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Kres VanDyke Streaks to Kingsport Speedway Late Model Wins Record

Kres VanDyke raced his way into the Kingsport Speedway record books Friday night with his latest sweep of twin Late Model Stock features.

VanDyke, driver of the red No. 15 Chevrolet, led all 30 laps of the first feature. Then, he charged from a sixth-place start to grab the top spot in just eight laps to win the second 30-lap race.

They were his record-setting ninth and 10th consecutive wins. VanDyke won for the 11th time overall this season on the 3/8-mile concrete oval, setting a new record for single-season wins since the track reopened in 2009. It broke Nate Monteith’s record of 10 wins set in 2011 and tied in 2012. Wade Day has the all-time track record of 14 wins for a season.

“I feel so blessed to be a part of this and to experience what a great year this has been,” VanDyke said. “It’s felt like another set of hands besides mine on the (steering) wheel every race. It’s made all the right turns and we’ve made all the right moves, including the adjustments on the car.”

Wayne Hale drove his No. 19 Toyota to a second-place finish in the Late Model opener with Chase Dixon in the No. 07 Chevrolet taking third. Allen Rich and Keith Helton rounded out the top five.

With an inversion of the top-eight finishers from the first race, it looked like VanDyke might have a challenge in the second feature. However, outside pole sitter Kyle Barnes dropped to the back of the field and then defending track champion Nik Williams got caught behind a slower car.

It allowed VanDyke to quickly move to second. He battled side-by-side with Helton for a couple of laps before making the pass on lap 8. Once out front, there was little chance of catching him.

“I’m sure those other guys want to come out here and get a victory, but we come out here to win,” VanDyke said. “I don’t care if it’s every race of the season, we try to get every race we can get.”

Williams emerged from the pack to finish second. He felt his No. 32 Chevrolet was fast enough to compete with VanDyke if not for the tough start.

“That was crazy. It seemed like the first lap he was out front and I was stuck back in fourth,” Williams said. “These inversions, you never know who you’re going to start behind. That’s part of it. It’s racing.”

Hale was third with Dixon and Helton rounding out the top five. Hale, a Bluff City racer, was happy to score two podium finishes.

“It was a good night. A few weeks ago, we had twins and my car was torn all to pieces,” Hale said. “It was bent from front to rear. We’ve worked our guts out to get it back together. We’re gaining on it. We just have to go back and figure what we’re missing.”

LATE MODEL STOCK
(Race No. 1 — 30 laps)

  1. Kres VanDyke
  2. Wayne Hale
  3. Chase Dixon
  4. Allen Rich
  5. Keith Helton
  6. Nik Williams
  7. Kyle Barnes
  8. Rick Pannell
  9. Matt Smith
  10. Chris Tunnell

LATE MODEL STOCK
(Race No. 2 — 30 laps)

  1. Kres VanDyke
  2. Nik Williams
  3. Wayne Hale
  4. Chase Dixon
  5. Keith Helton
  6. Allen Rich
  7. Kyle Barnes
  8. Rick Pannell
  9. Matt Smith
  10. Chris Tunnell

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