The Race
Rumley and Matthew ran the 75-lapper out front, and the margin at the end told the story of the night. Matthew crossed 1.783 seconds behind the #88 after 75 green-flag laps, with Bryson Pickard third and Chase Burrow fourth.
Matthew’s best lap of the race was a 15.816 on lap 2, the second-quickest of the feature. Only Millette turned a faster one.
Five races at Ace this season, five top-five finishes: P2 and P4 in the June twins, fifth in both August twins, and second on Friday night. The track has become the steadiest surface on his Late Model schedule.
Qualifying
The speed showed up early. Matthew tested at Ace the week before and carried that pace into evening practice, running near the front of the field before qualifying opened.
His 15.498-second lap put the #27L on the outside of the front row, just over a tenth off Rumley’s 15.384 pole time. Teammate Ayden Millette qualified third at 15.602.
A Debut for the Second Car
Ayden Millette, 17, of Yorktown, Virginia joined Tom Usry Racing for the weekend and made his Ace Speedway debut in the #27M. He set the fastest time in the early practice session, qualified third, and after losing spots battling for track position early, worked back through the field to finish fifth.
