FREDERICTON, NB – Ashton Tucker (#2) peeled into victory lane at Speedway 660 Saturday night to celebrate his third consecutive win with the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series – but this win may have been just a tad more special than the previous two.
Due to a penalty incurred from the Fog City Auto Spa 150 on May 11th, Tucker, Cory Hall (#83) and Ryan Messer (#1) were all required to start at the rear of the field.
After showing an exemplary display of patience, Tucker would complete his march to the front of the field when he grabbed the lead for the first time on lap 107, leading the final 44 laps en route to victory.
It wouldn’t be long before Hall and Messer followed Tucker onto the podium, as the trio that started at the back finished 1-2-3 when the checkers flew.
Lonnie Sommerville (#23) had a stellar day and overcame a rough season opener to finish fourth, while Greg Fahey (#20) took home the final top five position in what was a monumental day for him.
After winning his heat race, Fahey started on the outside pole of the feature event – but he would quickly assume the lead on the opening lap. Fahey would maintain the lead – holding off charges from the likes of Sommerville and Dave O’Blenis (#48) for much of the first two-thirds of the race. As the pay window opened, the youngsters would oust the veterans and take the podium positions.
It was a fast paced and clean race, slowed by only four cautions. Coming in at a time of 59 minutes and 12 seconds, it was the shortest race to date for the series.
Sommerville, Fahey, and O’Blenis all captured heat race victories to start the day, but it was ironman Kent Vincent (#8) earning the EIT Race Radios Pole Award capturing a +3 score, with Fahey earning the Two Speed Motorsports prize starting second. Vincent would have a stellar run going- and actually turned the fastest lap of the race – but ended up dropping out after an incident on lap 95.
Defending champion Dylan Gosbee (#16) drew the races first caution when he had a tire come off his car down the backstretch, causing him to end up in the beach in turn three, ultimately ending his race. After scoring a top ten finish in every race during his championship season one year ago, it’s been a rough start for Gosbee in 2024 thus far.
The only driver making their series debut was Maine’s Travis Benjamin (#7), returning to Speedway 660 for the first time in a decade with plenty of hype.
Despite fast showings in practice, the three-time Oxford 250 champion struggled just a touch with the handling, but still grinded out a seventh-place result, just behind Hudson Weston (#43).
Robbie MacEwen (#40) led the PEI contingent with an eighth-place finish – the best out of all Prince Edward Island drivers. It was a day where results did not reflect the showing, as all PEI drivers had strong runs but ultimately dropped back in the closing stages.
The win was Ashton Tucker’s third career SLMS win, and third win in a row. With back-to-back wins, Tucker will hold down the points lead once again over Cory Hall (#83).
- From the Easy-Kleen Super Late Model Series
