BRASELTON, GA (April 06, 2022) - Jamie Massey and Tyler Jackson entered the final night of the Matjoulis-Seay Speed Shop Street Stock Series with only 6 points separating the two drivers in the points race. Both men knew exactly what they needed to do to put themselves in the driver seat for the series title. For Massey to walk away victorious, he’d need to take home victory from Lanier and for Jackson to win, all he’d need to do is finish in the Top 5, something he had accomplished every race so far this season.
Massey got the initial upper hand in the battle as qualifying got underway. Setting quick time for the session with a 16.167 lap time, Massey qualified 0.112 seconds faster than Jackson, who was mired in 15th on the session timing board. Cruise Caudell, Carl Kilgore, Evan Seay and birthday boy Alex Bergeron rounded out the top 5 in qualifying who would have control over their heat races.
All heats would run relatively chalk, with the heat pole sitters finishing on top of their heat. Except Heat #5 with Alex Bergeron and none other than points leader Tyler Jackson. Jackson started 3rd in his heat, behind former iRacing World of Outlaws Sprint Series champion Alex Bergeron and seasoned pro driver Kevin Dedmon.
Jackson made quick work of Dedmon and moved into the hunt for the Quebecois driver and by lap 4, Jackson had pulled alongside Bergeron for the lead. In a thrilling race Jackson kept his car glued to the bottom side of the race track as Bergeron and Dedmon flew around the high side of the track. As the white flag flew, Jackson and Bergeron were in a dead heat the entire lap before Jackson’s daring slide job out of turn 4 gave him the heat race win.
The 50-lap Championship deciding race at Lanier Speedway delivered on all the action anyone could have hoped. A caution-free race that allowed the leaders to fight it out on track for bragging rights and the glory of being a VLR Series Champion.
Massey got the jump on lap 1 and never looked back. Not to say he wasn’t without challenge, both Cruise Caudell and Carl Kilgore pushed Massey to the limit multiple times in the race, but Massey kept his #62 machine glued to the low racing line and smoothly piloted his way to a masterclass in defensive driving. Massey’s showing at Lanier is a highlight of the high driving standards we’ve seen throughout the season as he needed to move through lap traffic and battle side-by-side with Cruise Caudell for a large majority of the race.
Caudell made one final charge on Massey on Lap 50, pulling side by side and then diving down into the bottom of Turn 3. He sent it. Massey and Caudell made contact and both lost speed, but Massey gathered and beat Caudell to the line in a drag race.
Tyler Jackson started the race in the 5th position with only one thing on his mind. Finish in the Top 6 and take the series championship. Jackson picked up one position on the first lap, and remained in 4th for the first half of the race. Content to keep the leaders in his sights but not press too hard. Jackson made a smooth pass on Kilgore for 3rd, and found himself the safe space he’d want to end up on the podium and take the series victory.
After the toughly contested 5-week series, Tyler Jackson staked his claim to the title of ‘Mr. Consistent’ as he takes the Series Championship without a race victory. Multi-race winner Jamie Massey finished second, only three points behind Jackson. Evan Seay, Carl Kilgore and Felix Roy rounded out the top 5.
Race Winner: Jamie Massey
Fastest Lap: Carl Kilgore
Hard Charger: Dillon Cribbs (+6)