GEORGETOWN, DE – Andy Best of Felton, DE rolled the Bob Lilick owned 7X machine into victory lane at Georgetown Speedway on Friday, September 11th after a grueling 25 lap feature event. This was Best’s first time in the 7X car in 2020, as well as the United Racing Club’s only appearance in the state of Delaware for the season.
What looked like another gloomy weekend turned into sunshine and warm temperatures as the United Racing Club took to Georgetown Speedway for their only appearance at the track, as well as in the state of Delaware for the 2020 season. Twenty-three cars made the trip on a day that we remembered the tragedy that struck out nation 19 years prior on 9/11/2001. Due to persistent rain in the days leading up to the race, the track would be hard to navigate and maneuver around, but all competitors were ready to meet the challenge.
Adam Carberry who came into the night only a few points behind Josh Weller in the race for the 2020 URC Championship posted quick time in hot laps with a time of 16.436. However, that time would soon be beat by the 10-time URC Champion, Curt Michael as he set the fast time of the night at 16.061 during his heat race. Jake Eldreth took a wild flip off turns 1 and 2 in heat one, and while Jake was able to exit the car under his own power he was transported to a local hospital for observation after complaining of neck pain. Andy Best, JJ Grasso, and Curt Michael were credited with heat race wins.
The United Racing Club made the decision to start all cars for the feature adding an additional $600 to the total purse. During the redraw, Ryan Stillwaggon found himself on the pole with Best to his outside. When the green flag flew, Stillwaggon jumped to the lead while Best and Tyler Ross battled for second. On lap 4, Best was able to grab the lead when Stillwaggon bobbled off of turn 4. Problems were not done for Stillwaggon as he got stuck behind a lap car causing him to lose many positions. The battle for the lead, however, was not over as Ross was once again challenging Best. Ross led for 5 laps before the 5 machine unfortunately suffered a flat front tire causing Ross to go back to the pit area, ending his night.
Best continued to lead as a late race red flag involving Ryan Watt and Jason Shultz, both whom retired to the pits at the end of the night, turned the 25-lap race into a 1 lap dash to determine the winner. Best cruised to victory to claim the $1,500 prize followed by Carberry, Grasso, Weller, and Colagiovanni rounding out the top 5.
“The car was so good thanks to the Andy Anderson setup”, Best said as he credited his long-time mechanic for the speed in the 7X. When speaking about lapped traffic, Best felt as though, “the car was just so good lap traffic was easy, but I didn’t really like the restart at the end.” Overall it seemed to work out as Best said, “it was great to be back with URC and get a win…. Hope we get to run with the URC guys some more”. This was Andy’s second career URC win, his first coming in 2010 at Delaware International Speedway.
The hard charger for the night went to Zack Burd who improved 13 positions when he started 23rd and made his way to finish tenth, his first top 10 of the year.
The United Racing Club returns for their season finale, and championship weekend to Bridgeport Motorsports Park on November 6 and 7. The championship battle could not be tighter as Adam Carberry was able to steal the lead by one point over the 2018 series champion, Josh Weller. Carberry is looking to get his first ever URC Championship, while Weller is looking for his second. It will all be decided in Swedesboro, NJ at the Kingdom of Speed come November. Up for grabs as well that weekend will be the tradition Midge Miller Memorial Trophy created by Cold Hard Art that will be presented to the driver who accumulates the greatest number of points between the two dates.
Photo Credit: Jesse Carberry
Contingency awards:
KSE Hard Charger – Zack Burd +13
Ultra Shield last redraw spot – Ryan Watt
ISC Racers Tape – Josh Weller (4th)
Seals-It – Austin Bishop (6th)
Rod End Supply – Ryan Stillwaggon (8th)
Ultra Shield – Ryan Watt (11th)
King Racing Products – Robbie Stillwaggon (15th)
DMI – Jake Eldreth (last in feature)
Feature Laps Led by:
1-3 – Ryan Stillwaggon
4-5 – Andy Best
6-10 – Tyler Ross
11-25 – Andy Best
RESULTS – SEPTEMBER 11, 2020
HEAT 1 (8 LAPS): 1. 7X-Andy Best[2]; 2. 11-Ryan Stillwaggon[4]; 3. 11A-Austin Bishop[3]; 4. 89-Robbie Stillwaggon[6]; 5. 10-Paulie Colagiovanni[5]; 6. 42-Jesse Pruchnik[8]; 7. 0-Steve Storie[1]; 8. (DNF) 23J-Jake Eldreth[7]
HEAT 2 (8 LAPS): 1. 5G-Curt Michael[2]; 2. 39-Ryan Watt[4]; 3. 55-Dallas Schott[1]; 4. 47-Adam Carberry[8]; 5. 22-Troy Betts[5]; 6. 28F-Davie Franek[3]; 7. 34-Mark Van Vorst[6]; 8. 5Z-Zack Burd[7]
HEAT 3 (8 LAPS): 1. 25-JJ Grasso[1]; 2. 5-Tyler Ross[4]; 3. 35-Jason Shultz[3]; 4. 63-Josh Weller[6]; 5. 7-Ed Aikin[2]; 6. (DNF) 3-Todd Gracey[5]; 7. (DNF) 9D-Kevin Darling[7]
FEATURE (25 LAPS): 1. 7X-Andy Best[2]; 2. 47-Adam Carberry[11]; 3. 25-JJ Grasso[5]; 4. 63-Josh Weller[12]; 5. 10-Paulie Colagiovanni[13]; 6. 11A-Austin Bishop[8]; 7. 55-Dallas Schott[3]; 8. 11-Ryan Stillwaggon[1]; 9. 7-Ed Aikin[15]; 10. 5Z-Zack Burd[23]; 11. (DNF) 39-Ryan Watt[9]; 12. (DNF) 35-Jason Shultz[7]; 13. (DNF) 28F-Davie Franek[17]; 14. (DNF) 22-Troy Betts[14]; 15. (DNF) 89-Robbie Stillwaggon[10]; 16. (DNF) 5-Tyler Ross[4]; 17. (DNF) 5G-Curt Michael[6]; 18. (DNF) 34-Mark Van Vorst[20]; 19. (DNF) 42-Jesse Pruchnik[16]; 20. (DNF) 0-Steve Storie[19]; 21. (DNF) 9D-Kevin Darling[21]; 22. (DNS) 3-Todd Gracey; 23. (DNS) 23J-Jake Eldreth
TOP 10 2020 URC POINTS (as of 9/11/2020)
- Adam Carberry – 936
- Josh Weller – 935 (-1)
- Austin Bishop – 759 (-177)
- Dallas Schott (Rookie) – 758 (-178)
- Ryan Stillwaggon – 726 (-210)
- Curt Michael – 710 (-226)
- Tyler Ross – 692 (-244)
- Troy Betts – 625 (-311)
- Ed Aikin – 583 (-353)
- Derek Locke – 579 (-357)
- Casey Robicheau on Sep 23, 2020
- Article Date: 9/11/2020 by Casey Robicheau