The Race
Qualifying
Matthew put the #54 second on the qualifying sheet, behind Michael Atwell in the #14. Brody Gunter, Cole Denton and Garrett Gumm filled out the top five, and Bubba Pollard qualified sixth.
Atwell and Pollard were both doubling up that night, running the Pro Late Model race and the 300-lap Super Late Model feature on the same card. For Matthew it was a first qualifying run in a Pro Late Model, two months after he qualified third at Cordele in the #18 Modified.
On Track
Matthew ran the 100 laps in a car that was good enough to finish in the top five, and he said afterward that he left spots on the table. He named two places they went.
On restarts he made a few mistakes, and on a 3/8-mile oval a restart is where positions change hands fastest.
As the race went long, the #54 tightened up. A tight car wants to push up the track in the corners instead of turning, so Matthew had to adjust to it over the closing laps.
World Crown Night
Stephen Nasse won the World Crown 300 later that night in the #51, with Colin Allman second and Spencer Davis third. Pollard started the Super Late Model feature from the pole and was out front until an engine problem slowed him on lap 109.
What Came Out of the Weekend
Second in qualifying is the number that carries forward. Matthew earned it in his first weekend in a new car, with a team he had never raced for, at a track he had only run in a Modified.
He is going through the race footage this week to find where the restarts slipped away. JC Motorsports built the car, and he credited the 54 team for the work they put in all week and Big Lunch Farms for its support.
Pro Late Model Qualifying, World Crown 300 Weekend
| Pos | Car | Driver |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | #14 | Michael Atwell |
| 2 | #54 | Matthew LaPrade |
| 3 | #01 | Brody Gunter |
| 4 | #62 | Cole Denton |
| 5 | #5 | Garrett Gumm |
| 6 | #26 | Bubba Pollard |
| 7 | #8 | Ethan Tovo |
| 8 | #10 | George Gorham III |
| 9 | #31 | J.T. Chastain |
| 10 | #7 | Jackson Tovo |
| 11 | #42 | Dawson Fletcher |
Qualifying order as published on MyRacePass for the ASA Southern Super Series. Times and the Pro Late Model 100 finishing order were not published.
