Jacobs & Dunn Score As 469 Cars Hit The Dirt Track

CONCORD, N.C. — The 11th World Short Track Championship kicked off Thursday night with 469 cars getting timed laps around The Dirt Track at Charlotte, and two lucky divisions taking part in championship features.

The 10 participating divisions – COMP Cams Monster Mini Stocks, DIRTVision Hornets, FOX Factory 604 Late Models, Hoosier Racing Tire Crate Modifieds, MSD 602 Late Models, Race City Performance 525 Late Models, RaceQuip Street Stocks, SRI Performance Thunder Bombers, Summit Racing Equipment DIRTcar UMP Modifieds, and VP Racing DIRTcar 358 Modifieds – qualified to set up Friday’s Heat Race lineups, and then, by luck of the World Short Track Championship wheel, the 602 Late Models and DIRTcar 358 Modifieds were chosen to compete in features.

MSD MID-EAST 602 LATE MODEL FEATURE

Dalton Jacobs became the newest winner at The Dirt Track at Charlotte with a statement performance to open the 11th edition of World Short Track Championship.

The Reidsville, N.C., native opened the three-day weekend with a $600 payday after dominating 15 laps in the MSD Mid-East 602 Late Models, setting the tempo for his sixth event visit.

Danny Hurley and Jacobs set the front row for the field of 20 Late Models to take the green flag, with Jacobs using momentum on the outside to take the top spot over Hurley as Biscuit Williams followed Jacobs on the high side to secure the runner-up spot.

As the hornet’s nest of Late Models fought for position around the four-tenths-mile oval, Jacobs extended the lead with each lap turned. By Lap 5, Jacobs amassed a two-second lead, then grew to 4.6 seconds at the halfway mark.

Behind Jacobs, Jason Dickerson challenged for second, and the Creedmore, N.C., driver took over as the 23-year-old leader powered to a 6.2-second advantage for his first win at his home state track.

“It’s really important to get them extra 15 laps there to get an advantage on the competition,” Jacobs said. “We got a really good race car, so we gotta figure out something in the heat race, get up front, see if we can win the heat so we can start up front and be alright.”

The finish:

Feature (15 Laps): 1. 7J-Dalton Jacobs[2]; 2. J12-Jason Dickerson[8]; 3. 02-Danny Hurley[1]; 4. 17B-Biscuit Williams[3]; 5. 22-Nathan Walker[5]; 6. 1J-Morghan Johnson[16]; 7. 51-Luke Clements[20]; 8. 25T-Dylan Thompson[6]; 9. 25A-Jaedyn Altiers[12]; 10. 22T-Steven Thompkins[17]; 11. 300-Bill Tesh[7]; 12. 03-Olivia Gentry Williams[13]; 13. 777-Zack Staley[11]; 14. 99-Dale Durham[15]; 15. 5-Robbie Gibson[18]; 16. 2-Dylan Warden[19]; 17. 00-Preston Blalock[10]; 18. 00T-Kendal Tucker[4]; 19. 14-Jeff Robinson[9]; 20. 44-John Ruggiero Jr[14]

VP RACING DIRTCAR 358 MODIFIED FEATURE

Making its World Short Track debut, the DIRTcar 358 Modified Series got an early taste of feature laps, running one of the 15-lap features.

Showing fans what the popular Northeast division is all about, the field went green to checkered with no interruptions.

Billy Dunn, the 2021 DIRTcar 358 Modified Series champion from Watertown, N.Y., led the field to the green and reigned supreme for all 15 laps. By Lap 4, he already had a 2.5-second lead over second-place Brian McDonald.

Behind him, Lance Willix was on the move forward from his seventh starting position. However, once he got to fourth, his progress stalled there. Andrew Buff, who set quick time in qualifying, was the hard charger in the race, going from 13th to eighth.

Dunn ended the feature with a 3.2-second lead to pick up his first win at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

“We have a really good car, but clean air here is everything,” Dunn said. “Fortunate for that. We have a little bit of work to do to catch up to the 92, he’s got us by a little bit (in Qualifying). But really happy with where we’re at. In clean air, we’re as good as anybody. Just need to follow it up with another really good run tomorrow.”

The finish:

Feature (15 Laps): 1. 49-Billy Dunn[1]; 2. 151KB-Brian McDonald[2]; 3. 47-Kreg Crooker[3]; 4. 31-Lance Willix[7]; 5. 58-Jessica Power[4]; 6. 35-Chris Curtis[8]; 7. 711X-Connor Crane[10]; 8. 92-Andrew Buff[13]; 9. 21R-RJ Tresidder[9]; 10. 92S-Dexter Stacey[11]; 11. 18-Kalen Draper[14]; 12. 44-Johnathon Ferguson[6]; 13. 31CJ-CJ Castelletti[12]; 14. 66W-Wallace Stacey[5]

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