Callaway, VA (April 1, 2024) – The Teddy’s Water Hauling WinterThaw event set the stage for the season opener around the “World’s Fastest 3/8 mile Paved Oval”, Franklin County Speedway during Easter weekend.
Seven winners broke through on opening night including veteran Jimmy Mullins of Oak Level, who captured his first One Stop Towing Late Model victory since 2020. Mullins, who had been mostly competing in the Super Street and Charger divisions the last few seasons, made the move back to Late Models and made the most of it this past Saturday.
Mullins bested the seven-car field through carnage and with just 11-laps completed to the checkered flag with time expired on the race event. Matthew Lawrence of Floyd took home second by avoiding the carnage. Tyler Ashley of Galax finished third. After crashing out late, Eddie Walls of Hillsville and Jesse Arrington of Smith Mountain Lake completed the top five finishers.
AJ Sanders of Mocksville, NC dominated the 50-lap Carolina Mini Stock Challenge Series race fending off a race-long challenge from Tim Canipe of Hickory, NC to capture the victory. Jason Lester of Parrish, FL rebounded from a mid-race mishap when he lost his transponder and had to go down pit road to get a new one installed. He made it back to finish third despite carbon-monoxide fumes getting inside the car. He needed water following the finish but was in good spirits about his finish.
Shane Canipe of Hickory, NC finished fourth with Blaine Curry of Welcome, NC finishing fifth. Chuck Wall of Arcadia, NC, who won the previous two Carolina Mini Stock Challenge Series races, struggled but finished sixth in the 11-car field.
Chris Lilly of Shenandoah picked up where he left off in 2023 in the Moneta Tractor & Trailer Legends division as he picked up the win in the season-opening 30-lap race. It was the first INEX-sanctioned event for the Legends cars at Franklin County Speedway which yielded a strong 13-car field.
Lilly won five races last year and looks to be ready to better that number in 2024. Lilly battled hard with pole winner Ethan Truell of Winston-Salem, NC for the lead and pulled away in the closing laps for the victory. Truell would come home second with newcomer Scott Heath of Moneta finishing third. 2023 Legends division champion, James Folds of Roanoke and Nathan Wheat of Boones Mill completed the top five finishers.
In the always competitive Stock4 division, Josh Hinchee of Boones Mill dominated the first race of twins for the division but failed post-race technical inspection for weight and camber. Second-place finisher Keyshaun Claytor of Salem and third-place finisher Gary Smith of Buchanan also failed inspection for weight. This handed the win to 2023 Stock4 division champion, Wes Givens, who initially finished fourth. Jaden Austin of Callaway inherited second and Larry Altice of Roanoke inherited third. James Chrisley of Radford finished fourth, the last of the drivers passing post-race technical inspection. In total five drivers failed inspection after the first race.
Austin then led flag to flag in the second Stock4 race of the evening for his first victory of the season. Claytor and Hinchee, who fixed their earlier tech issues rebounded to finish second and third after a spirited battle between the two. Smith and Altice completed the top five finishers with no further issues in inspection.
In the Virginia Vintage Racers feature, Jimmy Mullins took home his second win of the night with the Modified division victory. Jay Dee Callahan of Killingworth, CT survived a spin late in the race to pick up the win in the Sportsman division of the Virginia Vintage Racers passing leader David Liles on the final lap. Barry Dalton and Stephen Kammer completed the top three finishers in Modifieds and Bub Ponton completed the top three finishers in Sportsman.
Racing action returns to Franklin County Speedway on Saturday, April 13th with the Pepsi Kid’s Gold Rush event. This will be the first night race of the year with the race starting at 7pm. Make plans to come out and enjoy a great evening of racing action with the One Stop Towing Late Models, Mini Stocks, Moneta Tractor & Trailer Legends and Stock4 in action.
More information can be found at https://fcspeedway.com/ or by calling 276.613.4208.
Teddy’s Water Hauling WinterThaw
March 30, 2024
Official Results
Moneta Tractor & Trailer Legends:
1 – #27 Chris Lilly
2 – #63 Ethan Truell
3 – #3 Scott Heath
4 – #15 James Folds
5 – #21 Nathan Wheat
6 – #11 Wes Givens
7 – #84 Austin Sams
8 – #75 Makenna Crocker
9 – #78 Gracie Crocker
10 – #16 Phil Smith
11 – #71 Justin Landis
12 – #26 Charles Parker
13 – #25 Tom Weaver
Carolina Mini Stock Challenge:
1 – #24 AJ Sanders
2 – #10 Tim Canipe
3 – #32 Jason Lester
4 – #1 Shane Canipe
5 – #16 Blaine Curry
6 – #18 Chuck Wall
7 – #99 Dennis Holdren
8 – #1/2 Chris Amos
DNS – #12 Jessie Yopp
DNS – #97 Scott Foley
DNS – #99A Chad Asberry
One Stop Towing Late Models:
1 – #12 Jimmy Mullins
2 – #54 Matthew Lawrence
3 – #83 Tyler Ashley
4 – #1 Eddie Walls
5 – #53 Jesse Arrington
6 – #17 Landin Nester
7 – #00 Genarro Palumbo
Stock4 Race #1:
1 – #2 Wes Givens
2 – #81 Jaden Austin
3 – #21 Larry Altice
4 – #26 James Chrisley
DQ – #22 Josh Hinchee (Weight/Camber)
DQ – #7x Keyshaun Claytor (Weight)
DQ – #97 Gary Smith (Weight)
DQ – #5 Josh Brown (Weight)
DQ – #315 Heather Fackler (Weight)
DNS – #77 Randy Winingham
Stock4 Race #2:
1 – #81 Jaden Austin
2 – #7x Keyshaun Claytor
3 – #22 Josh Hinchee
4 – #97 Gary Smith
5 – #21 Larry Altice
6 – #26 James Chrisley
7 – #315 Heather Fackler
8 – #5 Josh Brown
9 – #2 Wes Givens
DNS – #77 Randy Winingham
Virginia Vintage Racers:
1 – #57 Jimmy Mullins (Modifieds)
2 – #05 Barry Dalton (Modifieds)
3 – #11 JayDee Callahan (Sportsman)
4 – #14 David Liles (Sportsman)
5 – #31 Stephen Kammer (Modifieds)
6 – #97 PeeWee (Modifieds)
7 – #90 Preston Clark (Modifieds)
8 – #7 Bub Ponton (Sportsman)
9 – #6 Eric Morris (Sportsman)