From Mike Warren / worldofoutlaws.com
Ricky Weiss’ confidence never wavered Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway.
After Chris Madden thundered past him for the lead in the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models Feature, he knew he had to find an extra gear.
The Headingly, MB driver found that gear in his Sniper Chassis, storming by Madden and finally scoring his first victory at “The Last Great Colosseum”
Weiss put himself in a position to succeed after drawing the pole. But as Madden snuck by him for the lead, many thoughts were going through the Canadian competitor’s head.
“It was definitely going through my mind there what I could do to screw it up,” Weiss said. “The only thing I did different [Saturday] was search around a little bit and see if I could find anything.
“I felt like I was pretty good, and then Madden blew my doors off beneath me, and I thought, ok, I better pick it up. I was able to get back by him and then set a decent pace.”
The $25,000 win at Bristol is Weiss’ third career World of Outlaws win and first since 2020.
After Jonathan Davenport passed him in the final few laps, Madden settled for third. The Gray Court, SC driver, stated he left too much room on the bottom for Weiss, costing him the top spot.
“When I caught [Weiss] and got by him, I caught lap traffic and they were two-wide,” Madden said. “I really instead of running the line I was running; I was like Ricky and trying to search around.
“I left the bottom open, and Ricky was able to capitalize on that, so I totally just left the racetrack open.”
Davenport finished second—the Georgia driver’s second podium of the weekend. “Superman” struggled early in the 30-lap Feature before the car came to him toward the end.
“I didn’t even know there was a pass for the lead; that’s how far behind I was,” Davenport said. “My car was just really free in the first part of the race, and then it finally got a little better, and I was searching around and trying to blow the top off.
“Finally, I just moved my lines around to come off the bottom in the corner and really found a good line and got some speed.”
Kyle Bronson finished fourth, and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five.
Max Blair crossed the line seventh, cutting the deficit between himself and Series points leader Dennis Erb Jr. The Carpentersville, IL driver sits atop the standings by 38 points.
Weiss’ win a Bristol is one he won’t soon forget, especially as he brings home an iconic sword. He stated he’ll put it in a particular place while working on his Sniper Chassis.
“Just knowing I won at Bristol is a big checkmark on my bucket list,” Weiss said. “I’ll probably put the [sword] right next to the car because we seem to be working on them every day.”
Up Next:
The World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models return to action May 5-7 at the second annual Dairyland Showdown at Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Fountain City, WI.
CASE Construction Feature (30 Laps):
1. 7-Ricky Weiss[1]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 3. 44-Chris Madden[6]; 4. 40B-Kyle Bronson[5]; 5. 6-Kyle Larson[7]; 6. 45-Kyle Hammer[2]; 7. 111V-Max Blair[9]; 8. 19R-Ryan Gustin[8]; 9. 79-Ross Bailes[14]; 10. 20-Jimmy Owens[11]; 11. 99B-Boom Briggs[10]; 12. 81E-Tanner English[13]; 13. 16-Tyler Bruening[17]; 14. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[15]; 15. 8-Kyle Strickler[18]; 16. B1-Brent Larson[12]; 17. 17V-Tim Vance[16]; 18. 1-Josh Richards[19]; 19. 1V-Vic Hill[20]; 20. 11-Gordy Gundaker[21]; 21. 0-Scott Bloomquist[4]
For the full story and results:
Photo: Jacy Norgaard