AUDIO/RECAP: Alex Pacheco Holds Off Ryan Millington for CCS Legends Win at Hickory

NEWTON, N.C. — Audio, photo and recap by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman —

Alex Pacheco may have had the hounds breathing down his neck in the final laps of Saturday’s 25-lap Carolina Competition Sports (CCS) Legends car feature at Hickory Motor Speedway, but he didn’t let it rattle him.

Pacheco took the lead from young Kyle Beattie Racing pilot Ryan Millington at lap 10 and then held Millington’s repeated charges off over a late four-lap dash to the checkered flag to pick up the victory, his first CCS win of the 2015 season.

Pacheco said he knew Millington was there over the final laps, but that once his car was out in front, he could play defense — and that made all the difference.

“It was a great race,” Pacheco said in victory lane. “I knew Ryan was fast all weekend and luckily we got him on that first restart and we just had to hold it out front. We had to stay on the bottom and if we got off it, we were going to the back — so I kept it there, kept him behind us and it all worked out.”

Millington hung on to finish second after first taking the lead at lap two and leading eight total laps during the event, saying the handling of his car just wasn’t quite enough on the short run to mount a charge.

“I think his car was just a little bit better on the short runs there, and at the end it was nothing but short, short runs,” Millington said. “Right there at the beginning my car was great on the long run but it was a great day overall. I couldn’t ask for any more out of this Kyle Beattie Racing crew.”

Alex Reece nipped polesitter Stevie Johns for third coming off turn four on the final lap, leaving Johns to finish fourth after winning Friday’s CCS Legends main event.

Five cautions plagued the 25-lap feature, beginning on lap nine when Chase Purdy looped his Mark Nahrstedt-prepared No. 8 in turn one and sparking a run of three cautions in three laps — culminating on lap 11 with a five-car melee in turns three and four.

From there, Millington used a nine lap run to try and eat up the rear bumper of Pacheco’s No. 77 machine, and nearly got underneath him before a caution at lap 20 restacked the field and allowed Pacheco another chance to shoot out of the box.

He did so by about two car lengths on the ensuing restart before the final caution of the event for a spin by Erik Nash in turn two set up a four lap dash to the finish and Millington’s final scramble, which came up just short.

Carolina Competition Sports returns to action on May 8, with Legends car action at the Kingsport Speedway in Kingsport, Tenn.

Audio with race winner Alex Pacheco: