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Ross Bailes Holds off Late Charge by Chris Ferguson for $20,000 FASTRAK World Championship Victory; Jake Hawkins Goes Flag to Flag in Southeast Dirt M

Jamaica, VA – Ross Bailes of Clover, SC put on a clinic leading flag to flag to capture the $20,000 FASTRAK World Championship presented by James River Equipment victory at Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway. Bailes took the lead on the drop of the green flag and then held off a hard charging Chris Ferguson of Mt. Holly, NC by .985 seconds for the victory.

“If you don’t have a Barry Wright ICON race car you need to get you one, this car was flawless all weekend; I can’t thank Barry Wright and the crew enough for putting such a great cat under me,� commented Bailes in WhosYourDriver.org Victory Lane

The event attracted a record car count for Virginia Motor Speedway of 71 entrants. In other action Jake Hawkins of Fairmont, WV held off Chris Arnold of Matoaca, VA for his first Southeast Dirt Modified Series win and the $3000 check.

Ross Bailes and Corey Almond led the 24 car field to the green with Bailes jumping to the lead out of turn 2 and Jake Hawkins following to second. The races first caution would fly on lap 3 with Hawkins blowing a motor while running second. On the restart Bailes pulled away with Ryan Montgomery working his way to second. By lap 17 Bailes was working traffic and on the following lap split two lapped cars to make it three-wide in turn 1 as he had Montgomery closing. On a lap 19 restart Almond spun in front of the field collecting Thomas Robinson and Justin Williams bring out a red flag.

On the restart an eight car pile-up when one car drove over the hood of another car coming to the green caused yet another red flag and thinning the field out. On the restart Bailes pulled away from the field as Chris Ferguson began to pick off several positions over the next three laps moving to third. By the halfway point of the race Bailes had stretched his lead to a little over four seconds. On lap 38 Ferguson worked inside Montgomery on turn 3 to take over the second spot.

On lap 42 Bailes came up on a side-by side battle and very patiently worked his way past them and extending his lead. With the laps winding down the car on the move was that of Tyler Bare who had been caught up in the big wreck on lap 19. By lap 48 Bare had worked his way back to sixth. On lap 52 Walker Arthur worked his way into fourth as caution came out for Daryl Charlier who slowed in turn 2 closing the gap between Bailes and Ferguson setting up an eight lap shootout for the $20,000 top prize.

On the restart Ferguson tried to stay with the leader but Bailes was able to stretch his lead to four car lengths. With two to go Ferguson closed to within two car lengths. But Bailes was able to hold on for the $20,000 win. Rounding out the top five were Ferguson, Ryan Montgomery, Walker Arthur and Tyler Bare.

Heat race winners were Ross Bailes, Corey Almond, Jacob Hawkins, Jensen Ford, Thomas Robinson, Ryan Montgomery, Brent Hilton and Trent Ivey. B Main winners were Joshua Bishop, Brett Hamm, Daryl Charlier and Tyler Bare.

In the Southeast Dirt Modified Series 30 lap feature Jake Hawkins and Buck Stevens led the field to green with Hawkins leading the first circuit with Chris Arnold taking second in a three wide battle. Multiple cautions slowed the pace of the race with Hawkins able to hold on to the top spot each restart. Several times Arnold would get inside of Hawkins and looked to have enough momentum to get the lead only to have a caution fly.

On lap 15 Arnold pulled a slide job on Hawkins in turn 2 but jumped the cushion allowing Hawkins back around to regain the lead. That bobble also allowed Ryan Ayers to get by for second. Over the final 15 laps the battle was for second back as Hawkins put it on cruise to go on to take the $3000 victory. Arnold was able to get inside Ayers out of turn 4 and nnip him at the line for second. Ayers, Jordan Taylor and Mike Reynolds rounded out the top five.

The 2017 Aaron’s Dirt Series Championship weekly racing season at Virginia Motor Speedway has concluded. The next event will be the 13th annual Run-A-Muck Mud Bog and Mud Sling over at The Pit at Virginia Motor Speedway on Saturday October 14th. Eleven divisions will compete at the state-of-art mud bog facility. Stone Crusher with driver Steve Sims will be on hand for a bone crushing monster truck freestyle show. For more information visit www.thepitatvms.com.

Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway is a ½ mile dirt oval track is located on U.S. Route 17, eight miles north of Saluda, VA and 25 miles south of Tappahannock, VA in Jamaica, VA. The speedway is just a short drive from Richmond, Fredericksburg, Southern Maryland and the Hampton Roads area.

Race fans can go to www.vamotorspeedway.com to view the complete schedule Virginia Motor Speedway’s 2017 season, find detailed event information, get the latest news, and get complete ticket and camping information. In addition, fans can get social with Virginia Motor Speedway by following @vamotorspeedway on Twitter, clicking "Like" at www.facebook.com/VaMotorSpeedway and on www.youtube.com/VaMotorSpeedway.

MEDIA CONTACT: DAVE SEAY (804) 758-1867 OR (804) 357-7223

RACE RESULTS FASTRAK WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY JAMES RIVER EQUIPMENT - SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 16, 2017:

FASTRAK Pro Late Model World Championship (60 Laps): 1. 40B-Ross Bailes, [1]; 2. 22F-Chris Ferguson, [13]; 3. 12M-Ryan Montgomery, [6]; 4. 87-Walker Arthur, [12]; 5. 30-Tyler Bare, [20]; 6. 88-Trent Ivey, [8]; 7. 83-Jensen Ford, [4]; 8. 99M-Devin Moran, [10]; 9. 28D-Banjo Duke, [24]; 10. 14-Lee Cooper, [23]; 11. 33-Brent Hilton, [7]; 12. 11B-Allen Brannon, [15]; 13. 75-Brett Hamm, [18]; 14. 12C-Daryl Charlier, [19]; 15. 7A-Corey Almond, [2]; 16. 6-Victor Lee, [9]; 17. 89-Justin Williams, [16]; 18. 78-Thomas Robinson, [5]; 19. 01P-Travis Pennington, [22]; 20. J1-Joshua Bishop, [17]; 21. 0-Dale Hollidge, [21]; 22. 39-Henry Hornsby III, [14]; 23. 17-Logan Roberson, [11]; 24. 13-Jake Hawkins, [3]

Heat 1 (8 laps – Top 4 to A Main) - 1. 40B-Ross Bailes, [9]; 2. 6-Victor Lee, [7]; 3. 11-David Smith, [8]; 4. 12B-K.C. Burdette, [2]; 5. J1-Joshua Bishop, [6]; 6. 36-Cody Dawson, [1]; 7. 10-Zachary Kane, [5]; 8. 01-Matt Glanden, [3]; 9. 79-Mark Sant, [4]

Heat 2 (8 laps – Top 2 to A Main) – 1. 7A-Corey Almond, [2]; 2. 99M-Devin Moran, [1]; 3. 23-Corey Gordon, [4]; 4. 0-Dale Hollidge, [5]; 5. 8-Ron Parker, [3]; 6. 5-Mark Whitener, [8]; 7. 184-Kyle Lukon, [6]; 8. 66X-Matt Tarbox, [9]; 9. 03-Stephen Childress, [7]

Heat 3 (8 laps – Top 2 to A Main) – 1. 13-Jacob Hawkins, [2]; 2. 17-Logan Roberson, [1]; 3. 75-Brett Hamm, [4]; 4. 47-Matt Quade, [5]; 5. KB-Kerry King, [6]; 6. 23C-Cory Hedgecock, [3]; 7. 44-Dylan Lewis, [8]; 8. 2*-Jared Powell, [7]; 9. 28-Carl Vaughan, [9]

Heat 4 (8 laps – Top 2 to A Main) – 1. 83-Jensen Ford, [2]; 2. 87-Walker Arthur, [1]; 3. 79B-Michael Brown, [5]; 4. 25-Zach Dohm, [3]; 5. 01P-Travis Pennington, [6]; 6. 24-Matthew Nance, [4]; 7. 88B-Donald Bradsher, [8]; 8. 71-Davis Lipscombe, [9]; 9. 40-Brent Bordeaux, [7]

Heat 5 (8 laps – Top 2 to A Main) - 1. 78-Thomas Robinson, [2]; 2. 22F-Chris Ferguson, [1]; 3. 12C-Daryl Charlier, [3]; 4. 14-Lee Cooper, [4]; 5. 11H-Austin Hubbard, [6]; 6. 42-Cla Knight, [9]; 7. 55-Benji Hicks, [5]; 8. 99T-Teddy Tate, [8]; 9. 002-Tyler Arrington, [7]

Heat 6 (8 laps – Top 2 to A Main) – 1. 12M-Ryan Montgomery, [1]; 2. 39-Henry Hornsby III, [2]; 3. 1P-Andy Picklesimer, [5]; 4. 38-Kenny Moreland, [4]; 5. 93-Derrick Shaw, [9]; 6. 11W-Joe Warren, [6]; 7. 12-Rick Williams, [3]; 8. 32-Tristan Clawson, [7]; 9. 23M-John McClellan, [8]

Heat 7 (8 laps – Top 2 to A Main) – 1. 33-Brent Hilton, [2]; 2. 11B-Allen Brannon, [1]; 3. 21-Billy Beachler, [3]; 4. 28D-Banjo Duke, [4]; 5. 1-Terry Cregger, [6]; 6. 12S-Brian Swank, [8]; 7. 2-Dennis Franklin, [5]; 8. 4-Troy Frazier, [7]; 9. 5J-Darrell Dow, [9]

Heat 8 (8 laps – Top 4 to A Main) - 1. 88-Trent Ivey, [1]; 2. 89-Justin Williams, [2]; 3. 30-Tyler Bare, [4]; 4. RJ1-Mike Pegher Jr, [3]; 5. C4-Shane Hitt, [6]; 6. 14D-Braden Dillinger, [5]; 7. 54-Justin Wooford, [8]; 8. 14C-Chuck Bowie, [7]

B Feature 1 (12 laps – Top 2 to A Main) - 1. J1-Joshua Bishop, [1]; 2. 0-Dale Hollidge, [6]; 3. 5-Mark Whitener, [8]; 4. 12B-K.C. Burdette, [3]; 5. 8-Ron Parker, [2]; 6. 66X-Matt Tarbox, [14]; 7. 01-Matt Glanden, [7]; 8. 36-Cody Dawson, [9]; 9. 11-David Smith, [5]; 10. 10-Zachary Kane, [13]; 11. 03-Stephen Childress, [10]; (DNS) 23-Corey Gordon, ; (DNS) 79-Mark Sant, ; (DNS) 184-Kyle Lukon,

B Feature 2 (12 laps – Top 2 to A Main) – 1. 75-Brett Hamm, [1]; 2. 01P-Travis Pennington, [6]; 3. 79B-Michael Brown, [2]; 4. 47-Matt Quade, [3]; 5. 25-Zach Dohm, [4]; 6. KB-Kerry King, [5]; 7. 2*-Jared Powell, [11]; 8. 71-Davis Lipscombe, [12]; 9. 88B-Donald Bradsher, [10]; 10. 44-Dylan Lewis, [9]; 11. 40-Brent Bordeaux, [14]; 12. 28-Carl Vaughan, [13]; 13. 23C-Cory Hedgecock, [7]; 14. 24-Matthew Nance, [8]

B Feature 3 (12 laps – Top 2 to A Main) - 1. 12C-Daryl Charlier, [1]; 2. 14-Lee Cooper, [3]; 3. 11H-Austin Hubbard, [5]; 4. 1P-Andy Picklesimer, [2]; 5. 42-Cla Knight, [7]; 6. 38-Kenny Moreland, [4]; 7. 11W-Joe Warren, [8]; 8. 93-Derrick Shaw, [6]; 9. 55-Benji Hicks, [9]; (DNS) 12-Rick Williams, ; (DNS) 99T-Teddy Tate, ; (DNS) 32-Tristan Clawson, ; (DNS) 002-Tyler Arrington, ; (DNS) 23M-John McClellan,

B Feature 4 (12 laps – Top 2 to A Main) - 1. 30-Tyler Bare, [2]; 2. 28D-Banjo Duke, [3]; 3. RJ1-Mike Pegher Jr, [4]; 4. C4-Shane Hitt, [6]; 5. 1-Terry Cregger, [5]; 6. 12S-Brian Swank, [7]; 7. 2-Dennis Franklin, [9]; 8. 4-Troy Frazier, [11]; 9. 14C-Chuck Bowie, [12]; 10. 14D-Braden Dillinger, [8]; (DNS) 21-Billy Beachler, ; (DNS) 54-Justin Wooford, ; (DNS) 5J-Darrell Dow,

Fast Qualifier: Ross Bailes – 18.449 second, 97.57 mph
Entrants: 71

Southeast Dirt Modified Series (30 laps): 1. 13-Jake Hawkins, [2]; 2. 99W-Chris Arnold, [4]; 3. 6-Ryan Ayers, [5]; 4. 14J-Jordan Taylor, [11]; 5. 112-Mike Reynolds, [10]; 6. 9S-Slater McCray, [12]; 7. 64-Billy Workman Jr, [26]; 8. 23-Buck Stevens, [1]; 9. 68-Lance Grady, [16]; 10. 33-Hunter McClendon, [7]; 11. 10S-Tim Schulte, [21]; 12. 11-Chase Butler, [17]; 13. 44-Steve Bryant, [20]; 14. 7+7-Jeff Solinger, [15]; 15. 14D-David Taylor, [3]; 16. 26X-James Sparks, [14]; 17. 8A-Austin Holcombe, [19]; 18. 51-Joey Polevoy, [6]; 19. 121-Bret Hamilton, [9]; 20. 16-David Kendall, [24]; 21. 61-Eric Hill, [18]; 22. 01-Francis Jarrelle III, [13]; 23. 84-Ryan Toole, [8]; (DNS) 20G-Michael Grantham, ; (DNS) 21-Taylor Cook, ; (DNS) 92-Tyler Shipp, ; (DNS) 10-Mark Parks,

HEATS WERE RUN ON SEPTEMBER 15, 2017
Heat 1 (8 laps) - 1. 13-Jake Hawkins, [1]; 2. 14D-David Taylor, [3]; 3. 33-Hunter McClendon, [5]; 4. 112-Mike Reynolds, [4]; 5. 01-Francis Jarrelle III, [6]; 6. 68-Lance Grady, [8]; 7. 8A-Austin Holcombe, [2]; 8. 20G-Michael Grantham, [7]; 9. 92-Tyler Shipp, [9]

Heat 2 (8 laps) - 1. 99W-Chris Arnold, [2]; 2. 23-Buck Stevens, [3]; 3. 84-Ryan Toole, [4]; 4. 14J-Jordan Taylor, [5]; 5. 26X-James Sparks, [6]; 6. 11-Chase Butler, [7]; 7. 44-Stephen Bryant, [8]; 8. 21-Taylor Cook, [1]

Heat 3 (8 laps) - 1. 51-Joey Polevoy, [2]; 2. 6-Ryan Ayers, [1]; 3. 121-Bret Hamilton, [4]; 4. 9S-Slater McCray, [3]; 5. 7+7-Jeff Solinger, [6]; 6. 61-Eric Hill, [5]; 7. 10S-Tim Schulte, [7]; 8. 16-David Kendall, [8]; 9. 64-Billy Workman Jr, [10]; (DNS) 10-Mark Parks,

Fast Qualifier: Jake Hawkins – 18.820 seconds, 95.64 mph

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