ENNIS, Texas (May 28, 2022) — Veteran short track pilots Skip O'Neal, Justin Vaughan and Chance Shelton won features in their respective division, as officials hosted a full night of points racing on Saturday evening at Big O Speedway.
O'Neal powered to victory in the RenDel RV Modified A Main; Vaughan got his season turned around with a victory in USRA Limited Modifieds, while Shelton outgunned a hungry pack in Factory Stock.
Ortanik Mikel (Late Models); Ronnie Miller (Thunder Cars); Cameron Dodd (Hornets); Mark Zoeller (Texas Winged Modifieds) and Dana Chittenden (Mod Lites) were also feature winners on a beautiful night for racing in North Texas.
O'Neal, of Midlothian, led all 20 laps of his caution-free feature by working the high line to his advantage. Richard Brown gave chase throughout yet settled for second, while Coby O'Neil filled out the podium. Chad Guest and Todd Greeninger were also on hand Saturday but failed to make the call.
Vaughan, of Dallas, slotted into second at the start of his 15-lap tussle behind early leader Abbigail Wilkerson. Just before halfway, Vaughan dove to the bottom going in to Turn 1, blasted past Wilkerson and never looked back.
Wilkerson crossed the stripe in second, while Levi Wilkerson filled out the podium in third. Tony Walton (Red Oak, TX) finished fourth to round out the field.
Only one caution slowed the pace for a minor spin. Abbigail made a big run at Vaughan with just two laps remaining, but slid up the track and lost her momentum. What she did accomplish, however, was to prove to everyone in attendance that she can get aggressive and mash the gas when it's called for.
Shelton, of Mabank, Texas, started his 15-lap feature from the pole and passed early leader Kenneth Chamberlain on the outside shortly after an early restart. Chamberlain made a late-race charge yet settled for the runner-up position, while Jason Hood crossed the line in third. Gerald Larson Jr. (Eustace, TX) and Cody Chamberlain (Jacksonville, TX) completed the top five.
Finishing sixth through 10th in the Factory Stock feature were Rodger Chaney, Mike Massey, Jerry Cleghorn, Royce Jones and Taylor Rawlinson. While Factory Stock isn't the hottest thing going in North Texas, there are still plenty of teams charging for Gusto each week when that green flag waves.
The Factory Stock feature brought the night's only scary moment when Rawlinson's machine rolled over at the entrance to Turn 4 and came to a grinding halt. While the car looked pretty banged up, Rawlinson walked to the ambulance for evaluation under his own power as the car was actually driven back to the pit area.
Some of those old war horses, it seems, just keep on ticking like an old Timex watch.
You can replay all of the action from Big O Speedway's exciting Saturday night points program with a subscription at RaceOnTexas.com. With over 350 events on the Live streaming schedule this year, it's your best value for online short track entertainment.
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By Phil Whipple, RaceOnTexas.com Staff Writer
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