GREENVILLE, Texas (Sept. 16, 2023) — Touring Modified master Chris Henigan; Louisiana open-wheel stalwart Coty Tupper, and North Texas Stock car icon Chris Davis all won features in their respective divisions, as officials hosted the Eldon Dotson Memorial on Saturday at Hunt County Raceway.
Henigan powered to victory in the headlining $4,272-to-win Outlaw Modified A Main; Tupper claimed his win in USRA Limited Modified action; while Davis kept elite invaders at bay to win the Factory Stock feature.
Nick Lent (Eco Mods) and Kason Capps (Jr. Limiteds) also won features on Saturday.
Henigan, of Marshall, Texas, started on the pole of a 21-car grid, drove to the inside of local favorite Bo Day coming off Turn 2 to take command with four laps remaining and hung on to earn top honors. Day settled for second, while Arkansas's Drake Findley filled out the podium.
Max Eddie Thomas (Wills Point) and Colby Smith (Greenville, started 12th) completed the top five.
“I felt like I was a sitting duck in lapped traffic,” Henigan said in Victory Lane. “As soon as I got up to them, it was kind of dusty, so I was slowing down a little bit. Then when Bo got by me, he was trying to make it wide down the front straightaway.
“I thought he was going to the outside when we caught lapped traffic; so I dove back to the bottom and was able to get back by him. I want to thank all of my great sponsors and family for making it happen.”
Finishing sixth through 10th in the Grubbs Collision Outlaw Modified A Main were Triston Dycus, Chase Hatton, Mitchell Clement, Billy Brierton and Jack Sartain. With no cautions to slow the pace, some fast cars got lapped pretty quickly. Henigan's margin of victory was a scant .658 of a second.
Henigan, Sartain, Thomas and Findley won their respective qualifying Heats earlier in the evening, while Tyler Townsend and Clement won the two B Mains. Henigan also won the Elimination-style “King of the Hill” runoff (pitting one against one) to earn the Pole and an extra $720 on the evening.
Tupper, of Blanchard, Louisiana, started on the pole of a 16-car field and led all 20 laps of his feature. Andrew Rossum gave chase throughout yet crossed the stripe in second, while local veteran Jimmy Day filled out the podium. Shane Hartline and Rowdy Day finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
“It took a little luck in the Heat race to get this one done tonight,” Tupper told veteran announcer James Brown after his big win. “Two cars got together, we lucked out and got by them, which put us on the front row for the A Main. The track got a little locked down on the bottom; but we pulled off the win.”
Finishing sixth through 10th in the Encore Wire Limited/B Mod feature were Shannon Hartline, Bailey Dosser, Ricky Ingalls, Tim Clonch and Patrick Fields. One caution slowed the pace (lap 7) for a solo spin. Tupper's margin of victory over Rossum was a whopping 3.859 seconds, as he had checked out.
Davis, of Wills Point, started third on a 21-car grid, drove to the inside of his brother Tommy Jr. to take command at lap 13 and hung on to earn top honors. Factory Stock master and car builder Justin Whitehead drove up from 15th at the start to claim second, while Tommy Jr. finished a solid third.
Neil Kemp (Mineral Springs, AR) and Jason Tiner (Winona) rounded out the top five.
“It took a lot of blocking to win this one,” Davis admitted in Victory Lane. “I knew Whitehead and my brother were coming, and really everybody was fast here tonight. I heard Justin on my outside on the restart, I knew he was going to charge up the middle. We held our own, we got it done and we'll take it.
“I need to thank all of my sponsors; there's so many. And of course, my crew chief, Donnie Gosnell; I couldn't do this without him. I appreciate all of the support; we couldn't get here without them.”
Finishing sixth through 10th in the County Armory Factory Stock A Main were Nicholas Kirby, North Texas powerhouse Rodney White, Michael Smith (who started 20th), Jesse Meazell and Joe Evans. Two cautions slowed the pace, both for minor spins. Davis' margin of victory was .391 of a second.
Saturday night's inaugural Eldon Dotson Memorial/Dirt Track Cowboy Classic drew an impressive 112 entries spread across five divisions. Paying tribute to a popular local hero, the event kicked off with a special presentation to Eldon's son, Reggie; and Grandson, Austin, both racing their own cars all night.
Officials cranked out 14 qualifying Heats and four B Mains in short order before hosting five exciting features. The resurrection/rejuvenation of the former Superbowl Speedway into a thriving, well-run Hunt County Raceway has been a bright spot on the North Texas oval racing landscape in 2023.
You can replay every lap from Saturday night's inaugural Eldon Dotson Memorial/Dirt Track Cowboy Classic at Hunt County Raceway with a subscription at RaceOnTexas.com. With over 400 events on the Live steaming schedule this year, it's home to some of the finest content available online.
When you sign up today, select one of two options (OnDemand or All Access), choose your favorite or hometown track, and start enjoying great content while supporting your local track even when you can't attend in person.
By Phil Whipple, RaceOnTexas.com Staff Writer. Photo By: Still Life Photo
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