MECHANICSBURG, Pa. – Devon Borden planned for his business trip to Central Pennsylvania from Raymond, Wash., at the end of April to last for two weeks.
Developing his family 410 team, all while letting his 18-year-old self toughen up in Pennsylvania Posse country, sounded ideal.
On Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway, Borden ascended beyond the realm of ideal and into something more of a dream by winning his first 410 main event. He led all 25 laps from the pole to win the Billy Kimmel Memorial and topped the track’s winningest driver, Lance Dewease, by 1.694 seconds.
Borden leveraged good track position and a handicap system to get the job done, but no driver ever lucks their way into a win at Williams Grove.
In his 27th career 410 race, Borden returned Mike Heffner’s familiar No. 27, last driven by the late Greg Hodnett, to victory lane at the famed half mile clay oval.
“At the beginning of the year, I was a nobody,” Borden said in victory lane. “Man, we just won at Williams Grove.
“This is crazy. This is a dream come true,” he added. “I never thought I’d be here this quick. My career just went on an uprise in a real hurry. This is awesome. These Heffner guys kind of took a chance with me, and it’s starting to pay off. It sure is cool.”
After Borden put his family car in the top five in his fourth 410 start at Williams Grove on May 21, Heffner arranged a three-race deal for Borden, who then turned that into a full-time ride.
Like his journey to date, Borden made the most of his opportunity on Friday. With no Danny Dietrich, Anthony Macri, Brent Marks, and Lucas Wolfe, the field was a little smaller.
But make no mistake, Borden had to work for the $5,500 top prize. He drove from fourth to a dominant heat win to put him on the pole.
In the main event, he executed the start and two restarts along the way perfectly, pulling away from Chase Dietz to mount comfortable leads. Then, on lap 11, his right rear shock collapsed, forcing him to maintain a swift pace despite an ill-handling machine.
“I knew something happened,” Borden said. “I just had to keep it up and not let [the right rear] get over so hard. If I did that, kept on the left rear bar, I was good. It wasn’t as good, obviously. But it wasn’t bad enough to where I couldn’t keep it under control.”
Borden jumped out to a three second lead five laps in, but that was quickly chopped to a second by Dietz once the leaders hit traffic. It didn’t take long for Borden to adjust.
By lap 15, Borden blew things open around the top groove to put Dietz, stuck in traffic, four seconds behind.
“We were so good around the top, we just got around them,” Borden said. “We just kept our momentum up. That was the key.”
A caution for Bryn Gohn stacked things back up, and at that point Dewease moved his way to fourth from 11th.
Borden got the jump he needed and followed it with another great jump on a restart with three laps to go to seal his first win. On Saturday he chases his second at Port Royal Speedway.
“We’re trying to double up,” Borden said through an undeniable smile. “After that, we’re just going to hang around in PA.”
He then tucked the five-foot trophy, which stood next to him in the rear of the trailer, under his arm.
“And pile these up right here,” Borden said.
The finish:
1. Devon Borden. 2. Lance Dewease. 3. Chase Dietz. 4. Tyler Ross. 5. Freddie Rahmer. 6. Aaron Bollinger. 7.Zeb Wise. 8. Alan Krimes. 9. Kyle Moody. 10. Dylan Norris. 11. Doug Hammaker. 12. TJ Stutts. 13. Jared Esh. 14. Matt Campbell. 15. Justin Whittall. 16. Jordan Givler. 17. Chad Trout. 18. Tyler Bear. 19. Dwight Leppo. 20. Stephen Downs. 21. Bryn Gohn. 22. Todd Allen. 23. Chris Arnold. 24. Mark Smith.