Augie Grill claims Georgia Spring Nationals

Augie Grill gave himself a bit of a handicap on the very first lap but came back to complete the comeback on Saturday night in the Pro Late Model division at Cordele Motor Speedway.

The Georgia Spring Nationals 100 was the first night of the new management group at the former Watermelon Capital Speedway with new owners Greg Noland and general manager Ricky Brooks.

Grill spun on the first lap but was given his fifth place starting spot back as a lap was not completed. The incident began when Hudson Bulger stacked up in front of him.

GREEN at Cordele for The 4th annual Georgia Spring Nationals! ✅

Immediately we have a caution with Augie Grill going around in turn one.

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— Racing America (@RacingAmerica) March 31, 2024

Grill first took the lead on Lap 20 but then lost the spot with 19 to go. A caution led to Chris Davidson taking the lead from Dutton and Grill following into second.

They ran 1-2 until five laps to go when Grill took the lead on the backstretch and drove away at a track he has quickly become fond of.

“I love this place. I’ve only been here five times now and I’ve won twice,” said Grill in victory lane on the Racing America broadcast. “Hats off to you guys. You’ve got this place cleaned up. Thanks for all the fans for coming up. We hope we made it exciting for you.

“I didn’t want that late caution, but that’s how racing goes. It was fun racing with Chris [Davidson] and the 32 car [of Dutton]. I didn’t want to work that hard, but that made it fun.”

Next up for Cordele Motor Speedway is the Spring Showdown, which features 50 laps for the Pro Trucks. Pro Late Models return to Southern Georgia on June 29. Races air on Racing America.

1. Augie Grill
2. Chris Davidson
3. Stuart Dutton
4. Cale Hall
5. Luke Yarbrough
6. Landon DeVaughn
7. Steve Dorer
8. Colin Allman
9. Brandon Lopez
10. Seth Christensen
11. Hunter Johnson
12. Ruben Caceres
13. Hudson Halder
14. David Hodges
15. Timothy Laurent
16. Dylan Armstrong
17. Hudson Bulger