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Hearn wins Volusia finale; Ward takes points title.
A February trip to Volusia Speedway wouldn’t seem right without Brett Hearn in victory lane. Hearn used a great deal of patience in taking the $5,000 to win Advance Auto Parts DIRTcar feature in the final night of action.
Andy Bachetti led much of the race, but a miscue in lapped traffic gave Hearn the opportunity he needed. The Sussex, New Jersey, driver squeaked past Bachetti with 9 laps to go.
“I knew sooner of later I’d have to drop to the middle to make something happen,” said Hearn. “This is going to make the trip home really sweet.
“We’ve been messing around like we normally do down here. After last night we tried a couple of things. It was on tonight. It was a matter of perseverance. That’s all.”
Bachetti was gracious in defeat.
“The car was phenomenal,” said Bachetti. “Lapped traffic sometimes gets in the way, and that’s the way that deal goes.”
Pat Ward finished fifth in the 50-lapper, and that was enough to earn him the points championship and $1,000 from Xtreme Lubricants.
“I’d lke to first thank Jeff Brownell,” said Ward. “This is the first time we’ve had any points fund to run for down here.
“The Gypsum car was good all week. I’ve got to thank my crew that came down here and volunteered their time. I knocked the rearend out of it last night, and they worked on it all day.”
The race started with Bachetti leading Billy Decker into turn one. Bachetti led the first few laps, but a series of early cautions and restarts allowed Decker to squeeze his way into the lead. Decker paced the first 10 laps over Bachetti, Hearn, Ward, Jamie Mills, and Matt Sheppard.
Decker jumped the cushion in turn one on a lap 12 restart, and that opened the door for Bachetti to charge through. Hearn also got by Decker in the exchange. Hearn kept things close through the middle of the race, but even on restarts he couldn’t contend with Bachetti’s high line.
Lapped traffic was benefitting Bachetti as most of the slower cars stuck to the bottom. This allowed the leader to maintain his speed on the cushion, but Bachetti lost his advantage trying to pass Larry Wight.
Wight raced for position while Bachetti tried to lap him, and with nine laps remaining Hearn sliced his way through to take the lead. Hearn pulled away from Bachetti, but the handlng was going away on the Wentworth Construction-sponsored Teo.
Hearn was struggling in turn three, and that allowed Bachetti to narrow the gap, but Bachetti ran out of laps, and Hearn took the win. They were followed by Sheppard, Decker, and Ward. Ward’s fifth place finish was enough to net him the points title by a healthy margin.
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