Story By: BEN SHELTON / ASHTON WINGER RACING – HAMPTON, GA – Ashton Winger collected his 15th win of the season on Friday night with a $5,000 triumph in the opening round of the 2023 edition of the Southern Showcase with his Jeff Mathews Motorsports No. 12 Johnny Doan Plumbing / Recreational Vehicle Select / XR1 Rocket Chassis / Durham Racing Engine Super Late Model.
The Georgia racer did so in thrilling fashion with a last-lap pass for the lead.
“That was pure luck. That was actually probably the easiest that I drove through (turn) three the whole race,” Winger said in Victory Lane. “I swear, I really just kinda settled in there and was gonna run second. It was a little dusty down there (in turn three) and it was hard to see, there was lapped cars three wide. The racing surface was awesome; I can tell you, me knocking the deck out is pretty normal, but here at Swainsboro, I’m sure it’s not a very good thing.”
He followed up his Friday performance with a second-place finish on Saturday night in the $23,000-to-win weekend finale. Ashton battled for the lead with Carson Ferguson and Cody Overton for much of the feature before settling into the runner-up finish.
“Carson (Ferguson) just did a better job than me there,” Winger admitted. “I think I picked the wrong lane there. Cody (Overton) fired kind of late and I thought he’d fire a little earlier, and I got choked up there and just left the top wide open there for Carson. Overall, it was a good weekend for us though.”
Fresh off a victory with the tour, Ashton Winger returned to the Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series on Friday afternoon at Swainsboro (Ga.) Raceway for the opening round of the two-day Southern Showcase.
With a strong 33-car field in the pits, Winger stopped the clock second-fastest in his group before pulling the No. 2 in the redraw after winning his heat race.
Rolling off from the front row in the short 30-lap main event, Ashton ran runner-up to race-long leader Jimmy Owens before pulling off an improbable last-lap pass for the win in the final corner. Winger snuck underneath Owens to score a $5,000 paycheck, his third-career triumph with the HTF tour and his 15th overall victory of the season.
Looking to double down in Saturday’s $23,000-to-win finale, Ashton started the A-Main from the second row and ran inside the Top-3 for the entirety of the 60-lap main event.
Sneaking by Cody Overton for the second position with just a handful of laps remaining, Winger ran down Carson Ferguson but was unable to make a move when the checkered flag dropped. Winger wound up second to Ferguson while Overton, Pearson Williams, and Josh Putnam completed the Top-5.
Winger now prepares for a World of Outlaws (WoO) Case Late Model Series doubleheader in his home state this Saturday and Sunday. Action kicks off at Senoia (Ga.) Raceway on Saturday with a $15,000-to-win program before shifting north to Rome (Ga.) Speedway on Sunday evening for the $10,000-to-win affair.