Not Even the Rain Could Derail Kres VanDyke at Kingsport

Even the rain couldn’t stop Kres VanDyke on Friday night at Kingsport Speedway.

The driver of the red No. 15 Chevrolet raced to his eighth straight Late Model Stock feature at the 3/8-mile concrete track. VanDyke grabbed the lead over Chase Dixon on a lap 11 restart after leader Ashton Higgins crashed.

VanDyke, who had started fourth after an inversion of the top-five qualifiers, led until a lap 42 rain delay. Dixon briefly challenged VanDyke once the race restarted, but he didn’t have enough to keep up with his fellow Abingdon, Virginia resident over the final laps. The final margin of victory was .817 second.

Overall, it was VanDyke’s ninth win of the season. It is one shy of the single-season record of 10 Late Model Stock wins set by Nate Monteith during 2011-12 seasons.

Dixon, driving the black No. 07 Chevrolet, raced on to finish second. Wayne Hale in the No. 19 Toyota was third. Hale held off a challenge from defending track champion and fast qualifier Nik Williams. Dillon Hodge, a Sullivan South High School senior, finished fifth.

1. Kres VanDyke
2. Chase Dixon
3. Wayne Hale
4. Nik Williams
5. Dillon Hodge
6. Keith Helton
7. Allen Hawkins
8. Kyle Barnes
9. Rick Pannell
10. Chris Tunnell
11. Ashton Higgins
12. Matt Smith
13. Greg Bohanon Jr

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