NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Casey Roderick used a convincing victory in Sunday’s Big Machine Records Pro Late Model finale at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville to capture the track championship in the division for 2017.
Roderick started from the pole but had to fend off a hungry Justin Ashburn, as well as survive multiple cautions and early restarts, before he could celebrate his win-win situation on the frontstretch at the end of the day.
As the race winner, Roderick earned a $5,000 payday for his efforts.
Of note, the track championship is Roderick’s first at the historic .596-mile oval in any division. He takes the crown from Cole Williams, who claimed his second FGS championship last season.
Though Roderick started from the point, it was Ashburn who dominated early, leading the majority of the laps in the first quarter of the race before Roderick found his stride.
An Austin Finley spin on lap 17, followed by a four-car crash on the restart, bunched the field back up and gave Roderick a shot to power past and regain control.
He did so admirably, just before a lap 27 incident that saw William Hale and Michael Bolden crash hard in Turn 1 forced a red flag and set the dynamic duo up for yet another bout on the front row of a restart.
But though Ashburn was able to use the inside groove to lead laps 31 and 32, Roderick took the lead back for good coming off Turn 2 on the 33rd round and never looked back, pacing the final 68 laps en route to a 1.387-second victory over Stephen Nasse.
A lap 68 incident for Stacey Crain and Preston Bores’ spinning cars on the frontstretch was the final caution of the race, with the last 29 circuits running uninterrupted following the cleanup from that incident.
Nasse, who took second from Ashburn just before the final caution, held serve in that position all the way to the checkered flag but could do little to challenge Roderick for the win in the closing stages.
Ashburn, Williams and Christopher Tullis completed the top five.
Kyle Ivey crossed the line sixth, ahead of Austin Brawley, Dillon Oliver, Corey Deuser and Mark Day.
RESULTS: Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville; Pro Late Model 100; Oct. 1, 2017
Feature (100 laps): 1. Casey Roderick, 2. Stephen Nasse, 3. Justin Ashburn, 4. Cole Williams, 5. Christopher Tullis, 6. Kyle Ivey, 7. Austin Brawley, 8. Dillon Oliver, 9. Corey Deuser, 10. Mark Day, 11. Dylan Fetcho, 12. Joseph Graf, 13. Daniel Bolden, 14. Bobby Knox, 15. Jackson Boone, 16. Preston Bores, 17. Jordan McCallum, 18. Bennie Hamlett, 19. Sterling Marlin, 20. Stacey Crain, 21. Davey Coble, 22. Eddie Taylor, 23. Michael House, 24. Michael Bolden, 25. William Hale, 26. Billy Sisco, 27. Hal Musler, 28. Austin Finley.
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.
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.
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