10/4/2023
Tri-County Speedway
Packed House at Tri County Speedway under the New Lights
On Saturday, September 30 th Tri County Speedway experienced new lights, new drivers, new
fans, and a new record of 102 cars in the infield. This was a very successful night to say the least. This
set the stage before the first green flag waved. The icing on the cake, racing was great all night as well.
Race #1 was the Renegade Division. Dalton Ledbetter (#32) led all qualifiers with a lap of
19.511. The first 5 qualifiers were inverted. This made Jacob Hickman (#5) the man to lead the field to
green. The race ran caution free. Mike Shelton (#24) appeared to take the win. But Shelton was
disqualified in postrace inspection. This handed the win to Ledbetter. Nathan Pate (#21) finished
second and Steve Smart (#16) was third.
Race #2 was the Stock Car Classics. Due to the number of cars at the track, a shortage of
transponders meant that drivers weren’t signing them out for this division and providing names to go
with them. This was a problem that will be remedied next time we race. 102 cars and not enough
transponders was really a good problem to have. This race like the first ran caution free. The only name
we had officially was Donald Fenn (#72) won the pole with a lap speed of 17.788. The top 3 cars
crossing the finish line were, #0, #21, and Fenn finished third.
Eastern Midgets took to the track for the 3 rd event of the night. JT Bierman (#5) was the fastest
midget in qualifying with a lap time of 15.423. The first six were inverted. This made Caleb Edington
(#74X) with a clear view of the green upon the start. Two cautions were waved during the race. Caution
#1 was a competition caution on lap 18. Another caution waved on lap 29 when Bierman had
mechanical issues. It was first thought he had an engine go south. When the cleanup crew arrived it
turned out to be just water and was probably just a hose. Logan Sulyi (#19) took home the trophy. He
was followed across the line by Keegan Walmer (#10) and Chris Lamb (#9) third.
The new lights were turned on prior to the 4 th event. The Front Wheel Drive Division was the
first drivers to enjoy the new lights. Jason Garwood (#46) led all qualifiers with a lap of 19.271. The first
4 were inverted for the start. This placed Jackie Stone (#17) in the p1 spot for the start. This race was
also caution free. Garwood came back from the invert to win. He was followed in second by James
Powell (#27). Brandon Powers (#0) finished the night in third.
The 5 th event of the evening was the Limited Late Models. 20 cars completed this field. Don
Carlton (#14) had a hot lap of 16.014. His spot at the top was short lived due to the top 5 inversion. This
put Trey Canipe (#5C) on the pole. Two cautions were displayed during the event. First caution was on
lap 11 when Carlton and Darren Krantz Jr (#1) were involved in an incident. On the restart Carlton was
once again involved in a caution. This time it was with Rich Hudson (#8). At the end of the night William
Aldred (#9) came home victorious. Canipe followed in second and Taylor Nesbitt (#92) crossed the line
in third.
The Carolina Mini Stock paid a visit to Tri County with 19 cars. They were the sixth event of the
night. Shane Canipe (#1) claimed the top spot with a lap of 19.853. Here again this race was caution
free. Tim Canipe (#10) came home the winner. He was followed by Shane Canipe in second. Michael
Tucker (#16T) was third.
The Street Stock Division also had a great field of 20 cars. Marlin Yoder (#08) qualified first with
a time of 16.739. The top 4 were inverted handing over the pole to James Dolan (#4). 5 cautions were
needed on the night for this division. The first one waved on lap 1 when Will Lauderback (#3L) lost it in
turn 2. Lap 2 saw the second caution. This time it was James Dolan (#4), Kolby Sawyers (#10), and
Marvin Miller (#1) all coming together off of turn 2. The most serious crash occurred on lap 17. John
Maph (#65) spun in turn 4 and was hit by Sawyers. The race was red flagged as they removed Maph
from his car. He was taken to a local hospital for observation. The 4th caution was on lap 39 when
Yoder got into Gary Ledbetter (#4L). Needless to say, Ledbetter had to start at the rear of the field.
Yoder also went to the rear voluntarily since he was involved. On lap 42 Ledbetter and Jeff Melton
(#15) were involved in an incident off of turn two for the final yellow of the event. Yoder came back for
the win. He was followed by Chris Riendeau (#4VT) and Mike Hatton claimed the final podium position.
The last event of the night was the Late Model Division. Michael Bumgarner (#97) topped the
field in qualifying. His lap time was 15.414. The top 4 were inverted. This put Charlie Watson (#9) in
the favored #1 spot coming to green. The first of 3 cautions was waved on lap 32 when Tasha Kummer
(#35) exploded an engine entering turn 3. Fire erupted and the race was stopped to clean up the oil on
the track. Lap 44 saw Tyler Worley (#16) get in the back of Dillon Houser(#11) entering turn 1. Houser
spun driver’s side first into the wall. He suffered 3 broke toes and some cracked ribs. Lap 46 saw Mitch
Walker (#15) spin in turn 2. At the end of the 75 lap event Landon Huffman (#75) closed out the night’s
racing with a win. Landon S. Huffman (#28H) was second. Bumgarner came home third.
We hope you enjoyed the new lights tonight! We look forward to more great racing next
Saturday night October 7 th . Have a glorious week!
Article Credit: Debbie Setzer
Submitted By: Rhonda Higgins
