Clement runs them down at Ardmore

  • July 29, 2017
  • by Debra Hix

Wesley Veal jumped out to an early lead in the USRA Modified feature Saturday at the Southern Oklahoma Speedway, but after three laps both Travis Johnson and Shane Hartline challenged him for the lead. Coming off turn four wide open, Johnson took the lead from Veal but Johnson had his work cut out for himself maintaining that lead with Veal and Hartline right there challenging him every lap.

But out of nowhere came Mitchell Clement, who started ninth and had been working his way through the traffic. Clement used the bottom and took the lead on the front straight-away and now the race was between Johnson and Clement. For several laps the two went back and forth until Johnson went too high in turn three, almost sliding off the top and barely missing the yuke tire in front of the back wall.

Clement then stretched his lead out to a straight-away as he started to maneuver lapped traffic but behind him Veal, Johnson and Hartline were fighting for second place while scrambling through the same lapped traffic. Clement held on for the win, Veal grabbed second after taking to the high side off turn four with a lapped car between himself and Hartline who chose the bottom and finished third. Johnson finished fourth and Buddy Honaker was fifth.

The TOMS series will return this coming weekend at Southern Oklahoma Speedway.