December 6
Golden Isles Speedway,
Brunswick, GA
Sanction: Unsanctioned Crates (604) (Showdown on the Coast) - $20,000
Information provided by: Track reports (last updated December 8, 11:39 pm)
Whitener overcomes flat to win $20,000 at GIS
Showdown on the Coast
- Mark Whitener
- Jeremy Steele
- Colby Quick
- Beckham Malone
- Ben Faircloth
- Jesse Sobbing
- Corey Neil Jr.
- Kam Boyd
- Trynt Lloyd
- Ricky McClain
- Jackson Hise
- Bo Slay
- Cody Overton
- Kole Platt
- Scott Johnson
- Mack McCarter
- Hunter Carter
- Cole Exum
- Joseph Brown
- Layton Sullivan
- Clay Harris
- Jared Delk
- Colton Trouille
- Jason Garver
What won the race: After slowing with a flat right-front tire on lap 14, pole-starting Mark Whitener of Middleburg, Fla., regained control as he powered around the outside of Beckham Malone on a lap-27 restart and led the rest of Saturday's 50-lap Showdown on the Coast at Golden Isles Speedway. Whitener took the checkers 0.645 of a second ahead of 13th-starting Jeremy Steele for the $20,000 payday, his richest victory of the season.
Quotable: “That damn sure wasn’t given to me, was it?” Whitener said. “I thought starting on the pole would be easy, but I don’t know if the lapped cars can’t see, or what, but they just wouldn’t give us no room. We had a flat tire and had to go to the tail and had to come back and everybody was rubbin’. I about got the front end knocked out of it, but this is one bad-ass race car. When you got a field like this and you can come from the tail and win … whatever you gotta do to win the race, it’s 20 grand and I don’t give a s--- who’s mad.”
Key notes: Whitener led twice for 37 laps (1-13, 27-50), notching his 14th victory of the season in the unsanctioned event for 604 Crate Late Models. ... He slowed to draw the race's first caution with a flat right-front on lap 14 before storming back through the field. ... Teenager Beckham Malone led laps 14-26 before giving way to Whitener and slipping to fourth in the closing laps. ... Jeremy Steele grabbed the runner-up spot from Malone on lap 43, while Colby Quick slipped by for third on lap 45. ... Ninth-running Clay Harris suffered major front end damage following contact with Hunter Carter on lap 17 and called it a night. ... Layton Sullivan spun from second on the ensuing restart, sideswiping an infield tire tractor before retiring. ... Third-running Joseph Brown also clipped an infield tire on lap 19 and pulled off. ... Cody Overton pitted from seventh with a flat left-rear on lap 20 and ended up 13th, the last driver on the lead lap. ... The feature lasted 36 minutes, with 14 starters running at the checkers.
On the move: Jeremy Steele of York, S.C., started 13th and finished second.
Winner's sponsors: Whitener’s Cody Jett-owned Longhorn Chassis is powered by an H&R Racing Engine and sponsored by Southeast Ship Repair, Whitener’s Tractor Service, Johnny Doan Plumbing, Ocala Restaurant Supply, Jett Concrete Works, ML Motorsports, Angry Elephant Tattoo and Piercing, Baker Farms, RaceCar Engineering, ETG, Chad Tuten at Boswell Oil, VP Racing Fuels, FK Rod Ends, Penske Racing Shocks, Swift Springs and Hoosier Racing Tire.
Current weather: Clear, 38°F
Car count: 42
Fast qualifier: Colby Quick
Time: 16.097 seconds
Polesitter: Mark Whitener
Heat race winners: Cody Overton, Layton Sullivan, Ben Faircloth, Mark Whitener
Consolation race winners: Jared Delk, Kam Boyd
Editor's note: Results and race details are unofficial.