Jordan Casey Captures the 17th Annual Celina 52 Truck Stop Gobbler 100 in Chaotic Finish!
CONCORD, NC (January 12, 2025) - Jordan Casey made a remarkable late race rise from 12th starting position to win the 17th Annual Celina 52 Truck Stop Gobbler 100 at The Dirt Track at Charlotte on Sunday night. Casey took home the $2,000 top prize in the highest paying Gobbler 100 ever.
Ethan Johnson, who had dominated the second prelim earlier in the evening, led the first 34 laps of the main event after starting on the outside of the front row. However, a determined Logan Rumsey took the lead on lap 40, only to see Johnson battle back and reclaim it on lap 42. The two drivers went on to swap the lead multiple times, setting a blistering pace that saw them pull away from the rest of the field.
Meanwhile, Jordan Casey was quietly making his way through the pack. By the halfway point, he had cracked the top five and was challenging for a podium position. A caution on lap 60 of the 100 lap event bunched up the field, and on the ensuing restart, Casey began to make his move forward.
With 14 laps to go, Casey executed a daring slider on both Rumsey and Johnson to take the lead for the first time with a huge slidejob in turn one. The three-wide pass had the viewers on their feet.
From there, Casey never looked back, holding off all challengers to take the checkered flag. Kaden Reynolds, a very talented real life racer, who started 14th, also made a late-race charge to finish second, while Talan Willis, who started 24th, completed an incredible drive to finish third, earning the $100 Hard Charger Award, sponsored by shopfergy22.
Ethan Johnson, after leading a race-high 64 laps, settled for fourth, with Prelim 1 winner Robbie Buchanan Jr. rounding out the top five. Chase Barbara, Evan Seay, Logan Rumsey, Dylan Yeager, and Hayden Cardwell completed the top ten.
In victory lane, a stunned Casey reflected on his improbable win. "I was just going in there to set some consistent laps," he said. "I don't know how I got the lead. I knew with that big slider line, we had no tire left. I was sliding across with all slicks. So I tried to find any traction I could, and either that was the wall or that big slider line. And, I just threw a nuke in there, and it somewhat stuck."
Casey credited his team and setup for his success. "I just owe it all to Jaycee Floyd," he said. "He built everything for these things. Everybody at Free Speed, Ethan Johnson, he put in a ton of laps. I wish if I didn't win, I wish he would've won or Kaden Reynolds or whatever, but they put in a ton of laps, ton of work."
Runner-up Kaden Reynolds, who also had a remarkable drive through the field, stated how the Gobbler 100 helps keep him fresh for real life racing. "It definitely keeps me, like, on my toes with race craft and, just running consistent laps," he said. "This is a super good way to stay in in shape, I guess, for a season during the winter."
Third-place finisher Talan Willis, who earned the Hard Charger Award for advancing 21 positions, described his strategy: "I just kinda rolled the bottom. I saved a little bit at the beginning. Just I knew there was probably gonna be a caution around between lap 30-40, and I just kinda prepared for that." He added, "I think if there would maybe been another late race caution, I coulda maybe got over to Casey, but he just had too big of a lead to catch in, like, 5 laps."
Sponsors:
The 17th Annual Celina 52 Truck Stop Gobbler 100 was made possible by the generous support of sponsors, including Celina 52 Truck Stop, Cody Williams Design, Matjoulis-Seay Speed Shop, and shopfergy22, which provided the $100 hard charger award.
Pos / Start / Driver / Hometown
1. (12) Jordan Casey / New London, WI
2. (14) Kaden Reynolds / Cedar Rapids, IA
3. (24) Talan Willis / Elizabeth, LA
4. (2) Ethan Johnson / Bakersfield, CA
5. (1) Robbie Buchanan Jr / Tazewell, TN
6. (8 ) Chase Barbara / Ponchatoula, LA
7. (23) Evan Seay / Chesnee, SC
8. (3) Logan Rumsey / Manchester, PA
9. (7) Dylan Yeager / Hamilton, NJ
10. (15) Hayden Cardwell / Knoxville, TN
11. (22) Grady Ehrman / York, PA
12. (21) Jordan Gage / Hornick, IA
13. (16) Tucker Elkins / Waynesburg, KY
14. (10) Caleb Durgan / Peru, NY
15. (4) Brady Thompson / Newark, OH
16. (5) Kyle Jared / Cedar Rapids, IA
17. (13) Jamie Massey / Westminster, SC
18. (19) Joshua Elee / Collinston, LA
19. (17) Blake Murray / Cowpens, SC
20. (6) Blake Matjoulis / Ashville, NY
21. (11) Jesse Enterkin / Milton, FL
22. (20) Kyle Hooper / Tulsa, OK
23. (18) JD Brown / Bakersfield, CA
24. (9) Koulten Herbert /