Drellos continued his standout night by becoming one of four drivers to sweep their heat races, leading Heat 1B all the way and crossing under the checkered flag 1.651 seconds clear of Johnson and Blaney.
Carey Terrance was the fourth and final transfer out of the first heat for the Saturday program.
Sheppard kept the heat on in his second heat, wiring Heat 2B and pounding out a 4.196 second victory over Britten, Siri and Chris Hile.
Mahaney won Heat 3B in a hotly-contested bout with Decker, edging him by .615 of a second after a see-saw battle using both the top and bottom of the speedway. Haers and Rudolph also transferred in.
Flach dominated Heat 4B from the pole just as he did in his earlier heat race, pulling out to a 3.479 second win over Williamson, Ward and Tomkins.
Heat 5B was the final heat of the night, but also the only one to feature caution periods during the racing action.
Jimmy Horton lost the motor on his No. 43 at lap two, but the caution didn’t wave until lap five, when the No. 13 of Rick Regalski Jr. slowed on the outside of turn four to slow the pace.
A caution on restart changed everything, as Fuller slid up the track and made contact with former World Finals winner Tim Kerr, sending Kerr hard into outside wall in turn two and ending his night – and possibly his weekend – with heavy damage to the No. 07.
Fuller was able to continue and led the final three laps, crossing .542 of a second in front of Godown, Wight and Swartzlander.
Notables that will be in Saturday’s two Last Chance Qualifiers include Hearn, Dippel, McLaughlin, Whittaker, Phelps and Kody Graham.
Night two of the Textron Off-Road World Finals kicks off at 12 noon on Friday, when the pit gates open for fans. Opening ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 4:45 p.m.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network, as well as a periodic contributor to SPEED SPORT Magazine.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 23-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: [email protected]
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
Email Race Chaser Online: [email protected]
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