Hernandez wins Turkey Gobbler 100 trucks feature at Desoto Speedway
Nick Hernandez dominated the Turkey Gobbler 100 at Desoto Speedway on Saturday, overcoming a 45-minute red flag because of a crash.
The victory in the season finale for both the Desoto Pro Trucks and Desoto Auburndale Racing Trucks (DART) Series was the second in a row for Hernandez, who won the truck feature at New Smyrna Speedway in his previous outing.
Hernandez spent much of the race among the leaders but didn’t take the lead until the end of lap 55. He kept Cody McDuffie and Michael Goddard at bay over the next 25 laps before the race was halted when Dean Butrum and Derek Pugh were involved in a heavy crash 17 laps from the finish. During the crash, Pugh’s vehickle slammed into the wall on the driver’s side. The race was stopped while he received medical attention before being transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.
Once the race restarted, Hernandez held off a charging McDuffie over the final 15 laps for the victory.
“I knew it was going to be a tough race,” Hernandez said in victory lane. “We didn’t get the qualifying run we wanted, but figured if we bided our time we’d be able to get up to the front. Cody and Michael fought hard. It was a great race.”
Goddard held off Joe Winchell for third. Cameron Cruse rounded out the top five. Sixth-place finisher Corey Bigley earned the season Desoto Pro Truck track championship. The DART series results were not finalized as of Sunday afternoon. Becca Monopoli entered Saturday night with the points lead in that series but finished eighth.
In other features, Danny Caylor pulled away in the closing laps to win the 25-lap Street stock race. Darrin Ellis took the lead early on and won the 25-lap Pure Stock feature; Carl Thompson won the 25-lap Bomber feature; and Mike Endee won the Outlaw Modified feature;
Desoto Speedway returns to action on Dec. 3 with Sportsman, Street Stocks, Pure Stocks, Bombers and Bombers for the final night of racing for 2016.
DESOTO SPEEDWAY
Saturday
Street Stock: 1. Danny Caylor; 2. Kenny Gibson; 3. Bobby Huffstutler; 4. Donnie Powers; 5. James Nanny; 6. Travis Barfield; 7. Garrett Thompson; 8. Pat Martin; 9. Dan Scott.
Pure Stock: 1. Darrin Ellis; 2. Blaine Bear; 3. Carl Thompson Jr.; 4. Billy Carlbert; 5. Terry Price; 6. Aaron Holmes; 7. Sherry Best; 8. Roger Dufrense; 9. Buzz Amspaugh; 10. Jimmy Best; 11. Gerrald Fossa.
Bombers: 1. Carl Thompson; 2. Kenny Gibson; 3 Zach Briggs; 4. Randy Spicer; 5. Jimmy Castleberry; 6. Doug Radley; 7. Roy Healey; 8. Steven Stone; 9. Adam Briggs.
Outlaw Modified: 1. Mike Endee; 2. Cliff Aulman; 3. Gene Capps; 4. Kevin Endee.
Turkey Gobbler 100 Darts Finale: 1. Nick Hernandez; 2. Cody McDuffie; 3. Michael Goddard; 4. Joe Winchell; 5. Cameron Cruse; 6. Cory Bigley; 7. Cody Martell; 8. Becca Monopoli; 9. Danny Anderson; 10. Duane Best; 11. Billy Carlbert; 12. Jason Lester; 13. Zach Briggs; 14. Sam Scott; 15. Cody Carlbert; 16. Derek Pugh; 17. Phillip Johnson; 18. Joe Humet; 19. Scott Hogan.
This story was originally published November 21, 2016 at 2:02 AM with the headline "Hernandez wins Turkey Gobbler 100 trucks feature at Desoto Speedway."