Week of
November 6th - November 12th
ORS Truck Series - Nov. 6th
Fort Worth, TX - In what turned into a bit of a nail biter at the Texas Motor Speedway, Zach Gandee overcame the consistently fast trucks of Daniel Williamson and Aaron Dukes to snag his 2nd truck series victory to go alongside his Atlanta win from earlier in the year. The first stage, like much of tonights race was a veritable crapshoot with a solid handful of drivers being in contention of the stage win. However it would fall to the guy who put his truck on pole as Kyle Kolbe from beginning to end put together his 2nd stage win of the season. The second stage would provide some of the best excitement of the night as fuel strategy came into play after an early stage caution spilt up the run to the green checkers. As most of the field gave in for a splash and go pit stop to make it to the stage end, Aaron Dukes and Dennis Boggess vied for saving enough to make it on fumes. With less than 5 laps left in the stage, race leader Pacey Wigent was the final truck to come off pit road, right with Dukes and Boggess and the battle for the stage win was on. Due to the 40 and 54 saving on track their tires proved to be in much better condition than those who had ran hard and took fuel only on their stops. Boggess and Dukes would pull from the other contenders and battle side by side for much of the final 3 laps of the stage. Yet coming off turn 2 on the white flag lap, Dukes was able to cross over Boggess setting himself up on the inside lane for turns 3 and 4, and outlasted the number 54 to claim his 10th stage win on the season. The excitement wouldn't dim down for the races' final stage as an 8 truck pack ran amongst the leaders for much of the run until green flag pit stops. In the end Zach Gandee had inherited the lead after short pitting left Dukes on older tires. Gandee, Williamson, and Dukes were left to fight amongst themselves in the races final 20 laps as engine failure had claimed the number 8 Chevy of Wigent. Gandee would have the tires and power to outlast the 4 and 40, to pick up win number 2 in the latter half of the season. With engine failure knocking out Wigent, Gandee closed considerably on 2nd in points whilst overtaking Richard McGinnis for 3rd. Dukes extended his point lead yet again after another solid night pulling off another podium finish. Willamsons' runner up finish gave him a stranglehold on 4th in points, looking to close on the top 3. Matt Liptrap finished off a fantastic points night, finishing 4th and moving into the top 5 in points. Ryan Lewis earned a top 5 in his first start within the truck series, taking over for Bradley Stratton in the number 41 Toyota.
ORS Late Model Series - Nov. 7th
Bristol, TN - Finally a new winner has emerged from the mud and the muck. Robbie Richards was able to overcome to early race successes of Pacey Wigent and Aaron Dukes, to claim his first ORS victory in Thunder Valley. The early strengths though seemed to fvor the 80 of Wigent, who led every lap of the opening stage, as well as his series leading 8th stage win of the year. The shoe would switch to the other foot, as Dukes would claim the lead early in stage 2, and clamber out to a solitary 3 second lead before earning his 4th green checkered flag of the season. Yet staying out for stage 3, put Richards into the lead, and Dukes would be tasked with working his way around the 17 of Richards. Passing was rightly a tough task at the high banked oval, and Dukes would not be able to overcome this obstacle. Robbie Richards would hold on to his lead, and by a mere car length, Richards would go on to win his first ever ORS race! Dukes would be able to reclaim the championship points lead by one point over Wigent as we head into week 9 and the twists and turns of Jefferson Raceway.
ORS Xfinity Series - Nov. 8th
Homestead, FL - Usually a visit to the mile and an halfer in southern Florida signifies the ending of the season, but in this case it marked the beginning on a championship comeback for Zach Gandee who sealed his third Xfinity win, and closed in on points leader Aaron Dukes, picking up 2 spots in the standings, moving into the prime location of 2nd place. The start of the night didn't seem to belong to Gandee, falling a lap down early in the first stage. Matt Liptrap, who sat on the pole to begin the evening, and Ryan Heckathorn seemed to be 2 guys to beat early. As the run ran on, Liptrap would falter as Heckathorn would shine, leading much of stage 1, and notching his first stage win of the season. That speed would not wane as stage 2 got underway. Heckathorn and Liptrap would lead until the races' first caution came out 12 laps into the stage. The put crew of Aaron Dukes would shine under the caution, propelling him into the lead as the race restarted with 9 laps to go. Dukes would hold off the hard charge of Heckathorn in the final laps to lay claim to his 6th stage win of the season, tying the series high held formerly by Lee Petty. The final stage of the night saw the lead changed hands multiple times, as Dukes would relinquish the lead to Heckathorn early in the stage. As laps wound down, Eric Scora emerged as a front runner, wrestling the lead away, and leading much of the races mid stage. Scora and Heckathorn would find themselves in a tough spot as the races final pit stop closed in with Scora having issues getting onto pit road, and Heckathorn running a bit too low in 1 and 2 and nearly losing control of his number 2 Chevy. Scora would be in a position to improvise, gambling on two tires and giving himself a second shot to win, with strategy propelling him back into the top spot. Yet, like he had done in runs prior in the final stage of the night, Gandee would slowly run down the 9 of Scora, eventually overcoming a 4 second advantage, capturing the lead with 4 to go. The cruise control would go on from there, and Gandee would ride to his series leading 3rd win, and rocket into 2nd in points, now poised only 28 back of championship leader Aaron Dukes. Scora survived the strategy to come home second for his third top 5 of the year. Dukes maintained his championship advantage with a solid points night to go along with a podium finish. Ryan Heckathorn rebounded from a late mistake to grab yet another top 5, marking his 4th on the year, and moving back into the top 5 in the standings. Matt Liptrap also rebounded after trouble, closing in on the upper half of the standings with his fifth top 5 on the year.
Week of
November 13th - November 18th
ORS Truck Series - Nov. 13th
Pocono, PA - Among the four trucks that had shown out for much of the race, one stood out when the checkers flew. Aaron Dukes outlasted Zach Gandee over the final 10 laps, and overtook an out of fuel Daniel Williamson on the final lap to pick up his fourth truck win of the season, and further increase his stranglehold on the championship standings. With Pacey Wigent capturing his first pole in the truck series, the number 8 Chevy staked his claim of pace early on, but it would be Gandee taking the lead before completion of the first lap, and eventually leading all of the opening stage for his third stage win. By the second stage, Gandee was no longer alone in his dominance. Wigent had found pace to match, as well as Dukes and Ryan Lewis, appearing in only his second truck series event. Gandee would lead for the first half of the stage, while Dukes would go up and take the lead from the number 19 Chevy to lead the final 7 laps to snatch his series leading 11th stage victory. For the final stage, mechanical failures would befall one of the top 4, as Wigent would have to park it as green flag pit stops were underway. Before his abrupt departure Dukes had stayed atop the leaderboard, giving up the lead for only a handful of laps to the likes of Gandee and Brett Stack. Yet as final green flag pit stops commenced, only one man sat atop the field. Daniel Williamson threw caution to wind going for broke to conserve the fuel needed to make it to the end. While Dukes had come out ahead of Gandee, Williamson gave up much of his pace, dropping nearly all of his 35 second lead over the final run. Dukes found himself 3 seconds in back by the time the white flag flew, nursing a less than one second advantage over Gandee. However, Williamson didn't quite have what he needed, as the number 4 Toyota began coasting out of turn number 1 on the final lap. As Willaimson came up just a mile and a half short, Dukes would inherit the lead, maintaining his gap over Gandee, and leaving the Tricky Triangle with win number 4 on the year. With Wigent behind the wall, Dukes' championship hopes became ever brighter extending his lead to 84 points heading into the Thanksgiving break. Gandee finished the night 2nd, finding himself a mere 4 points behind Wigent for 2nd in the standings. Ryan Lewis picked up a podium finish in his 2nd series race, notching his 2nd Top 5 in as many races. Brett Stack finished off another solid night with 4th, climbing ever closer to the top 10 in points. Dennis Boggess would round out the Top 5 for his second on the year. After the Thanksgiving break the Truck series will get ORS back into the racing spirit as the series will travel to Gateway Motorsports Park.
ORS Late Model Series - Nov. 14th
Jefferson, DE - As the Late Model series found itself in new territory, within the confines of the dirt road course of Jefferson Raceway, there was no surprises at the two who dominated the night. Aaron Dukes and Pacey Wigent would again be the front runners showing out. As Wigent held the early advantage notching the first two stages, picking up stage wins 9 and 10, he looked to be the favorite heading into the final stage. However Dukes with some new found speed gave Wigent quite the challenge over the final stage sticking the the rear bumper of the 80 until contact would send the 80 wide, giving way for Dukes to take lead. A lead he would not relinquish over the final 6 laps to take yet another win in the series. Dukes would use his series leading 5th win, to extend his lead to a mere 5 points over Wigent. With only 4 races remaining the series championship remains in the air going into the break.
ORS Xfinity Series - Nov. 15th
Bristol, TN - With Zach Gandee and Pacey Wigent within striking distance of Aaron Dukes for the championship, a good night would be needed by all, but much was in the thick Bristol air as Dukes would suffer early engine trouble and Gandee not in his car for the night. Kyle Kolbe was behind the wheel of the number 35 Chevy for the absent Zach Gandee, and in his substitution role, gave Gandee quite the boost. Using the ultimate strategy, Kolbe outlasted the field in a fuel conservation gamble that saw the number 35 back in victory lane. However early on, Kolbe was much of a non starter, hanging just within the Top 5 most of the night. Out front, Wigent, Ryan Heckathorn, and Skyylor Karnes looked to be the cars to beat. In the races opening stage Heckathorn, fresh off his run at Homestead, carried that momentum into a stage win to start the night, leading every lap of the 1st stage. Heckathorn would keep his lead for long after the first stage, as Wigent would relieve it from his on the opening restart of stage 2. Wigent would, much like Heckathorn in the first stage, lead all of the second stage en route to winning the stage by a wide margin. By the time the final stage rolled around, Wigent looked to have not much in the way of competition. Karnes would not let that stand for long, having the pace to match and looked to give Wigent a run for his money over the final stage. Yet as many focused on the race, Kolbe was eyeing a different strategy for the final stretch. With tires beginning to show signs of wear, Karnes and much of the field opted to pit. With Karnes trying out a 2 tire strategy vs. Wigents' four. As the pit cycle finished, neither driver saw themselves atop the leaderboard, as Kolbe had stayed out, saving what fuel he could to make it to the checkers. Make it to the checkers he would, Kolbe would hold off a hard charge from Wigent who came within several laps over overcoming Kolbes' strategy, as Kolbe would pick up his first ever ORS win. With the points of Kolbes' win going to Gandee, the number 35 Chevy now sits second in the standings overtaking Wigent and pulling within 12 points of Dukes for the final races. Skyylor Karnes finished the night 3rd for an absent Dennis Boggess, as Ryan Heckathorn kept his treak of top 5's going with his third in a row. Matt Liptrap finished off the Top 5 with another strong run to claim his 6th top 5 of the year.
WEDNESDAY
November 24th, 2018
Outlaw Racing News
Aaron Dukes Again Claims both Truck and Xfinity Titles in Series 2
Millsboro, DE - On one hand a tight fisted run to the finale, the other all but guaranteed in the final races, either way Aaron Dukes once again swept the series to again notch the championships of both Truck and Xfinity seasons in back to back series.
Beginning in the Trucks, Aaron Dukes was a force to be reckoned with all season. Dukes put up an impressive stat line of 4 wins, more than doubling his next competitor in stage wins with 12, claiming a series high 11 top 5's, as well as a series high 3 poles, en route to a 56 point victory in this championship season. Pacey Wigent would place 2nd behind an impressive stat line himself, matching Dukes for wins with 4, one stage win, 8 top 5's, and a pole to boot. Zach Gandee in his first full season came home 3rd in the standings. Gandee put together a beautiful season as well, a 3 win, 5 stage win, 10 top 5's, and a pole to his name. Daniel Williamson finished the season 4th picking up a spot in the standings from last year. Consistency being his key behind 7 top 5's and a pole. Robbie Richards finished up his first season 5th in the standings, ending the season with a stage win, 4 top 5's and a pole.
On the Xfinity side, Dukes didn't look as dominant as he did in trucks, but it was certainly a season to remember. Being a nail bitter all the way to it conclusion, the fight in the standings gave us quite the show. Dukes in the end, fought off the challenges to claim the championship by 25 points over Pacey Wigent. Dukes put up a performance of 4 wins, a series high 8 stage wins, 7 top 5's and 3 poles. Pacey Wigent found himself looking up at Dukes for a second straight season, just within smelling distance again but coming up short. Wigent was impressive all season, with 1 win, 6 stages, 9 top 5's and a series high 4 poles. Zach Gandee proved to be a worthy foe week in and week out, finishing 3rd in the standings behind a 4 win, 1 stage, series leading 10 top 5's performance. Ryan Heckathorn was up a position from last season, finishing 4th. Heckathorn notched a nice 2 stage win, 7 top 5's, 1 pole season. Finishing up the season in 5th is Dennis Boggess in his first season. Boggess finished with 9 top 5's and his controversial Indy win.