Dirt on Dirt - Roberts rolls to $10,053 Rebel Yell at Screven

July 21

Screven Motor Speedway,

Sylvania, GA

Sanction: Schaeffer's Southern Nationals (Rebel Yell) - $10,053

Information provided by: Series and track reports (last updated July 22, 8:15 am)

Roberts rolls to $10,053 Rebel Yell at Screven

Rebel Yell

Casey Roberts
Ross Bailes
Cory Hedgecock
Wil Herrington
Benji Hicks
Caleb Gay
Haiden Cowan
David McCoy
Donald McIntosh
Ben Boyd
Jordy Nipper
Gavin Cowan
Matthew Taylor
Steven Roberts
Hardy Youmans

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Anthony Neff

Casey Roberts led all but one lap en route to his first victory since 2019.

What won the race: Leading all but one lap in dominating fashion, pole-starting Casey Roberts of Toccoa, Ga., cruised to win Sunday's 53-lap Rebel Yell at Screven Motor Speedway. Roberts rolled to the $10,053 payday by 1.517 seconds over Ross Bailes, earning his 13th career Schaeffer's Southern Nationals victory and his first since July 22, 2017, at Screven.

Quotable: “It feels like home down here, ya know, I hadn’t raced in quite a while there until this year,” the 47-year-old Roberts said. “Looking at the looks of the car there, I still can’t drive, so we’ll keep working at it and maybe I’ll keep it out of the wall. I sure do like being behind the wheel and I’m just getting old, man. I tell ya, I don’t know how (58-year-old Dale) McDowell does it, I’m about pooped.”

Key notes: Roberts's second career Rebel Yell triumph is his first win of any kind since topping a 34-car Ultimate Southeast Series field on April 27, 2019, at Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Ga. ... Seventh-starting Bailes, a two-time Rebel Yell winner at Screven (2019, '21), marched steadily and used a lap-43 restart to take the runner-up spot from Cory Hedgecock. ... Second-starting Hedgecock edged Roberts at the line by 0.090 of a second to lead lap 29 before Roberts regained control on the following lap. ... Benji Hicks spun from ninth on lap 43, drawing the race's second and final caution before rebounding to complete the top five. ... Ben Boyd slowed with a flat left-rear to cause the first stoppage on lap 31. ... David McCoy ran as high as third in the opening laps before slipping to eighth aboard the Gus Simpson-owned No. 11 Longhorn. ... Donald McIntosh soldiered to a ninth-place result aboard his backup car after flipping his primary on the opening lap of the second heat race; he wasn't hurt. He was the last driver to complete 53 laps. ... Sunday's rain-postponed Rebel Yell lasted 22 minutes, with 10 competitors running at the checkers.

On the move: Benji Hicks of Mount Airy, N.C., started 11th and finished fifth.

Winner's sponsors: Roberts drives a Gus Simpson-owned Longhorn Chassis sponsored by Simpson’s Trucking & Grading, Atlanta Construction Paving & Concrete, Ralph Grizzle Trucking, Cantrell Forest Products, Kenny Harris Grading, Elrod Trucking, Rebel Auction Company, R&B Mechanical, VP Racing Fuels, Bilstein Shocks and A-Plus Signs.

Points chase: After Screven: 1. Donald McIntosh (962); 2. Cory Hedgecock (944); 3. Gavin Cowan (910); 4. Benji Hicks (908); 5. Chris Madden (728).

Current weather: Clear, 90°F

Car count: 15

Fast qualifier: Casey Roberts

Time: 15.112 seconds

Polesitter: Casey Roberts

Heat race winners: Casey Roberts, Cory Hedgecock

Next series race: July 23, Cherokee Speedway (Gaffney, SC) $7,553

Editor's note: Corrects date of previous victory for Roberts.

From staff reports

SYLVANIA, Ga. (July 21) — Updates from Sunday’s fifth round of the Schaeffer’s Southern Nationals at Screven Motor Speedway, an event highlighted by a 53-lap, $10,053-to-win feature for Super Late Models (results unofficial):

Feature

Leading all but one lap in dominating fashion, pole-starting Casey Roberts of Toccoa, Ga., cruised to win Sunday's 53-lap Rebel Yell at Screven Motor Speedway. Roberts rolled to the $10,053 payday by 1.517 seconds over Ross Bailes, earning his 13th career Schaeffer's Southern Nationals victory and first since July 22, 2017, at Screven. The second career Rebel Yell triumph is the first victory for Roberts, who has race sporadically in recent seasons, since topping a 34-car Ultimate Southeast Series field April 27, 2019, at Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, Ga.

Feature lineup

(53 laps)

Row 1: Casey Roberts, Cory Hedgecock
Row 2: David McCoy, Jordy Nipper
Row 3: Wil Herrington, Caleb Gay
Row 4: Ross Bailes, Haiden Cowan
Row 5: Gavin Cowan, Matthew Taylor
Row 6: Benji Hicks, Donald McIntosh
Row 7: Ben Boyd, Hardy Youmans
Row 8: Steven Roberts

Heat race recap

Casey Roberts led all eight laps from the pole to win the first heat race by 4.013 seconds over David McCoy. Wil Herrington started and finished third, with seventh-starting Ross Bailes grabbing fourth from Gavin Cowan on the last lap. The race’s lone caution flew when Steven Roberts and Ben Boyd spun on the opening lap. They both continued, with Boyd finishing seventh and Roberts in eighth. … Cory Hedgecock led the entire distance from the pole to win heat two by 1.892 seconds over fifth-starting Jordy Nipper. The lone incident of the second heat was the biggest of the day when second-starting Donald McIntosh appeared to get pinched into the outside wall by Hedgecock, climbing it and rolling over multiple times, landing on his roof. McIntosh was unhurt and tagged the field aboard his backup car. The second heat lasted 16 minutes, as it took track officials a while to get McIntosh’s car righted and towed to the pits.

Heat race results

(Eight laps; all transfer)

First heat: Casey Roberts, David McCoy, Wil Herrington, Ross Bailes, Gavin Cowan, Benji Hicks, Ben Boyd, Steven Roberts.

Second heat: Cory Hedgecock, Jordy Nipper, Caleb Gay, Haiden Cowan, Matthew Taylor, Donald McIntosh. Scratched: Hardy Youmans

Time trials

Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Casey Roberts (101), Toccoa, Ga., 15.112
2. Cory Hedgecock (23), Loudon, Tenn., 15.398
3. David McCoy (11), Franklin, N.C., 15.443
4. Donald McIntosh (79), Dawsonville, Ga., 15.494
5. Wil Herrington (14), Hawkinsville, Ga., 15.507
6. Haiden Cowan (14c), Rincon, Ga., 15.578
7. Gavin Cowan (219), Rincon, Ga., 15.662
8. Caleb Gay (17G), Dublin, Ga., 15.664
9. Benji Hicks (55), Mount Airy, N.C., 15.753
10. Jordy Nipper (1n), Gray, Ga., 15.919
11. Steven Roberts (111), Sylvester, Ga., 16.123
12. Matthew Taylor (38), Fort Valley, Ga., 16.128
13. Ross Bailes (87), Clover, S.C., 16.165
14. Hardy Youmans (7), Hardeeville, S.C., 16.314
15. Ben Boyd (8), Sylvania, Ga., 16.596

Sunday’s schedule

(All times local)
8 a.m. - Pits open
Noon - Grandstands open
1 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
1:30 p.m. - On-track activity
- 602 Bandit hot laps
- Late Model hot laps
- Crown vic hot lap qualifying
- Road warrior hot lap qualifying
- Street stock hot lap qualifying
- Sport compact hot lap qualifying
- Young lions hot lap qualifying
Opening ceremonies
- Late Model time trials (2 laps)
- 602 Bandit time trials
- Road warrior feature (15 laps)
- Late Model heats (8 laps)
- Street stock feature (15 laps)
Intermission/track prep
- Late Model feature (53 laps)
- Sport compact feature (40 laps)
- 602 Bandit feature (20 laps)
- Young lions feature (10 laps)
- Crown vic feature (15 laps)