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Chris Ferguson drives out of turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 3 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals. Ferguson went on to win the heat.
Chris Madden (#44) and Stacy Boles (#11) race through turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 3 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
Chris Madden (#44) and Tim McCreadie (#39) race through turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 3 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
Stacy Boles(#11) and Chris Madden (#44) race through turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 3 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
Scott Bloomquist drives out of turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 4 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals. Bloomquist went on to win the heat.
Jimmy Owens (#20) and Dakotah Knuckles (#21) race through turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 2 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals. Owens went on to win the heat race.
Brandon Overton (#76) and Shane Clanton (#25) race through turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 2 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
Chris Ferguson drives out of turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 3 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals. Ferguson went on to win the heat.
Dakotah Knuckles drives through turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 2 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
Darrell Lanigandrives out of turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 4 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
Ricky Weiss drove to the win during the Super Late Model Heat 1 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
Ricky Thornton Jr. drives out of turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 1 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
Jonathan Davenport drives out of turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 1 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
Ricky Weiss gets ready to take the track during the Super Late Model race Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Chris Ferguson has discovered the secret to success at Bristol Motor Speedway.
With a dominant performance late Saturday night, the Mt. Holly, North Carolina, resident won for the second straight year in the Super Late Model portion of the Bristol Dirt Nationals.
In a sport ruled by big dollar teams with full-time racers, the self-funded Ferguson is something of an underdog. He earned a $50,000 prize for his XR Super Series conquest Saturday.
“This is awesome,” said Ferguson, who led the final 42 laps. “It’s the biggest win I’ve ever had and I just can’t believe I’m in this moment.
“Man, what an unbelievable race car we had. That thing was flawless.”
Ferguson held off eventual NASCAR Cup champion Kyle Larson en route to his BMS victory last year. His latest win had a familiar sound.
“This is the exact same car we won on the first night last year at Bristol,” Ferguson said. “We brought it back and supposedly this isn’t even my fast car.
“I wanted to win the big race here last year and I didn’t. But this year all four races are big ones and we’ve already knocked one out.”
Scott Bloomquist (Mooresburg, Tenn.) finished two seconds behind Ferguson after finding a fast groove during the middle of the event.
“I moved around on the track a little bit until late,” Bloomquist said. “We just stuck on the bottom and I hung with [Ferguson] pretty good for a while, but he had a little harder tire and could punish it a little more.”
Bloomquist and Ferguson actually worked together on car preparation and race strategy over the winter.
Pole-winner Ricky Weiss finished third, with Jonathan Davenport and Ricky Thornton Jr. rounding out the top five in the 50-lap event.
“It was definitely an interesting race,” Weiss said. “Once I got out front, I was trying to set a decent pace and not burn myself too early.”
Ferguson took advantage of lapped traffic to get around Weiss for the lead.
“I followed Ferguson and his car was really good out front,” Weiss said.
Bloomquist, who has overcome a variety in injuries in recent year, offered his support for the lucrative Super Late Model events such as the Dirt Nationals.
“Whoever doesn’t support this is kind of foolish because there have never been this many events offering this type of payback on the finest tracks, especially early in the season,” Bloomquist said.
The night went sour on lap 10 for Tim McCreadie as his car slammed into the outside wall. Just 11 laps later, Jimmy Owens (Newport, Tenn.) hit the wall in the same place while running in the third spot.
For the second straight night, fans were forced to endure cold and windy weather to watch the dirt track titans generate speeds in the 125-mph range.
The heat race winners were Weiss, Owens, Ferguson and Bloomquist.
Action was delayed during the B Main transfer race when the car driven by Johnny Scott (Las Cruces, New Mexico) slammed into the outside wall. Scott was able to walk on his own into the ambulance.
Johnson City driver Jensen Ford was unable to compete Saturday after his car was damaged in Friday’s feature.
In the 20-lap 602 Late Model feature, Colton Trouille (Valdosta, Ga.) capped off a strong week with a victory.
“My dad has been working his butt off on this car every day, and it was money today,” Trouille said.
The 15-year-old Trouille, who also ran in the 2021 Bristol Dirt Nationals, grew up competing in motocross.
One of the stops for Trouille was Muddy Creek Raceway in Blountville, where he performed well in a regional qualifier for the Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Tennessee.
“We hit all the big [motocross] races, but this stage is huge,” Trouille said. “The biggest track I’ve ran before Bristol was Charlotte, but this is like going from Late Model to NASCAR.
“The track was just a little rough here last year, and we had some bad luck, but it was great this time.”
Teenager Dallon Murty (Chelsea, Iowa) appeared to have the win in the Stock car division after charging from the middle of the field, but his car failed to pass post-race inspection. Dustin Vis was declared the winner.
Sir Lawrence O Connor (Vancouver) was awarded the win in Modified after violations were found on the Shane Demey car.
agregory@bristolnews.com | Twitter: @Greg_BHCSports | (276) 645-2544
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Chris Ferguson drives out of turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 3 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals. Ferguson went on to win the heat.
Chris Madden (#44) and Stacy Boles (#11) race through turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 3 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
Chris Madden (#44) and Tim McCreadie (#39) race through turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 3 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
Stacy Boles(#11) and Chris Madden (#44) race through turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 3 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
Scott Bloomquist drives out of turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 4 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals. Bloomquist went on to win the heat.
Jimmy Owens (#20) and Dakotah Knuckles (#21) race through turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 2 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals. Owens went on to win the heat race.
Brandon Overton (#76) and Shane Clanton (#25) race through turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 2 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
Chris Ferguson drives out of turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 3 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals. Ferguson went on to win the heat.
Dakotah Knuckles drives through turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 2 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
Darrell Lanigandrives out of turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 4 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
Ricky Weiss drove to the win during the Super Late Model Heat 1 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
Ricky Thornton Jr. drives out of turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 1 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
Jonathan Davenport drives out of turn 2 during the Super Late Model Heat 1 Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
Ricky Weiss gets ready to take the track during the Super Late Model race Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway during the Karl Kustoms Bristol Dirt Nationals.
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