GEORGETOWN, Del. – Jason Covert continued his strong start to the season with a victory in late model competition at Georgetown Speedway Thursday.
Covert won the Sunoco Race Fuels Super Late Model 26-lap main, earning a $3,026 payday in honor of Mark “Coot” Williams Sr.
“It’s been a humbling week,” an emotional Covert stated following his first Georgetown victory and breakthrough win in the First State.
“I lost a really close friend this week… this one’s for him,” Covert said following the death of his close friend Glenny.
Covert started in the sixth position at the banked half-mile Sussex County speedway. It appeared the outside row was the place to be on restarts and Covert put the exclamation point on that. Starting on the outside row, Covert quickly climbed to fourth before an early yellow reset the field. That was all Covert needed.
On the ensuing restart, he motored to the outside, around Amanda Whaley and Dale Hollidge and into second.
Covert than ran down pole starter Austin Hubbard in short order, sweeping around the outside to take a lead he would never relinquish.
From there the top-four remained relatively unchanged, with Hubbard coming home second. Amanda Whaley finished her night with a third-place finish. Dale Hollidge held onto a fourth-place result over a hard charging Donald Lingo.
Lingo was caught up in a yellow with less than 10 laps remaining, which sent him back to the ninth position, before climbing his way into the top-five using the outside groove.
Sunoco Super Late Model heats went to Ross Robinson and Amanda Whaley.
The RUSH Late Models were in town for night two of four in their Battle of the Bay weekend. All-time series wins leader Max Blair, coming off his win Wednesday night at Delaware Int’l Speedway, rolled into the night with momentum on his side.
The Titusville, Pa., driver continued that momentum at Georgetown, winning the $3,000 paycheck.
Fifty RUSH Late Models entered the proceedings Thursday night, with 24 qualifying through six heat races and three B-Mains. Blair timed second overall in time trials, won his heat race, and won the six-lap Dash.
“We’re still fighting it a little bit, car’s a little tight,” Blair said after winning the Dash.
Blair’s No. 111 launched off the pole for the 30-lap main event. From there it was nearly smooth sailing for Blair. His lone mistake came on a restart in which Georgetown local Matt Hill dove to the bottom and slid by Blair for the lead.
However, the move would be negated by a yellow before a lap was completed.
“I thought I really messed up there, I was worried about them rolling the top on me, I left the bottom wide open,” Blair stated of the move made by Hill.
Hill would later fall victim to mechanical issues, ending his night short. Another Georgetown local, Ross Robinson fought a back-and-forth night to come home with a second-place finish.
Hollidge, who started 12th, had a solid night as well, picking up top-five finishes in the Sunoco Super Late Models and RUSH Late Models. Dillon Brown was the RUSH Fast Timer of the night, and rounded out his night with a fourth-place finish. Logan Roberson rounded out the top-five, coming from his ninth starting spot for a fifth-place finish.
C.J. Schirmer and Freddy Brightbill put on a thrilling show in the Southern Delaware Vintage Stock Car feature. Following driver introductions and pace laps led by the Mark Williams No. 26, Schirmer beat Brightbill to the line by a half car-length to pick up the win. L.J. Walbert was honored as the highest-finishing Sportsman racer in the Vintage Stock Car Feature.
Matt Esham got his second win of the year on Thursday night in the Delaware Super Truck feature. Esham and David Smith continued the theme of exciting racing. Smith threw everything but the kitchen sink at Matt Esham for the last seven laps, but never found a way by the now two-time winner, Matt Esham. Robert Smith, Shane Clogg, and Jerry Hill rounded out the top five.
Chris Martinez scored his first win of the year in the Delmarva Charger main event. Joe Waters led the first eight laps before getting to the pit area after an engine appeared to expire.
From there Martinez held off the hard charging Ashley Merritt to pick up the win. Merritt, Brandon Riefler, Derek Swafford and Tommy LeCates rounded out the top five.