Story By: BEN SHELTON / ASHTON WINGER RACING – HAMPTON, GA – Ashton Winger raced his Jeff Mathews Motorsports No. 12 Super K Express / Recreational Vehicle Select / XR1 Rocket Chassis / Durham Racing Engine Super Late Model to the $10,000 victory on Friday night in the opening round of the Tuckasee Toilet Bowl Classis at Clarksville Speedway.
He backed it up with a runner-up performance in Saturday night’s finale.
“Tanner (English) went high and at the last second I darted to the bottom and prayed that it stuck,” Winger said in Victory Lane on Friday night. “It was good racing with him, I know they were moving and shaking, I figured someone was gonna shoot by me. It’s so hard to feel comfortable here, but it’s a special win, we’ve had a really, really trying year. My car has been fast, just have not had a whole lot of stuff go our way.”
With Mother Nature washing out the original Tuckassee Toilet Bowl Classic weekend, Ashton Winger was one of 28 Late Models checked in at Clarksville (Tenn.) Speedway on Friday afternoon for the opening round of the postponed event.
Winger clicked off the third-fastest lap in his qualifying group before picking up two spots in his heat race to earn the victory. Taking the green flag for the feature from the outside pole, Ashton ran in the runner-up position for the first seven laps before scooting by Tanner English on the inside to take the lead.
Dominating the remainder of the 40-lap main event, Winger took home a $10,000 payday in his first Super Late Model triumph of the season and his third win overall.
Looking for another $10,000 paycheck on Saturday afternoon, Ashton finished second in his heat race and started seventh in the main event where he would gain five positions to land runner-up behind race-winner Max Blair.
“We started a little too far back to have a chance at winning on Saturday night, but Max (Blair) did a great job, and overall, we’re pleased with how the weekend worked out.”
Tanner English, Dennis Erb Jr. and Payton Freeman completed the Top-5 finishers on Saturday.
Full results from the weekend are available at www.ClarksvilleSpeedway.com.
Up next for Winger is an Alabama doubleheader with the Schaffer’s Oil Spring Nationals Series. On Friday a $7,053-to-win event is scheduled for Buckshot Speedway (Clanton, Ala.), while a $10,053-to-win program is on tap at East Alabama Motor Speedway (Phenix City, Ala.) on Saturday.