The Race
Matthew LaPrade and Tom Usry Racing made their first trip to Ace Speedway on Friday night for the Late Model Stock Car Twin 50s. Matthew qualified second out of nine cars at the Burlington, North Carolina short track and came home with two top-five finishes — P2 in Race 1, P4 in Race 2.
Matthew was fast from the first practice session. He backed it up in qualifying, putting the #17 Tom Usry Racing Late Model Stock second on the grid out of nine cars with a 15.438-second lap — eight hundredths off Dustin Rumley’s pole time.
Race 1
Matthew started on the outside of row one for the first 50-lapper. At Ace, the outside can be a disadvantage. The inside row stays nose-to-tail and drafts forward while the outside line gets hung out in clean air.
He fell to third early as the inside line pushed ahead. From there, he closed on second, made the pass, and held the spot for the rest of the race, bringing the #17 home 3.041 seconds behind race winner Rumley.
Race 1 top five: 1. Dustin Rumley (#88), 2. Matthew LaPrade (#17), 3. Jason York (#18), 4. Colby Fogleman (#71), 5. Connor Branch (#7)
Race 2
With the field inverted for the second race, Matthew lined up eighth. He moved forward through the field over 50 laps and finished fourth — and posted the fastest lap of the race, a 16.218 on lap 17.
Clean car all day. Brandon Butler stepped in as crew chief for the weekend with Josh on vacation, and the team did not miss a beat.
Race 2 top five: 1. Dustin Rumley (#88), 2. Jamie York (#1), 3. Connor Branch (#7), 4. Matthew LaPrade (#17), 5. Trey Burke (#50B)
Results via MYLAPS Speedhive
