NECK AND NECK – South Atlantic Pro Series H&H Land Clearing 75 At Tri-County Speedway

It is said that healthy competition is the essence of life. If so, then Tri-County Speedway on Saturday night was indeed a reflection of living life to the fullest as tight competition was definitely on full display. Not surprising for those in the know however as Tri-County Speedway is a place that forges great side by side racing. In other words, the drivers have options. And if they search around that smooth surface hard enough, they can find the speed they need. So when you get teams known for building great speed into their cars, and you combine it with great young talent looking to make a name for themselves, you have the recipe for great racing. And that’s exactly what the fans at Tr-County Speedway received on Saturday night. The South Atlantic Pro Late Model Series may be new on the scene, but take one good look and you know this series is one that you’ll want to keep your eyes on. Harboring some of the best young Pro Late Model talent in the nation, it’s a series that makes sure the competition is fair and in the professional manner great series are bred from. These guys are finding their stride right out of the gate! Combine that with the awesome Tri-County local divisions looking for points in tight championship battles down the season stretch, and you know the racing is as good as you would expect at this showcase track. Side by side, neck and neck, these drivers laid it on the line lap after lap Saturday night! Let’s take a closer look at all the great racing action from the South Atlantic Pro Late Model Series H&H Land Clearing 75 from Tri-County Speedway.

CROWN VIC FEATURE

Jason Gallimore in the #64 will lead the field to green with #12 Kyle Dubeau alongside and #22H Jacob Hickman behind starting third. Tri-County flagman Travis Louk gazes over the field, likes what he sees, and we’re green for the Crown Vic division! Gallimore surges ahead off of turn two as Hickman slides around Dubeau for second. The racing in the middle of the field is rough and tumble with multiple drivers getting sideways, but all involved is able to keep it righted. #76 Jon Morton shows his late race muscle and takes away the bronze position from Dubeau. Dubeau’s night soon goes up in smoke as the points leader takes it to pit road and parks it early for the night. But up front, it’s all Gallimore as he’ll take the dominant victory ahead of Hickman and Morton!

FRONT WHEEL DRIVE FEATURE

It’s a pair of Willards on the front row for the start of this one as #54 Gary Willard starts on the pole with #15 Dalton Willard rolling off second. #54H Randy Hupp rounds out the top three as Gary Willard gets a phenomenal launch. The lineup shuffles behind with the #2 of Skyler Brown motoring up to second followed by an always fast #46 Jason Garwood in third. Brown and Garwood waste no time, both positioning themselves first and second on the backstretch. Garwood looks under Brown for the lead and makes it work. All eyes now focus back on the Hupp machine. Willard runs nearly identical times each and every lap, but the consistency is not enough to hold off Hupp who will break onto the podium. None of that matters to Garwood though, as he picks up yet another Tri-County Front Wheel Drive victory! Brown comes home second followed by a fast run from Hupp in third.

RENEGADE FEATURE

The fan favorite Renegades take the track next, headed up by Gary Aldrich in the #34. #92 Joshua Gunter and #28 Gary Ledbetter Jr round out the top three as Louk unfurls the green. Aldrich and Gunter don’t get the start they want while Ledbetter Jr quickly gains the upper hand up front, bringing along #9 Klint Townsend and #7 Jackson Sparks. Aldrich and Gunter will try to stop the bleeding as you can throw a blanket over the top three. Now Townsend dives under Ledbetter Jr but a caution will stop his advances as Gunter spins around in one. The battle for the lead heats up again when we go back green, now with Townsend holding the outside line. Both just can’t seem to separate each other, allowing Sparks to stay right in their shadows. Now Sparks ponders taking them three wide but he’ll think better of it as they continue their fantastic battle! Gunter’s night is not going to plan, spinning yet again and drawing the caution. Townsend executes a much better restart this time around but it won’t matter as the #22 of Michael Waldrop loops it in three and four. Townsend repeats his great launch but here comes Sparks with a brave crossover! Put Townsend and Sparks in a dead heat as neither want to give an inch up front! Sparks finally breaks away but Gunter finds himself in the spin cycle again behind. Sparks will power ahead on the restart en route to the thrilling victory! Townsend hangs onto second with Aldrich rebounding in third.

MINI STOCK FEATURE

Robert Trivette in the #11 will start on point followed #29 Allison Houston and the #59 of Isaac Harris. Trivette clears quickly but here comes Harris right on his bumper. Harris claims the top spot while Houston falls to third. Trivette won’t go down quickly however as he starts to mirror every move Harris makes. The pair begins to encounter lap traffic but that still doesn’t allow Trivette to make a move quite yet. Coming out of four, Trivette finally peeks his right front under Harris but can’t make it work as they get caught up in another wave of traffic. That’ll allow Harris to set sail to yet another victory. Trivette crosses the line second while Houston brings her machine under the checkered in third.

STREET STOCK FEATURE

The gorgeous Street Stocks are next on the docket with #54 pilot Thomas Lee starting in front. Terrance Tucker in the #42 will fire off second followed by Gary Ledbetter Jr in the #8. Lee solidifies himself as the leader as the field begins to single file out. That all changes behind with Ledbetter Jr overcoming Tucker for second. He’ll use that momentum to charge under Lee, nearly making contact! Lee hangs on but they’re now side by side, reminiscent of Ledbetter Jr’s battle earlier in the night with Klint Townsend. The caution will fly for the #05J of Jonathan Goodwin, who goes around in two. Lee stumbles a bit on the restart, allowing both Ledbetter Jr and #96 Maxx Porter to take possession of the top two. Lee muscles back under both Porter and Ledbetter Jr, making a statement pass back for the lead. Porter comes out in second while Ledbetter Jr falls down to third. Ledbetter Jr will be granted another opportunity for the trophy though as Goodwin will come to a stop in turn four. Porter pulls off a phenomenal launch on the restart, but Lee is stuck like a thorn to his inside. The fans are on their feet as both are deadlocked up front! Porter has the slight advantage taking the white but Lee will make a divebomb move going into three! He washes up the track and gets to the line first as Porter will spin behind in third! Ledbetter Jr sneaks by for second as the crowd gets loud! What a race and what a finish!

LIMITED LATE MODEL FEATURE

Former Tri-County winner Casey Pierce in the #18 starts on pole for the always exciting Limited Late Models, accompanied by #9 William Aldred and the #15 of points leader Hudson Sharp. Aldred gets the run on the outside and leads the first lap as Pierce now has to deal with Sharp. Sharp asserts himself on the low line and eventually takes the spot, bringing defending Limited Late Model champion #59 Austin Harris with him to third. Aldred’s fast pace soon results in a nest of lap traffic, but the entire top three get through without issue. The battle for eighth between the #1J of Walter Jenkins IV and the #1 of Zack Franks starts to heat up as Franks is all over Jenkins IV’s back bumper. Now contact is made! Jenkins IV’s Lee Faulk Racing And Development prepared machine stays straight but that will allow Franks to get by in his throwback hot rod. Up front though, nobody can stay in the same zip code as Aldred, who dominates and takes home the win for Charlie Watson. Sharp collects a second place with Harris in tow for third.

SOUTH ATLANTIC PRO LATE MODEL SERIES H&H LAND CLEARING 75

With a scoldering time of 15.221 seconds, Kyle Campbell in the #03 wins the pole for the H&H Land Clearing 75. Starting in second will be the #1X of Tyler Church followed by Ashton Higgins in the #9, Mason Walters in the #61, and Caden Kvapil in the #35. SAPS flagman Nicholas Bronson takes a look at the field, approves the formation, and we’re SAPS racing at Tri-County! Campbell jumps out ahead as Church stutters, stacking up the outside line. That’ll move Higgins to second followed by Kvapil as Church battles for fourth with the #65 of Tyler Tanner. Church hangs on for fourth while Walters falls to sixth. The caution will fly early as the #49 of Jeff Batten has an issue. And Church has to come down pit lane! Something amiss will unfortunately end the night early for Church as the field is back doubled up. Campbell, Higgins, Kvapil, Tanner, and Walters is your new top five as Higgins will overcome Campbell for the lead. Kvapil will follow through, dropping Campbell to third ahead of Walters and a raging fight for fifth. The #18 of Max Reaves breaks into the top five for the first time tonight, all while Kvapil now starts to pressure Higgins.

Kvapil finds the grip on the inside lane and just barely clears Higgins for the top spot. Behind, Walters gets by Campbell, who’s still trying to slow his slide. The car is just not handling the way he wants though as now Reaves will move to fourth with the #24 of Jade Avedisian coming along. She won’t stop her march there, now powering ahead of Reaves. The action just won’t slow as now Walters makes a successful move on Higgins for second. Former Carolina Pro Late Model Series champion Nick Loden in the #43L takes away fifth as the field starts to calm down a bit. Off of turn four, Reaves will slide around, bringing out the second caution of the night. Now Higgins has to head to pit road to right some gremlins and will head up the rear of the pack. Kvapil will elect to take the outside ahead of Walters, Avedisian, Loden, and the #6 of Evan McKnight. The restart is a messy one as Trey Canipe in the #5 climbs Reaves’ left rear and spins around in two. The second time around will go a bit smoother as Kvapil is shot out of a cannon at the line. Loden slots into third ahead of Avedisian and now sets his sights on Walters. Trouble erupts in turns three and four as Tanner and #43 Joshua Horniman make contact, sending both cars spinning and collecting the #92 of Martin Nesbitt! Nesbitt will call it a night while the field is already preparing for the restart. Kvapil shoots away again but around goes the #11 of Andrew Tagliamonte and Canipe on the backstretch! Another restart follows and so does another caution. This time, it’s the #51 of Carson Ware along with Canipe as they both crash in turn two! That’ll cut the night short for Canipe unfortunately as Kvapil will still prevail on the ensuing restart.

Kvapil looks to have a great short run car, but as the laps tick off, the black #61 of Walters gets closer and closer. With 5 to go, Walters find himself right in the catbird’s seat! Kvapil holds his ground on the outside, but Walters will charge into three hard and a little contact is made! Walters is able to clear coming out of turn four and holds on to the checkered, taking his third SAPS win of the year! Kvapil will grab a heartbreaking second, Avedisian ends her debut in third, Loden gets a quiet and methodical fourth, and McKnight will round out the top five, putting both Setzer Racing And Development cars in the top five.

MY TAKE

It’s no secret anymore, Tri-County Speedway is one of the best short tracks in the country. But I’ve been told by the owners themselves that they are far from done. Already a showplace that provides nothing short of amazing racing, all you have to do is look at the racing on Saturday night. But they’re not settling for what they’ve done so far. They want the place to be the very best it can be. And that says a lot about who they are and the love they have for the sport. It’s important for everyone that loves short track racing to know. As great as our sport is, for track owners, manufacturers, team owners, and everyone monetarily involved in it, it’s a tougher business that many seem to understand. And as we’ve pointed out many times, in the new era, it’s going to take a tremendous amount of dedication to survive and thrive. Dedication is what we’ve seen at Tri-County. They’re in it for the long haul and that leaves us excited for the track’s future.

Speaking of excitement, what a race from the South Atlantic Pro Late Model Series! Only 65 thousandths of a second separated the front row after qualifying. And down the stretch, with just a handful of laps left, it was still undecided. In the end however, it was Mason Walters coming out on top for the 3rd time this season. Pretty good for his first full time season in Late Models after stepping up from Legends, only helping to confirm how good the Legends are at developing talent. And don’t misunderstand, Walters is beating some great talents. Names like Caden Kvapil, Kyle Campbell, Nick Loden, and young up and comer Jade Avedisian. The South Atlantic Pro Late Model fields are filled with proven guns but also talented veterans helping to make the series a very competitive one. It’s also important to remember, this tour is in it’s first year of competition. Also important to point out because as a casual racing fan, you would never know it. South Atlantic Pro Late Model Series management are experienced in their craft and it shows. But they are also dedicated to the work it takes to make this series something special. We know firsthand the love for the sport and the people in it. And they are not only just dedicated to the sport, they are dedicated to elevating those who put in the work to succeed in it. They understand what it takes to be successful and strive to provide a fair and transparent proving ground that will lead to that success. That my friends is what makes them special.

Truly only time will tell of how far they come and how grand they grow into the future. But we know they have the talent and the dedication to make it happen. But again, it’s a tough industry. There are challenges they’ll have to overcome. The tire situation is an example as the industry’s tire woes still haven’t been settled to the point it needs to be. Shortages lead to competition among other series, and the tracks themselves. But that’s just one example of the challenges that lie ahead. But even with that, our excitement is growing. What they’ve done so far in their inaugural season has been phenomenal. As a matter of fact, if you haven’t heard of or seen this great series in action, we HIGHLY recommend it. And we’re tremendously excited to get another look at them this coming weekend as they come to Orange County Speedway as part of the Altec Prelude To The Orange Blossom Shootout. This is going to be one of the coolest shows a fan can see this weekend! And truly, we can’t wait to get there. As always, See You At The Track!

(Race write ups by Joshua Weatherman. Intro and My Take written by Billy Weatherman. Copyright 2025 SHORT TRACK REPORT)