ARDMORE, Okla. – A fast-paced All Star Shootout fueled by Fast Shafts program at Southern Oklahoma Speedway ended with Matt Guillaume, Matthew Day and Jeffrey Abbey in victory lane on Thursday.
Hustling to beat bad weather, Guillaume was promoted to the $1,000 IMCA Modified checkers after Wesley Veal came up light on the post-race scales. Day was lights out for the second night in a row at Ardmore in winning the Smiley’s Racing Products Southern SportMod feature and Abbey held Wednesday winner Tommy Fain in check to top the IMCA Sunoco Stock Car main event.
Guillaume, defending champion in the Razor Chassis South Central Region and at Southern Oklahoma, was quickly up to second from his ninth starting spot.
“We were really good around the very bottom, then moved to the high line after we saw Wesley go by,” said Guillaume, already a Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational ballot candidate.
The checkers were his second in the division this season and first of 2021 at Ardmore. Brint Hartwick, Chad Melton, Jacob Pirkle and Jon White completed the top five.
After working his way from 12th starting, Day made a big run down the backstretch to take the lead away from Cody Smith before midway of the Southern SportMod 25-lapper. Tommy Dove took over the runner-up spot late in the contest but couldn’t catch up.
“I went to the middle ‘til I got to fifth or sixth, then went to the high side,” said Day, who’d won the opening night show from the pole. “I think my car may have been a hair better. You really had to hit your marks or you’d lose your drive.”
Smith, Damon Hammond and 17th starting Boone Evans ran third through fifth, respectively.
Abbey paced the first two and final 10 circuits in the Stock Car feature, getting the lead back from Shelby Williams near midway and outrunning Fain in the final laps.
“Tommy showed me his nose in lapped traffic late in the race,” Abbey said, “but I was able to hold him off.”
Fain made his way to second from 11th starting. Williams, Evans and Aaron Benedict were next across the stripe.
Both the Southern SportMod and Stock Car features paid $750 to win. Abbey was already eligible to qualify for the B & B Chassis All-Star event.
Southern Oklahoma hosted Wednesday and Thursday All Star Shootout programs after rain at Grayson County Speedway nixed the night two show originally scheduled there. Round three will be broadcast by IMCA.TV Friday from Boyd Raceway.
The finish:
1. Matt Guillaume; 2. Brint Hartwick; 3. Chad Melton; 4. Jacob Pirkle; 5. Jon White; 6. Josh McGaha; 7. Cody Leonard; 8. Cody Tidwell; 9. William Gould; 10. Jared Baird; 11. Trevor Egbert; 12. Beau Collins; 13. Garrett Gregory; 14. Fred Wojtek; 15. David Goode Jr.; 16. Jeff Rowland; 17. Troy Schaberg; 18. T.J. Lackey; 19. Raymond McSpadden; 20. Jimmy Reeves; 21. Neal Flowers; 22. Ryan Williams; 23. Jeff Taylor; 24. Jimmy Day; 25. Wesley Veal.