the starting grid.
Baker was forced to survive several restarts en route to the win. In his own words, “It was just stay up front, and don’t let them by.”
Originally scheduled for 15 laps, an incident in Turn 3 brought out the red flag with 8 laps complete, prompting officials to declare the race official due to time constraints.
UP NEXT
The MSD DIRTcar Pro Stocks return to action at The Dirt Track at Charlotte on Friday, Nov. 1, with a round of Heat Races which will set a portion of Saturday’s Championship Feature lineup.
Tickets for the event are on sale at DIRTcar.com/WorldShortTrack and will be available at the track on race day. If you can’t be there to watch in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.
RESULTS
Championship Feature (8 Laps): 1. 9B-Slater Baker[1]; 2. 75-Gary Silkey[2]; 3. 54S-Zachary Sorrentino[3]; 4. 771-Jim Duncan[5]; 5. 09-Shawn Perez Sr[6]; 6. 63-Ryan Crellin[7]; 7. 72G-Denis Gauvreau[9]; 8. 48-Jocelyn Roy[10]; 9. 6C-Brian Carter[4]; 10. 4M-Jordan Modiano[8]; 11. 2H-Luke Horning[13]; 12. 2-Pete Stefanski[17]; 13. 8L-Marc Lalonde[16]; 14. 09J-Shawn Perez Jr[18]; 15. 28-Philip DeFiglio[15]; 16. 57W-Joe Wilson[11]; 17. 9-Shane Henderson[14]; 18. 921-Eric Jean Louis[12]; 19. 17-Marc Peladeau[19]; 20. 177-Chris Stalker[20]
Photo credit — Chris Dolack
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