2/7/2023
Ashton Winger
Ashton Winger wires East Bay field for first career LOLMDS triumph
Ashton Winger scratched another accolade off his bucket list on Tuesday night with his first-career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) victory. The $5,000 triumph came at Florida’s East Bay Raceway Park behind the wheel of his Jeff Mathews Motorsports No. 12 Johnny Doan Plumbing / Recreational Vehicle Select / XR1 Rocket Chassis Super Late Model.
“This is awesome, (to win) in front of all these people. I feel like we were really close this year. We were really close last year,” Winger said in Victory Lane on Tuesday night. “It’s hard not to get emotional, man. My mom and dad have given up a lot to get me here. I know it’s just $5,000-to-win, but to be racing with these guys being competitive … Hudson (O’Neal) and (Sheppard) are two of the best in the country.
“Thank you to everyone past and present, who’ve helped me get to this point in my career. It’s all a dream come true.”
The 2023 Florida speedweeks continued for Ashton Winger and Jeff Mathews Motorsports on Monday afternoon as the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) invaded East Bay Raceway Park (Gibsonton, Fla.) for six straight nights of racing.
Drawing 58 Late Models for the Weiland Winternationals opener, Ashton laid down the third-fastest in his time trial group before placing first in his heat. Starting the feature in sixth, Winger made an impressive charge on the high groove to challenge early leader Tyler Erb for the top spot. After narrowly escaping contact with the wall following a mid-race restart while trying to nose into the lead, Ashton suffered a flat tire on lap 24 that relegated him to 21st.
With the field elevated to 60 cars on Tuesday, Winger outran fellow front-row starter Dennis Erb Jr. in his heat to pick up the eight-lap victory. Taking command of the lead on the drop of the green flag in the feature, Ashton led flag-to-flag in the 30-lapper to capture his first career LOLMDS triumph and a $5,000 prize. His third win of the 2023 campaign came ahead of Hudson O’Neal, Brandon Sheppard, Brandon Overton, and Dennis Erb Jr.
Winger’s hopes to repeat in Wednesday night’s $7,000-to-win feature were thwarted by an early departure from the 40-lap feature. He was credited with an 11th-place finish.
On Thursday evening the winner’s purse increased to $10,000-to-win, and Ashton missed the cut from his heat race by one spot, which relegated him to a B-Main. A second-place finish in the B-Main locked Ashton into the 23rd-starting spot for the feature, where he rallied to finish 11th.
Ashton continued his momentum on Friday evening with the fifth-fastest lap in his qualifying group followed by a runner-up finish. Starting ninth on the feature grid, he passed six cars to finish third behind Hudson O’Neal and Daulton Wilson.
Saturday’s scheduled finale was washed away by rain.
Full results from the event are available at www.LucasDirt.com.
The team now heads to Volusia Speedway Park (Barberville, Fla.) for six-straight nights of action the ½-mile oval, spanning Feb. 13-18. Action includes DIRTcar Super Late Model action on Monday ($7,000-to-win), Tuesday ($7,000-to-win), and triple $5,000-to-win features on Wednesday.
The World of Outlaws (WoO) Case Late Model Series sanctions Thursday ($12,000-to-win), Friday ($12,000-to-win), and Saturday ($20,000-to-win).
Full event information is available at www.DIRTcarNationals.com .
Article Credit: Tyler Carr image
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