By DAVID MILLER
Special to The Dispatch
Spencer Hughes still hasn’t slowed down.
The 15-year-old Meridian native led the Fall 40 Street Stocks feature from start to finish and won $5,000 Saturday at Magnolia Motor Speedway, notching his 19th feature win of the season.
The win marked Hughes’ ninth at Magnolia this season with just one more race left at the The Mag.
“You look back … I probably won’t have another year like this,” Hughes said. “It’s as good as it gets. I’m going to enjoy what little bit of it that’s left.”
Earlier in the week, Hughes said he’d never raced for as much money as was up for grabs at the Fall 40, noting the impact the top prize could have on his race program.
If there was any pressure on Hughes to perform, he didn’t show it Saturday. The NeSmith Street Stocks national champion, who has raced for 30 consecutive weekends, held off late charges from Neil Baggett and Lee Ray on two re-starts in the last three laps.
“I knew [Ray] would be right there up under me, but he’s a real clean driver,” Hughes said. “I’ve raced with him all year long.
“I know I definitely couldn’t make any mistakes with Lee Ray and Baggett right there behind me. I didn’t need to try anything out of the ordinary and I’d be alright.”
Baggett started third and fell out of the top 5 in the first half of the race. Baggett recovered from the slow start to finish second, walking down Lee Ray and passing him on the outside of turn 4 on lap 29. Baggett, who finished second in the NeSmith Late Model race immediately before the Street Stocks feature, drove the No. 6 Street Stock car owned by his father-in-law, Terry King, and normally driven by King’s son, T.K. Saturday marked just the second time.
“It took me a while to try and figure out a line to drive, and when I finally figured it out, we ran the [Ray] down and I finally got by him,” Baggett said. “I felt like we could be competitive with [Hughes], but after that caution (on lap 37), I thought I could run with him on the outside, but the track kind of dirtied back up. There weren’t enough laps in the race for the track to clean off again.”
Still, Baggett and Ray were aggressive on both restarts on laps 37 and 38. Baggett, who was in second on both restarts, took the outside of row 2 behind Hughes. Baggett said he chose the outside because Hughes had command of the bottom of the track.
“If I fell back to fifth, I fell back to fifth … I wanted to win,” Baggett said.
But it was Ray who had the best shot at passing Hughes on each restart. The Lowndes County native and runner-up in Magnolia track points this season got great jumps on the restarts and dove hard into turn 1, but the small window closed quickly each time.
“I was going to go after him,” Ray said. “The car was pretty good all night. It got tight about lap 30. I noticed Spencer was getting tight, but he could manhandle his better than I could. I let Neil get by me, but we still came out well.”
Baggett said he continues to be impressed by Hughes’ focus and performances each weekend.
“He’s a good kid,” Baggett said. “He’s got a good head on his shoulders. We’re grown men in this class.
I didn’t start racing until I was 18 – in late models – and didn’t have the success he’s had. He’s gonna be a superstar in this sport. He’s too dedicated, and I want him to do the best he can.”
Jay Burchfield, who drove Terry Taylor’s No. 16 car, finished fourth. Rodney Wing finished fifth.
In other race action, Chase Washington won the NeSmith Late Model feature race. Neil Baggett , Jeremy Shaw, Evan Ellis and Hunter Carroll rounded out the top 5. Ellis won the feature Friday night feature, while Shaw, Carroll, Baggett and Jamey Boland rounded out the top 5 of that race.
Tony Shelton won the 602 Late Model Stock feature race, his seventh in eight 602 division features at Magnolia this season. Eric Mazingo, Chase Washington, Johnny Smith and Jason Williams rounded out the top 5.
John Johnson won the Factory Stocks feature on both Friday and Saturday night, notching his second and third wins at Magnolia this season. Heath Beard, Brandon Whitley, Scooter Ware and Ellie Hughes rounded out the top 5. Hughes made her first start – in a different car – at Magnolia since a wreck at Magnolia in mid-August that resulted in her car landing on its hood.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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