Lancaster Motor Speedway
Rambo bags third straight Carolina Clash victory
By Mark Huey
Carolina Clash Super Late Model SeriesLANCASTER, S.C. (Aug. 24) — Dennis Franklin of Gaffney, S.C., continued his domination of the Carolina Clash Super Late Model Series with his third straight series victory and sixth on the season Saturday night at Lancaster Speedway, earning $4,000 in the first event of the regional tour’s Roush Yates Performance Products Countdown to the Cup Championship Series.
Starting from the pole, Franklin grabbed the lead on the start of the race and held off early pressure from Johnny Pursley of Clover, S.C., and Chris Ferguson of Mount Holly, N.C., before pulling away following a late-race restart.
But Pursley chased Franklin down in the late stages, only to fall off the pace with four laps remaining. Franklin held on the rest of the way, leading Ferguson and defending series champion Luke Roffers of Concord, N.C., to the finish.
"Yeah, I love this place as it is one of my favorite racetracks,” said Franklin, who won the third Carolina Clash race of his career at Lancaster’s sprawling half-mile oval. “I tried to set the car up to run up against the wall, but it just wouldn't work as good up there. I finally figured out that it handled better if I moved down to the center.”
Franklin, the two-time series champion, added to his points lead, which was reset to 11 points for the eight-race championship playoff. He now leads by 19 points over five-time series champion Ricky Weeks of Rutherfordton, N.C., who moved to second in the standings with his fourth-place finish Saturday night. Justin Labonte of Trinity, N.C., rounded out the race’s top five finishers.
Notes: Franklin’s Barry Wright Race Car is powered by a Clements Racing Engine and sponsored by AES Racing, Nichols Plumbing and M&W Towing. ... Franklin scored the 29th Carolina Clash victory of his career. He’s second on the tour’s all-time wins list, six behind Weeks. ... Pursley’s 17th-place finish dropped him from second to fifth in the standings. ... The Carolina Clash Series moves to Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, S.C., Sept. 1 for the Cherokee Speedway Hall of Fame Race.
Carolina Clash @ Lancaster: (1) Dennis Franklin, (2) Chris Ferguson, (3) Luke Roffers, (4) Ricky Weeks, (5) Justin Labonte, (6) Dustin Mitchell, (7) Chris Blackwell, (8) Tim Allen, (9) Shaun Harrell, (10) Scott Shirey, (11) Anthony Sanders, (12) Mike Gault, (13) Frank Coates, (14) Michael Marlowe, (15) Damon Kotke, (16) Mike Huey, (17) Johnny Pursley, (18) Kyle Pierce, (19) Gary Mabe, (20) Chris Hargett, (21) Kevin Wilson, (22) John Pursley, (23) Mike Parker, (24) Kenny Rominger, Jr., (25) Ross Bailes. Fast qualifier (among 25 cars): Franklin, 18.595 seconds.
