Southern Pro Challenge PR
Season ending racing at Lanier National Speedway, for the Pro Challenge South Region, came to a close Saturday night. But not before Jacob Wallace, Ryan Heavner, Brady Boswell and Trevor Hoek put on a show for the fans in the final of the 3 race special event. Although Wallace ended up in victory lane, he made comment that the 77 of Heavner or the 2 car of Boswell could have just as well won the race.
With last Sunday's racing being action filled, this past Saturday night proved to be just as exciting. The start of the 8-lap heat race had Trevor Hoek on the pole with Anderson Bowen outside. At the drop of the green the 84 car of Hoek encountered ignition problems which somewhat scattered the field and enabled the 77 of Heavner to dive to the bottom and take the lead coming off turn 2 with Bowen, Wallace and Boswell following him to the start/finish line. Tight racing between these 4 made a close finish giving Heavner the victory with Boswell, Wallace and Bowen in close pursuit.
With the young and talented Heavner on the pole for the 25-lap feature and South Region champion Boswell on the outside, green flag racing was very intense. Heavner maintained the lead at the start but not without stiff competition from Boswell and Wallace. With tight racing taking place within these 3 cars Boswell spun coming off turn 4 bringing out the only caution of the night on lap 10 sending him to the rear of the field. Once racing resumed, it was Heavner and Wallace battling for the lead with Boswell coming to the front fast. By lap 14 Boswell had reclaimed the second position and applied pressure, once again, to Heavner. Lap 17 had Heavner showing extreme driving abilities after bouncing off the front straightaway wall but yet keeping himself in competition. With Boswell right behind him during this encounter the 32 truck of Wallace closed in and took the lead on lap 18. Leaving Heavner and Boswell to battle for second. However, the sleeper in the field was the 84 of Trevor Hoek as he was closing in fast on the leaders and overtook Boswell for third on lap 21. With Wallace fighting to hold off Heavner and Hoek and Boswell battling for third, the final laps made for a good closure of the season. Giving fans something to cheer about as Wallace crossed the finish line ahead of Heavner with Boswell taking Hoek by a nose at the line.
During post tech inspection Wallace's dad, Tracy, told Heavner's dad, Roger, they were lucky to come out with the win as the 77 and the 2 of Boswell were on top of their game tonight. However, with the 77 hittting the wall and still able to come home with a second place finish shows Ryan's ability to control an ill handling racecar. Which was the difference between first and second on a cool night in Georgia after traveling from North Carolina.
Anderson Bowen didn't start the feature event as he suffered a broken thumb during last week's accident in the second feature. With him running up front in the heat race but having to give up positions due to the discomfort in his hand, he felt it best not to run the feature. Melina Rolo's bad luck continued as she was sidelined on lap 19 when a fire issue occurred in her engine compartment. Austin Raines continues to show improvement each and every week running right along with the leaders.
