Story By: JEREMY PETERS / BRANDON DUKE RACING – WHITESBURG, GA – Austin Horton piloted the Brandon Duke Racing / Wood Motorsports No. 66 Bobby Thomas Race Engines Late Model to his sixth win of the season on Saturday night with a flag-to-flag victory in the Limited portion of the inaugural Sweet Home Alabama Classic at Penton Raceway.
Horton bagged a $4,000 payday for the Limited Late Model sweep after topping the speed charts in Friday’s preliminaries.
“What a night,” Horton said in victory lane. “Driving three cars tonight has me pretty worn out, but I am excited to pick up this win for Brandon Duke. He always has the car in tip-top shape, I just get the pleasure to drive it. Also have to thank my tire guy Blake, we were rolling in that feature.”
Austin Horton invaded Penton (Ala.) Raceway over the weekend with plans to compete in three divisions for the inaugural Sweet Home Alabama Classic.
With prelims on Friday setting the stage for main events on Saturday night, Horton broke out the broom in the Limited Late Model portion of the doubleheader. He backed up the fast-time honors with a flag-to-flag victory in the 40-lap feature. He claimed his sixth win of the season and the $4,000 paycheck ahead of Matt Dooley, Dusty Jones, Heath Hindman, and Braxtin Barber.
In the Shane Payton Racing No. 88 Crate Late Model, Horton was sidelined on the opening lap of the feature after timing in third-fastest in Friday’s time trials. Contact with another competitor resulted in power steering issues, ending his night.
Horton’s weekend concluded with a seventh-place finish in the Calvin Pike-owned No. 3 XR1 Rocket Chassis Late Model on Saturday night in the 602 ranks.
Horton will return to action this Saturday in the Topless Outlaw Late Model Series portion of the Pollard Memorial at Senoia Raceway. A $5,000 top prize will be up for grabs.