Housewright sweeps Late Model features at Kingsport

KINGSPORT — Brad Housewright got off on the right foot by using his right foot during Saturday's season opener at Kingsport Speedway. Housewright, the defending track champion driving the No. 88 Chevrolet, led flag-to-flag in the first 40-lap Late Model feature at the 3/8-mile concrete oval. Derek Lane, with a Davey Allison throwback design on his No. 28 Chevy, took over second when Ashton Higgins slowed with a problem on the left rear. The real battle behind the two Kingsport drivers was for third place as Brad Teague and Bruce Crumbley swapped the positions on multiple occasions. Teague, the 78-year-old NASCAR veteran from Johnson City, emerged with the podium finish. Crumbley and Lexi Arnold, a former Milligan cheerleader from Johnson City, rounded out the top five. Housewright's car was even better in the second race. After the field was inverted, he made his way to the front passing Higgins for the lead on lap 31. While both cars were even through turns 1 and 2, Housewright was visibly better through turns 3 and 4. "The first race, our car was a little tight. We made a few adjustments and it started rolling through there," Housewright said. "I wasn't using a lot of brake. I was just picking the throttle up and going." Higgins finished second in the No. 9 Chevy with Lane in third place. "It was the way the invert fell. The car was actually better because the chassis was hitting the ground hard in the first race," Lane said. "We raised the front end, but we went a little too far." Teague added to a solid day with a fourth-place finish with Crumbley in fifth. It was the best showing by Teague in a couple of years. "We had speed in both races, but got held up so much," Teague said. "We were battling with the 33 (Crumbley) and the rest of them got away from me. We were about as fast as they were, but when they get too far ahead of you, you're doomed." Teague drove a different line than the rest of the front-runners. While they were diving to the bottom of the track in the turns, Teague drove higher on the banking. "The first race, I had a little too much brake on the front," Teague said. "When I would hit the brake pretty hard, it'd try to slide the tires. I needed a little more rear brake tonight, but we were close." MOD 4 & PURE 4 Kevin Canter and Steven Watts picked up where they finished last year with dominant wins in the Mod 4 and Pure 4 classes. Canter, in the No. 3 Dale Earnhardt themed Ford, passed his father, Rocky Yates, for the lead in the Mod 4 race and held him off the rest of the way. Chris Amburgey from Hiltons, Va., was right behind the lead duo from Abingdon in third. John Fox and Nathan Amburgey took the fourth and fifth spots. Kingsport drivers took the top three positions in Pure 4. Watts led flag-to-flag in the No. 05 followed by the No. 29 with driver Dallas Morelock. Frank Womack was third, followed by Terry Welch from Jonesville, Va., and another Kingsport racer Kenny Absher. SUPER STREET & STREET STOCK Marty Robinson emerged the winner of a four-car Super Street race after the other three entries crashed on the opening lap. Rick Utsman finished second with Cope Higgins was third. Ryan Lark drove the No. 71 Camaro, which resembled the car of former Late Model Sportsman champion Gene Glover, to his first-ever Street Stock victory. The Yuma, Va., driver beat Fall Branch racer Daniel McMurray to the finish line. Defending track champion Rob Austin finished third with Jay Swecker and Luke Fox the next two drivers. CROWN VIC & STOCK FWD Matthew Shelton held off Matthew Shetley in a Crown Vic race that featured a record 14 cars for the class. The North Carolina racer led all 20 laps, but the Newport driver Shetley was fast closing at the end. Ricky Shelton, also from Marshall, N.C., finished third. Keith McMurray from Fall Branch ended up fourth and Kingsport's Michael Patterson was fifth. Tyler Swecker from Gate City was the winner in the Stock FWD class. Dakota Collins from Nickelsville, Va., was second with Cody Hilton third.