AUBURN, Mich. — Coming into the final week of the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals in Michigan, young Hunt Gossum said did not expect to win any of the four races.
Now, after three complete, he’s already won two.
The 16-year-old UMP Modified wheelman made it back-to-back wins with the tour Friday night at Tri-City Motor Speedway, again sticking mostly to the low groove en route to his fourth career victory lane trip.
“It’s something about Michigan out here. Awesome racetracks, always racey. Something about the bottom down here, it’s always good,” Gossum said.
However, Gossum was forced to deal with the wrath of polesitter Jeffrey Erickson ahead of him for the first half of the 30-lap contest. But a well-handling car and plenty of grip in the bottom lane gave him the edge he needed to make the pass for the lead on lap 15 – one he would not surrender as he crossed the line unchallenged.
“I was following Jeffrey there for a while. I didn’t think I was gonna be able to get around him, and then he kinda bobbled down in turns three and four, and I just got a patch of grip and got around him,” Gossum said.
Jeffery Erickson finished second, followed by Curt Spalding, Kenny Wallace and Collin Thirlby.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps) 1. 99-Hunt Gossum[2]; 2. 1E-Jeffery Erickson[1]; 3. 5CS-Curt Spalding[3]; 4. 36-Kenny Wallace[6]; 5. 47-Collin Thirlby[5]; 6. 19B-Chad Bauer[8]; 7. 242-Brandon Bollinger[4]; 8. 15-Dave Baker[16]; 9. 19JR-Kody Johnson[14]; 10. 15H-Austin Harnick[18]; 11. 12M-John McClure[7]; 12. 92-Caleb Kill[11]; 13. 4B-Brian Brindley[17]; 14. 77-Joe Rokos[10]; 15. 42-Craig Vance[12]; 16. 1*-Wyatt Baker[15]; 17. 4J-Paul Johnson[21]; 18. 99B-Brent Banning[9]; 19. 32-Scott Boyd Jr[22]; 20. 81- Rick Swartout[20]; 21. 9-Garrett Rons[19]; 22. 71-Drew Smith[13]