Story By: BEN SHELTON / JCM MOTORSPORTS – BIRMINGHAM, AL – Spencer Hughes broke out the broom and swept the 2024 edition of the Clash at the Mag weekend with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOMLDS) over the weekend at Magnolia Motor Speedway.
With back-to-back wins on Friday and Saturday, Hughes collected $17,000 behind the wheel of the JCM Motorsports / Yellow Hammer Design & Construction No. 19m Dread River Distilling Co. / Cliburn Tank Lines / Neon Bubbles Car Wash / XR1 Rocket Chassis / Durham Racing Engine Super Late Model in Victory Lane.
“I knew we wasn’t bad right there, I just wasn’t very good on the cushion,” Hughes said in Victory Lane on Saturday night. “We really just needed some green flag laps, so once this (track) cleaned up, you could race all over it.
“This was such a great weekend for our team. It’s awesome seeing all these fans out here. I seen so many new t-shirts walking around too. I appreciate all y’all supporting us and glad finally able to come back here in front of a packed house and put on a good show.”
Competing in his home state of Mississippi over the weekend, Spencer Hughes joined the JCM Motorsports team as the crew invaded Magnolia Motor Speedway (Columbus, Miss.) on Friday afternoon for the first night of the Clash at the Mag.
With 49 COMP Cams Super Late Models checked in, Hughes picked up a heat race victory which placed him on the second-row for the 30-lap feature. Chasing down Ethan Dotson in the opening laps, Hughes slid into the lead on lap 15 and led the rest of the way to collect the $5,000 payday. He topped Ashton Winger and Payton Freeman who joined him on the podium for night one.
Rolling off fourth in Saturday’s $12,000-to-win finale, Hughes once again battled Ethan Dotson for the lead before Dotson had a mechanical failure with less than 15 laps to go. Leading the final 12 circuits, Spencer secured the $12,000 victory and swept the Clash at the Mag weekend. The win was his third of the year at Magnolia Motor Speedway and his fifth win overall.
In his fourth-career CCSDS triumph, Hughes outran Josh Putnam and Chad Trash to the checkered flag.
Th team now prepares to head northeast to Lernerville Speedway (Sarver, Pa.) this weekend for the 18th annual Firecracker 100 presented by Big River Steel. The weekend starts with the field divided into twin $5,000-to-win, preliminary programs on Thursday and Friday followed by a $50,000-to-win finale on Saturday.
Spencer was 14th in the 2023 finale and in three-career Firecracker 100 starts his best finish was ninth in 2021.