GAFFNEY, S.C. — Coming into the final race of the winter season, Ross Bailes faced an uphill battle unlike few he’s seen before in the seat of a super late model.
Staring into the face of defiance, not once did he flinch.
Seventeen points stood between he and the 2021-’22 Drydene Xtreme DIRTcar Series championship going into Saturday night’s Rock Gault Memorial finale at Cherokee Speedway.
Starting fourth, Bailes drove the Billy Hicks Racing Longhorn No. 79 to a runner-up finish against a field of World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series drivers, besting Ben Watkins by 15 positions to overcome a 17-point gap between the and secure his first Xtreme Series title.
“It feels good, I’m just glad it’s over,” Bailes said with a sigh of relief.
While full-time Outlaw Max Blair celebrated in victory lane with the $20,000 winner’s check, Bailes collected a $15,000 check of his own as Xtreme Series champion, plus a $1,000 bonus from Drydene Performance Products.
He endured 60 laps of green-flag racing and kept his tires under him in a slight game of tire wear management while his competition stumbled.
“Something I didn’t want to do was blow a tire running second,” Bailes said. “There were times where I could have got up beside Max. If I wasn’t running for points, I might have done some things different or went a little harder.”
Bailes began the night with a bang, qualifying second in Group B and winning his heat race to claim a spot in the redraw. His championship rivals struggled – Watkins 11th-quick and Carson Ferguson 12th. This gave him a big advantage in track position for the feature – an important element in longer-length main events.
Once Bailes got to second behind Blair, the two played a cat-and-mouse game in traffic. Though he was never able to make the pass, Bailes still had the pressure turned on full blast.
“We came here to win the race,” Bailes said. “I’m not gonna say we we’re stressing about it, but it was obviously in the back of our minds. Just like at Lavonia [in February], when Ben took the lead, I felt like there was a top there, but I didn’t want to go and try it because I didn’t want to lose more spots and points.”