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LUCAMA, NC – Tyler Matthews picked up the victory in the first of two Late Model races at Southern National Motorsports Park and made a statement doing so as he added to his lead in the track championship standings.

The victory was redemption for Matthews who broke a tie-rod while leading the Labor Day Classic race at Carteret County Speedway last Sunday after making contact with Maddy Ryan Mulligan.  He started on the pole at Southern National and led just about every lap, beating out Bradley McCaskill and Matt Bowling for the win.

“It’s a stout field and these are the people I like to beat,” Matthews said.  “You’ve got Matt Bowling running for a national championship.  Bradley McCaskill has won everything there is to win I feel like.  I’ve always looked up to those guys.  To outrun them is pretty awesome.

“Tough luck last week at Carteret.  We’re just going down there to win races.  That’s all we’re trying to do the rest of the year is win races.  We’ve got three more this weekend.”

Matthews, who has certainly had a breakthrough season in 2016, added to his championship lead with his win.

“We’ve got it wrapped up as long as we start every race from here on out,” Matthews said. “Not sure anybody can beat us.  It’s pretty great second year in Late Model.  First year, got rookie of the year.  Second year, got hopefully a track championship and running up front for a state title.”

Matthews has scored wins this season at Southern National Motorsports Park, East Carolina Motor Speedway and Carteret County Speedway, making his case for being of the top drivers in the Eastern North Carolina region.

Last year, in his rookie season in Late Model Stock Cars, Matthews took the time to learn – sometimes ruffling feathers in doing so.  This season, Matthews has earned the respect of his peers as he contends and wins races.

“My first year, we had an old car,” Matthews said.  “We didn’t want to jump in head first, we wanted to make sure I could do it.  We’ve made some enemies but I think we’ve got them back on our side and showed them we can do this and belong here.  Outrunning them helps but it’s just crazy.  Maybe we can keep it up.”

Bradley McCaskill finished second in the race while Matt Bowling, TJ Barron and Ricky Jones rounded out the top-five.

Unofficial Results

  1. Tyler Matthews
  2. Bradley McCaskill
  3. Matt Bowling
  4. TJ Barron
  5. Ricky Jones, III
  6. Mike Darne
  7. Paul Williamson
  8. Brenden Queen
  9. Jonathan Findley
  10. Cameron Bowen
  11. David West
  12. Brandon Hobbs
  13. Melvin Langley
  14. Andrew Grady
  15. Trevor Noles
  16. Justin Snow
  17. Eric Winslow
  18. Savannah Beasley
  19. Brad Robbins

Marquis comes from St. Charles, Maryland and has a widespread background in journalism, having covered politics in Washington and Maryland as well as nearly every form of auto racing, including NASCAR, IndyCar, AMA Motocross and IHRA Drag Racing. Now living near Emerald Isle, North Carolina, Marquis covers Late Model Stock Cars and Super Late Models in the Carolinas and Virginia.

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