Story By: BEN SHELTON / COMP CAMS SUPER DIRT SERIES – HAMPTON, GA – Following a podium finish in Friday night’s weekend opener, Ashton Winger stormed to the $12,000 triumph in Saturday night’s Cotton Pickin’ finale at Magnolia Motor Speedway aboard his Jeff Mathews Motorsports No. 12 Johnny Doan Plumbing / Recreational Vehicle Select / XR1 Rocket Chassis / Durham Racing Engine Super Late Model.
Winger’s first-career COMP Cams Super Dirt Series Super Late Model win marked his 13th of the season.
“It was a great weekend for our team. We hit the ground running on Friday night with a podium finish, and then we tweaked on the car for Saturday. I actually think it was good that I didn’t break out in the lead on Saturday night,” Winger said. “I was able to kinda sit behind (Jeremy) Shaw there and I was able to kinda find a line that worked for me. I knew whenever I found what I did, especially down here leaving (turn) three, I moved my entry out (by) two car-lengths and just stayed where Cade (Dillard) was at. It’s always fun racing with him man, he’s hard to beat and he’s really really good. It’s really awesome to race with good guys like him and it’s cool to see David (Breazeale) have a good run.
“A big thank you to Jeff Mathews and everyone who makes this team possible.”
On Friday afternoon, Ashton Winger unloaded his Jeff Mathews Motorsports No. Super 12 Late Model at Magnolia Motor Speedway (Columbus, Miss.) for the first night of the Cotton Pickin’ 100 with the COMP Cams Super Dirt Series.
Among a strong field of 46 Late Models, Winger topped the charts in his qualifying group and followed that up with a heat race victory. Rolling off from the outside pole in the $4,000-to-win feature, Ashton battled with the lead duo but settled for a third-place outing on the podium.
With another complete show on tap Saturday evening, Ashton was once again victorious in his heat race which earned him the third-place starting position in the 60-lap main event. Dueling with Cade Dillard in the early stages of the feature, Winger took the lead for good on lap 23 and completed the remaining 37 laps unchallenged to score the $12,000 victory.
He topped Dillard for the race win while David Breazeale, Neil Baggett, and Wil Herrington completed the Top-5 as Winger’s 2023-win total soared to 13.
Winger carries his momentum into the upcoming Hunt The Front Super Dirt Series Super Late Model weekend at Talladega Short Track (Eastaboga, Ala.). Action opens on Friday with a $5,038-to-win program, while Saturday’s action is headlined by a $9,700-to-win finale.