7/9/2023
Ashton Winger
Ashton Winger rallies late to steal Hell Tour's stop at Highland Speedway
Ashton Winger bagged a pair of DIRTcar Summer Nationals triumphs last week in his Jeff Mathews Motorsports No. 12 Johnny Doan Plumbing / Recreational Vehicle Select / XR1 Rocket Chassis / Durham Racing Engine Super Late Model.
He charged to the lead late for the $7,500 triumph at Lake Cumberland Speedway on Monday night, while Saturday’s victory found him surviving mechanical damage to his No. 12 entry at Highland Speedway to persevere for the $10,000 victory. He also claimed $10,000 for his Southern Week DIRTcar Summer Nationals point title.
“Our car came to life there late at Lake Cumberland (Speedway), and we go to the lead and got the win. We had a fast car the rest of the week, and survived a messed-up left front at Highland (Speedway) to get the win,” Winger shared. “We’re focused on closing the Summer Nationals out on a high note this week. It’s been a great ride so far, and thanks as always to everyone who supports this program and makes it all possible.”
Ashton Winger began last week’s action by unloading his Mathews Motorsports No. 12 machine at Lake Cumberland Speedway (Burnside, Ky.) on Monday afternoon to finish off the third week of DIRTcar Summer Nationals competition.
Following the fastest-lap in qualifying, Ashton picked up the victory in his heat race which placed him on the front-row of the 40-lap main event. With a $7,500 payday on the line, Winger ran in second behind Tyler Clem before making a late move around the race-long leader to score his fourth Hell Tour victory of the season. He topped Tyler Clem, Billy Moyer Jr., Greg Johnson, and Brenden Smith who completed the Top-5.
The victory secured Winger's points lead and he pocketed $10,000 in the "Southern Week" standings for the third week of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals.
With a highly-successful third week on the Hell Tour in his rearview mirror, Ashton Winger made the haul back to the Midwest at Tri-City Speedway (Granite City, Ill.) on Tuesday to kick off the "Mid State Week" of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals.
Nabbing the final transfer spot in his heat race, Winger started the $5,000-to-win feature from the sixth-row and charged forward eight positions to land inside the Top 5 in fourth.
With Wednesday's event rained out, Ashton turned his focus to Thursday's Herald and Review 100 at Macon Speedway (Macon, Ill.). With $7,500 on the line in the special 100-lap feature, Winger powered his way into the Top 5 but faded late to finish seventh.
Invading Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway on Friday evening, Ashton earned a front-row starting position after picking up the victory in his heat race. For the first $10,000-to-win show of the week, Winger recorded a fifth-place outing behind race-winner Brian Shirley, Ryan Unzicker, Tanner English, and Dennis Erb Jr. who made up the Top-5.
Among 37 Late Models at Highland Speedway (Highland, Ill.) on Saturday, Ashton raced his way into the 40-lap feature with a victory in his heat race. Starting the feature from the front row, Winger led the first 10 laps before engaging in a back-and-forth with Shannon Babb.
After out-running Shannon Babb, Ashton faced a challenge from Mike Harrison which left his left-front suspension bent for the final 15 laps of the A-Main. Rolling the bottom for the remainder of the race, Ashton regained the lead with just three laps remaining to score the hard-earned $10,000 payday.
Wrapping up the third week of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals at Tri-State Speedway (Haubstadt, Ind.) on Sunday evening, Winger topped his qualifying group before finishing runner-up in his heat race. For the final A-Main of the week, Ashton recorded a fourth-place outing.
Ashton finished second behind Jason Feger in the "Mid State Week" point standings.
Full results from the events available at www.DIRTcarSummerNationals.com.
The team is now focused on the final week of the 2023 DIRTcar Summer Nationals, which includes the following slate:
Wednesday, July 12: Shadyhill Speedway (Medaryville, Ind.)
Thursday, July 13: Butler Speedway (Quincy, Mich.)
Friday, July 14: Hartford (Mich.) Speedway
Saturday, July 15: Oakshade Raceway (Wauseon, Ohio)
Sunday, July 16: Wayne County Speedway (Orrville, Ohio)
Heading into the final week of action for the miniseries, Ashton holds a 17-point advantage atop the overall standings.
For more information on the events, please visit www.DIRTcarSummerNationals.com.
Article Credit: Terry Page photo
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