GEORGETOWN, Del. – The grandstands at Georgetown Speedway were jammed to capacity for the first-ever Fan Appreciation Night on Thursday.
And the hometown driver pulled one off.
Ross Robinson, whose race shop is within earshot of the speedway, broke into the 2019 RUSH Late Model win column with a victory in the evening’s $2,000-to-win, 25-lap headliner.
Georgetown’s own Robinson, piloting the Stockley Materials No. 7, launched into the top spot at the wave of the green in the RUSH Late Model main.
Robinson and Joey Warren held the first two positions while all eyes were on a paint-swapping, back-and-forth battle for third in the event’s mid-portions. Matt Hill and an emerging Amanda Whaley, who was relegated to an 11th-place starting position after a heat-race spin, spearheaded an intense battle for the final podium spot.
Whaley ultimately emerged with the position and set her sights on the leaders.
Meanwhile, Robinson had slowed his pace as he encountered slower traffic. Warren, at one point, closed to within a car-length of the leader, but Robinson remained out front through the wave of the Sunoco Race Fuels checkered flags.
Robinson was very emotional in Victory Lane, recognizing the lifelong support of his parents who were both in attendance on Thursday night.
Warren, like Robinson from Georgetown, finished a stout runner-up worth $1,000, followed by Whaley of Millsboro, Nick Davis of Gumboro and Tyler Reed of Milton.
Scott Hitchens is the all-time leading winner in the Crate 602 Sportsman division at Georgetown Speedway and he added another checkered flag to his resume Thursday in the Chesapeake Paving/J.W. Brown Trucking 20-lap feature.
The Dagsboro native trailed Michael White early in the main event before experimenting with the outside lane. Hitchens swept past White and was on cruise control out front.
All eyes, however, were on Mod Lite graduate James Hill. Hill had missed the redraw during qualifying, but didn’t let the setback deter him. Working the top line through turns one and two, Hill burst into second with less than five laps remaining and was turning lap times quicker than the leader.
Time ran out and Hitchens, who described his No. 65 as an “oldie but a goodie,” romped to a $1,000 payday.
Hill, of Laurel, settled for a hard-earned second-place result.
Michael White of Laurel placed third, with New Jersey invader Tom Sherby and Adam White of Laurel.
A last-lap, last-turn pass landed Josh Smith in Victory Lane for the 12-lap Southern Delaware Vintage Stock Car 12-lap main. Smith swept to the top around Charlie Moore on the final circuit exiting turn four. Todd Miller placed fourth and was declared the Vintage Sportsman winner.
A tacky, racy track played into the hands of Kirk Lawson in the 12-lap Little Lincoln headliner. Lawson went to the top of the banking and swept past the entire field to take the victory. A brief fire was a quick scare before Lawson’s Victory Lane festivities. Jordan Herbert and Matt White finished second and third, respectively.
Robert Smith edged David Smith in a caution-free 12-lap Delaware Super Truck main event as the pair battled side-by-side during the race’s latter laps. Geoff Carey completed the top-three.
The Delmarva Charger 12-lap event went to Joe Waters after he executed a rim-riding outside pass of Brandon Riefler. Like their Super Truck counterparts, the Chargers ran their feature without a single caution flag.