The Catawba Valley roared to life on Saturday night with the thunderous sounds of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series presented by Smart Electric.

The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Models would start off the night’s festivities with the first of their twin 40 lap features. Kade Brown in the #23 would pace qualifying and start from the pole position with Vicente Salas in the #55 to his outside. Charlie Watson in the #9 and Landon Huffman in the #75 would make up row two for the start. Brown would jump to the early lead with Salas facing an early challenge from Watson. Bryson Ruff in the #24 and Tyler Matthews in the #15 would have a spirited battle for fifth. Ruff would make the pass and give chase to Huffman for fourth. The halfway point would see Brown, Salas, Watson, Ruff, and Huffman as the top five. Matthews, Annabeth Barnes-Crum in the #12, and Skyler Chaney in the #17 would all close in on Huffman looking for fifth place. Barnes-Crum would move around Matthews for sixth. Brown would prove too strong in race one and drive on to take the win. Salas would finish 2nd with Watson taking 3rd. Ruff would grab 4th and Huffman would hold on to 5th.

Next up would see a great field of Heritage Finance Street Stocks for their 30 lap feature. Johnny Reynolds in the #55 would top time trials and start from top spot with Gary Ledbetter in the #4 to his outside. Cody DeMarmels in the #12 and Jesse Clark in the #5 would roll off in row two. Ledbetter would pull to the early lead with Reynolds facing challenge from Clark and DeMarmels for second. Clark would move around Reynolds for second and DeMarmels would follow to 3rd. The caution would fly on lap 4 with a spin on the front stretch by DJ Little in the #11. The restart would see Ledbetter and Clark bring the field to the green flag. Ledbetter would move to the lead with Clark facing a challenge for position from DeMarmels. Lap 11 would see the caution fly again for a spin by the #11 of Kyle Boice. The restart would see Ledbetter and Clark pace the field to the restart. Ledbetter would pull to the lead with Clark and DeMarmels giving chase. An accident on lap 12 would bring out the caution with the cars of Marshall Sutton in the #64, Joseph Hodges in the #4, Jacob Hayes in the #49, and Blake Walker in the #99 all involved. The restart would see Ledbetter and Clark still at the front. Lap 16 would see Clark move to the lead and DeMarmels follow to second as Ledbetter would slow on the track and pull to the pits with what looked to be a flat tire. The caution would fly again on lap 23 as Little would spin and see the leaders make evasive maneuvers to narrowly avoid a major incident. The restart would see Clark and DeMarmels bring the field to the restart. DeMarmels would nose ahead for the top spot, but face a challenge from Clark as he would look to regain the lead. The caution would fly again on lap 27 as Sutton would spin in turn one with a flat tire. DeMarmels and Clark would bring the field back to the green flag. Clark would move to the lead with DeMarmels facing a challenge from Reynolds for position. Contact between Reynolds and DeMarmels would move Reynolds to second with DeMarmels out of shape and avoiding a spin in front of the field. DeMarmels would save the car, however he would lose valuable track position. Clark would drive on to take the win. Reynolds would finish 2nd and Dillon Crouch in the #6 would take 3rd. Sutton would battle back from the early wreck and late race spin for a hard fought 4th with DeMarmels salvaging 5th position after the last lap save.

Next up would be the Paramount Auto Group Limited Late Models for their 35 lap feature. Chase Janes in the #47 would pace qualifying and start from the pole position with Jordan McGregor in the #30 to his outside. William Aldred in the #9 and Zack Wells in the #66 would make up row two for the start. Janes would pull to the early lead with McGregor giving chase. The battle for third would be a four way affair as Aldred, Wells, the #65 of Josh Goble, and the #25 of Graham Hollar would all battle for the spot. The halfway point would see Janes, McGregor, Aldred, Wells, and Goble as the top five. Aldred would move around McGregor for second late in the race and hope to chase down the leader, Janes. As the checkered flag would fall, Janes would cross first and take the win. Aldred would finish 2nd and McGregor would take 3rd. Wells would grab 4th and Goble would come home in 5th.

The Renegades would hit the track next for their 20 lap event. Brain Larkin in the #6 would top time trials and start from top spot with Justin Austin in the #1 to his outside. Zach Mullins in the #72 and Steve Smart in the #16 would roll off in row two. Larkin and Justin Austin would battle side by side until the caution would fly on lap 4 for a spin by the #4 of Gage Austin. The restart would see Larkin and Justin Austin bring the field back to the green. Larkin would pull to the lead with Austin continuing to challenge. Smart would move around Austin for second and look to chase down Larkin. Lap 9 would see Smart move around Larkin and into the lead. The caution would fly on lap 10 as contact between the #83 of David Hasson and Justin Austin would send both spinning in turn four. Smart and Larkin would bring the field back to the restart. Smart would move to the lead with Larkin giving chase. Justin Austin would move around Larkin for second on lap 15. Smart would go on to take win. Austin would finish 2nd and Larkin would take 3rd. Brandon Hasson in the #82 would grab 4th and Campbell would come home in 5th.

The Black Bear Transmission Super Trucks would thunder to life next for a 35 lap event. Charlie Watson in the #9 would pace qualifying and start from the pole position with Ashley Huffman in the #7 to his outside. Charlie Neill in the #21 and Joey Shuryan in the #30 would make up row two for the start. Watson would pull to the early lead with Neill pressuring Huffman for second. The halfway point would see Watson, Huffman, Neill, Shuryan, and Ricky Dennie in the #6 as the top five. Lap 21 would see Huffman move around Watson for the lead. The caution would fly on the last lap for a spin in turn four. The restart would see Huffman and Watson bring the field to the green flag. Huffman would pull to the lead and drive on to take the win. Watson would finish 2nd and Neill would take 3rd. Shuryan would grab 4th and Dennie would come home in 5th.

The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Models would close out the night’s action with the second of their twin 40 lap features. After an 8 car invert from the finishing order of race one, the front row would see Michael Bumgarner in the #97 and Tyler Matthews in the #15. Row two would see Annabeth Barnes-Crum in the #12 and Landon Huffman in the #75 side by side for the start. Huffman and Charlie Watson in the #9 would make early contact and spin in turn one. The full restart would see Bumgarner and Matthews bring the field to the green flag. Bumgarner and Matthews would battle side by side until Bumgarner would nose ahead for the lead on lap 3. The caution would fly on lap 6 after contact between the #9 of Ashton Higgins and the #24 of Bryson Ruff would send Ruff spinning in turn four. Higgins and Ruff would both restart from the rear. Bumgarner and Matthews would bring the field to the green flag. Bumgarner would move to the lead with Matthews facing pressure from Vicente Salas in the #55. Salas would move around Matthews for second. The battle for fourth would see Barnes-Crum facing pressure from first race winner Kade Brown in the #23. Brown would move to fourth with Barnes-Crum in fifth. Bumgarner, Salas, Matthews, Brown, and Barnes-Crum would make up the top five at the halfway point. Brown would pressure Matthews for third while Barnes-Crum would close in on the pair. Bumgarner would take the white flag and appear to be driving to his first late model victory. But the caution would fly as Ruff would spin and be sitting sideways on the front stretch. This would set up a green-white-checker finish. Bumgarner and Salas would lead the field to the green flag with both drivers looking for their first NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model victory. Bumgarner and Salas would battle door to door and take the white flag. Salas would get up a head of steam as he came off of turn two of the final lap. Salas would pull to the inside of Bumgarner down the backstretch and both be side by side at corner entry of turn three. Salas would have the preferred line on the track and storm off of turn four to take the checkered flag. Bumgarner would finish 2nd and Matthews would take 3rd. Brown would grab 4th and Barnes-Crum would come home in 5th.

The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series will be in action again next week, April 1st, with a full slate of racing action and also again on April 8th.
April 15th brings the SMART Modifieds presented by Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet into town. The CARS Tour returns to Hickory on April 22nd.

Official Hickory Motor Speedway Results 3/25/23

Late Model Twin Race #1:
1 #23– Kade Brown
2 #55 – Vicente Salas
3 #9 – Charlie Watson
4 #24 – Bryson Ruff
5 #75 – Landon D. Huffman
6 #12 – Annabeth Barnes Crum
7 #15 – Tyler Matthews
8 #97 – Michael Bumgarner
9 #17 – Skyler Chaney
10 #6 – Clark Houston
11 #45 – Bryce Applegate
12 #9 – Samatha Rohrbaugh
13 #1 – Toni Breidinger
14 #9 – Ashton Higgins
15 #63 – Doug Barefoot

Late Model Twin Race #2:
1 #55 – Vicente Salas
2 #97 – Michael Bumgarner
3 #15 – Tyler Matthews
4 #23 – Kade Brown
5 #12 – Annabeth Barnes Crum
6 #9 – Charlie Watson
7 #17 – Skyler Chaney
8 #45 – Bryce Applegate
9 #75 – Landon D. Huffman
10 #24 – Bryson Ruff
11 #9 – Ashton Higgins
12 #9 – Samatha Rohrbaugh
13 #1 – Toni Breidinger
14 #6 – Clark Houston
15 #63 – Doug Barefoot

Paramount Auto Group Limited Late Model:
1 #47 – Chase Janes
2 #9 – William Aldred
3 #30 – Jordan McGregor
4 #66 – Zack Wells
5 #65 – Josh Goble
6 #25 – Graham Hollar
7 #28 – Mitch Gibson
8 #97 – Billy Jack Lester
9 #23 – William Haynie

Heritage Finance Company Street Stocks:
1 #5 – Jesse Clark
2 #55 – Johnny Reynolds
3 #6 – Dillon Crouch
4 #64 – Marshall Sutton
5 #12 – Cody DeMarmels
6 #48 – Trey Buff
7 #99 – Blake Walker
8 34 – Eric Zeh
9 #9 – Jon Austin
10 #11 – Dustin Little Jr.
11 #4 – Gary Ledbetter
12 #4 – Joseph Hodges
13 #49 – Jacob Hayes
14 #73 – Kyle Boice
15 #99 – Jeff Morse – DNS

Black Bear Transmission Super Trucks:
1 #7 – Ashley Huffman
2 #9 – Charlie Watson
3 #21 – Charlie Neill
4 #30 – Joey Shuryan
5 #6 – Ricky Dennie
6 #37 – David Johnson
7 #17 – Duane Cook

Renegades:
1 #16 – Steve Smart
2 #6 – Brian Larkin
3 #82 – Brandon Hasson
4 #69 – Ben Campbell
5 #55 – Jordan Cook
6 #72 – Zachary Mullins
7 #25 – Skylar Hudson
8 #81 – Matthew Chambers
9 #4 – Gage Austin
10 #34 – Gary Aldrich
11 #83 – David Hasson
12 #1 – Justin Austin DQ
#97 – Danny Crump Jr. – DNS