Clifton Takes Lucky Win in Wild Sportsman 100 at Bowman Gray

Photo Credit CV Creations

At Bowman Gray Stadium, sometimes the difference between victory and defeat is just being at the right place at the 
right time. And for Zack Clifton, a little luck helped him to claim the most prestigious win of his career.
    Saturday night was the Colors Edge Sportsman 100 at the Madhouse, one of the few long-distance races for the McDowell Heating and Air Sportsman Series. 
They are known as endurance contests for drivers and cars alike, and Saturday’s battle was no exception.
    Tommy Neal had the fastest qualifying lap – and when the top six redrew for starting position, Spencer Martin was placed on the pole with Neal on the 
outside front row. Martin settled into an early lead until Justin Taylor grabbed the lead away on lap 5.
    Taylor then stayed up front for a long stretch while the field battled behind him. Tommy Neal moved to the outside twice during caution restarts to 
challenge for the lead – but Taylor held firm. With 10 laps to go, Tommy Neal and Amber Lynn tangled, cutting Neal’s tire and causing a collision between the 
two cars.
    It was then Spencer Martin’s turn to move up and try to reclaim the lead he had relinquished early in the race. As the repeated cautions took the race 
over the 100-lap mark, Martin’s time was running out. He made an aggressive move to dart to the inside of Taylor, sending the #12 car of Taylor spinning and 
the #5 of Spencer Martin sailing to the front of the pack.
    Martin’s time there was short-lived, however. Taylor made his displeasure known, ramming Martin’s car during the caution and ending his chance at a 
victory.
    Kyle Southern then moved up into the lead. Once the green waved again, the carnage continued at the front – this time, Southern and Zack Ore collided 
as they raced for the win. The field collected behind them, leaving a small lane on the inside open.
    And that’s where Zack Clifton happened to be. Even though he had started ninth and had languished in the middle of the pack, he took advantage of the 
opportunity. Seconds later, he was taking the checkered flag.
    “That was the worst car I’ve ever driven in my life – but my guys said to not ever give up,” said Clifton. “I pulled over and let cars go by me. I 
didn’t want to hold anybody up.”
    “They just started tearing up racecars and I was sitting there riding. That’s all I could do,” said Clifton. “They went off into three and just all 
wrecked. I headed to the bottom – there was a hole and then there was the checkered flag.”
    “I was in the right place at the right time. I got really lucky – but hey, I’ll take a win any way I can get it,” said Clifton. “I’ve won a 
championship. I’ve won many races. But I’ve never won a 100-lapper. I finally pulled it off tonight.”
    Jacob Creed finished second and Jeff Garrison finished third.
    In the Brad’s Golf Cars Modified Series, Tim Brown continued his hot streak – qualifying on the pole and leading the way through the first 25-lap race. 
There were a few false starts between Brown and Burt Myers during the initial green flag, but the mind games didn’t shake Brown.
    “I know those starts probably looked jacked up, but that 69 car [of John Holleman] had my rear wheels picked up,” said Brown, who was also able to fend 
off the stout taps from Burt Myers toward the end of the race. “We won and that’s all that matters. I was kinda saving the tires for the second race. I just 
didn’t want to go and run away from them.”
    “We have a saying in our shop. #WorkingHardToBeatYou,” said Brown. “And I feel that’s what this team is about and what our sponsors are about.”
    The “Madhouse Scramble” placed Danny Bohn on the pole for the start of the second race. He held off Jason Myers to grab the checkered.
    In the Law Offices of John Barrow Street Stock Series, David Creed sailed out into the lead and crossed the finish line first. But after post-race 
technical inspection, Creed was disqualified and Brian Wall was declared the winner.
    And in the Q104.1 Stadium Stock Series, Grayson Keaton won the “A” race with 14-year-old Isaac Harris grabbing his first career win in the “B” race.
    The racing agenda for this Saturday, July 31, is the annual Thunder Road Grill Stadium Stock 50 – the longest and most prestigious race of the year for 
the Stadium Stock cars. Plus there’s racing for the Modifieds, Sportsman, and Street Stock Divisions. And the night ends with a blast from the past as the 
Classic Modifieds compete.

Race Results

Brad’s Golf Cars Modified Series
1st Modified Race: 25 laps

FINISH    CAR    DRIVER    HOMETOWN
1    83    Tim Brown    Tobaccoville, NC
2    1    Burt Myers    Kernersville, NC
3    04    Brandon Ward    Winston-Salem, NC
4    69    John Holleman    Winston-Salem, NC
5    75    Lee Jeffreys    Wallburg, NC
6    22    Jonathan Brown    Winston-Salem, NC
7    16    Chris Fleming    Mount Airy, NC
8    4    Jason Myers    Walnut Cove, NC
9    5    Randy Butner    Pfafftown, NC
10    65    Danny Bohn    Mooresville, NC
11    3    Danny Propst    Monroe, NC
12    53    Joseph Brown    Winston-Salem, NC
13    18    Daniel Yates    Lexington, NC
14    44    Daniel Beeson    Kernersville, NC
15    7    Dylan Ward    Winston-Salem, NC
16    24    Rupert Sink    Winston-Salem, NC
17    72    Bryant Robertson    Winston-Salem, NC
18    99    William Smith    Mount Airy, NC
19    6    Chris Williams    Martinsville, VA
20    88    Brad Robbins    Winston-Salem, NC
21    68    Junior Miller    Danbury, NC
22    77    Susan Harwell    Jonesville, NC

2nd Modified Race: 25 laps

FINISH    CAR    DRIVER    HOMETOWN
1    65    Danny Bohn    Mooresville, NC
2    4    Jason Myers    Walnut Cove, NC
3    04    Brandon Ward    Winston-Salem, NC
4    16    Chris Fleming    Mount Airy, NC
5    3    Danny Propst    Monroe, NC
6    75    Lee Jeffreys    Wallburg, NC
7    18    Daniel Yates    Lexington, NC
8    83    Tim Brown    Tobaccoville, NC
9    44    Daniel Beeson    Kernersville, NC
10    69    John Holleman    Winston-Salem, NC
11    1    Burt Myers    Kernersville, NC
12    5    Randy Butner    Pfafftown, NC
13    24    Rupert Sink    Winston-Salem, NC
14    7    Dylan Ward    Winston-Salem, NC
15    6    Chris Williams    Martinsville, VA
16    99    William Smith    Mount Airy, NC
17    22    Jonathan Brown    Winston-Salem, NC
18    53    Joseph Brown    Winston-Salem, NC
19    72    Bryant Robertson    Winston-Salem, NC
20    77    Susan Harwell    Jonesville, NC

McDowell Heating & Air Sportsman Series
Colors Edge Sportsman 100: 113 laps (race extended due to caution)

FINISH    CAR    DRIVER    HOMETOWN
1    81    Zack Clifton    Walkertown, NC
2    08    Jacob Creed    Mt Airy, NC
3    3    Jeff Garrison    Clemmons, NC
4    38    Mitch Gales    Thomasville, NC
5    19    Michael Adams    Yadkinville, NC
6    92    Kyle Southern    Rural Hall, NC
7    6    Kirk Sheets    Pfafftown, NC
8    55    Zack Ore    Lexington, NC
9    68    Robbie Brewer    Winston-Salem, NC
10    21    Tommy Neal    Rural Hall, NC
11    2    Amber Lynn    Walkertown, NC
12    31    Chase Robertson    Winston-Salem, NC
13    12    Justin Taylor    Kernersville, NC
14    5    Spencer Martin    Wallburg, NC
15    03    Sterling Plemmons    Winston-Salem, NC
16    54    Braden Mills    Winston-Salem, NC
17    22    Wesley Thompson    Advance, NC
18    1    Nick Wall    Winston-Salem, NC

Law Offices of John Barrow Street Stock Series
Street Stock Race: 20 laps

FINISH    CAR    DRIVER    HOMETOWN
1    22    Brian Wall    Winston-Salem, NC
2    19    Kenny Bost    Winston-Salem, NC
3    99    Bryan Sykes    Winston-Salem, NC
4    59    Austin Harris    Yadkinville, NC
5    88    Austin Jones    Clemmons, NC
6    3    Dennis Lanier    Lexington, NC
7    16    Brad Lewis    Winston-Salem, NC
8    00    Donnie Martin    Winston-Salem, NC
9    40    Taylor Robbins    Winston-Salem, NC
10    0    Brian Rose    Trinity, NC
11    31    Brandon Butner    Lewisville, NC
12    79    Conner Shaw    Walnut Cove, NC
13    1    Christian Joyce    Trinity, NC
14    69    Gerald Robinson Jr    Winston-Salem, NC
15    28    Nate Gregg    Lexington, NC
16    98    Billy Gregg    Lexington, NC
17    13    Kevin Gilbert    Mocksville, NC
18    97    Jeremy Warren    Winston-Salem, NC

Q104.1 Stadium Stock Series
Stadium Stock “A” Race: 15 laps

FINISH    CAR    DRIVER    HOMETOWN
1    1    Grayson Keaton    Mocksville, NC
2    81    Chuck Wall    Lexington, NC
3    90    Robert Strmiska    Lexington, NC
4    9    Brandon Brendle    Tobaccoville, NC
5    80    Luke Smith    Advance, NC
6    12    Levi Holt    Kernersville, NC
7    27    Austin Cates    Tobaccoville, NC
8    46    Wyatt Sapp    Kernersville, NC
9    31    Kyler Staley    Lexington, NC
10    24    A.J. Sanders    Mocksville, NC
11    14    Ken Bridges    King, NC
12    28    Robert Mabe    Germanton, NC
13    25    Matt Goodwin    Winston-Salem, NC

Stadium Stock “B” Race: 15 laps

FINISH    CAR    DRIVER    HOMETOWN
1    59    Isaac Harris    Winston-Salem, NC

Bowman Gray Stadium PR

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