Tony Shelton Jr. needed one race in a Late Model car to know he wanted to leave Street Stocks.
It helps that first race in a Late Model resulted in a win, which came earlier this year at Columbus Speedway. That victory came in his father’s ride, the No. 3 B&S Salvage car. Shortly thereafter, the Sheltons purchased the No. 68 Late Model car from the Rickman Racing team.
On Saturday, in a $1,000-to-win, 602 Late Model special at Columbus, Shelton Jr. trailed his father through much of the race. Restart after restart, Shelton Sr. would pull away from the field. Until the final restart, around Lap 20, when Shelton Jr. found his opening in turn two and finally found a way to get his car to stick to the low side of the track without losing grip exiting the corner.
It was all Shelton Jr. needed to clinch his second 602 Late Model win of the year, and his first in his full-time ride.
“I knew we’d battle each other clean,” Shelton, Jr. said. “(Shelton Sr.) was pulling me on the restarts, and right there at the end, I knew I was gonna try to run it harder, and he started pushing a little bit. I got lucky.”
Shelton Jr. said he’d noticed Shelton Sr. start to drift toward the higher side of the corners and lose a bit of momentum in the last 602 Late Model race at Columbus. He anticipated the same Saturday night.
“I was just getting as low as possible and going into the corners a little bit harder,” Shelton Jr. said. “In the middle of the race, we were just trying to make laps. Luckily, I got a restart there at the end.”
Shelton Sr. handles setup and maintenance for both vehicles and has since Shelton Jr. started racing Street Stocks at the end of last season. He said the experience of racing with his son has been pleasurable.
“He’s having a big time,” Shelton Sr. said. “He’s enjoying it. I enjoyed it. I set up the car the same way as mine. Same motor, same carburetor. He gets in and drives. He’s hanging out and trying to learn … but he beat these other guys out here, and that’s fun to see.”
Tony Chaney finished third, while Jonathan Pridmore and Lance Robertson rounded out the top five.
Greene holds off McCool
In his second race in more than a year, Wesley Greene raced with a heavy heart and ton of pressure in the Limited Late Model feature.
The Winona native lost a crew member earlier this year, and the father of his car owner, Jim Pine, recently passed. But it was a 3-year-old girl in Winona who weighed on his mind with five laps to go.
Aubrey Rainey, the daughter of close friends, recently had a liver transplant. But complications from the surgery worsened her condition.
Holding off a hard-charging McCool, who dove hard into each turn in an effort to overtake Greene, required grit and prayer, Greene said.
“I prayed about this race when we came here,” he said. “With five laps to go, I said to the Good Lord, ‘Please Lord, I want to win this race for her.’ I hadn’t seen anyone all night, and I was gonna hold my line when I did see somebody. He had that top working for him, and I just tried to close the door. It was a five-lap shootout. He’s tough out here. This Columbus track, they have a lot of competitors here. We’re just glad to come in here and pull out a win.”
Greene recently started a new business, so he hadn’t race in roughly a year until Aug. 1. He was eager to return to the track and taste success ahead of a string of races at Magnolia Motor Speedway and Whynot Motorsports Park.
“It’s definitely a big relief,” Greene said. “I started racing at 14, and it’s all I know. I work hard, and, of course, we play hard. This is a way of life for us. I had a lot of pressure on me tonight, and this took a lot of pressure off.
“Money, family and business are my chief concerns, and we’re about to get those ironed out and get back in the saddle.”
In other action, Doug Dodd won the Street Stock feature. Jamie Sudduth and Brent Mitchell rounded out the top three. Allen Gilreath won the Mini Stock feature. Tyler Castle and Matt Meadows rounded out the top three.
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