Dylan Ames Wins Georgia Winter Series Race at Watermelon Capital Speedway amidst Controversy!

Press Box

Twelve-year-old Dylan Ames has been on a roll since finishing in the top 5 at the Legends Nationals in Las Vegas.  The momentum has continued with Ames winning 3 of the last 6 features since returning from the “City of Lights” – with a win Saturday December 1st in Cordele Georgia.

The weather was terrific on race day, sunny and temperatures in the 60’s.  Ames drew the 5th starting spot for the heat race.  After getting hit in the center of 1 & 2, Ames caught the car and settled into to 5th after the first lap.  The #77 car was very fast and Ames worked his way through the field to finish 2nd in the short 6 lap heat race. 

For the feature, Ames was to start 3rd.  There were two #18 cars in the field; one was to start on the pole and the other 4th.  After the first attempt at a race start, the two #18 cars decided to play a switch game and the track officials did not catch the switch.  The #24 car started on the outside pole and got a terrific run on the start and took the lead after the first lap.  The #18 car that incorrectly started on the pole was running second with Ames 3rd.  After several cautions and the #24 and #18 cars swapping the lead, Ames moved from 3rd to take the lead right before the last caution with 5 to go.  On the restart, the battle for 2nd through 4th was intense with the #18 car coming out of the pack for 2nd.    The #18 car reached Ames bumper going through turns 1 & 2 on the white flag lap.  Coming down the back stretch, the #18 dove to the inside of Ames.  Going into turn 3, Ames held his line on the outside and the 2 cars went through turns 3 & 4, door to door, never touching till the exit of 4 – when the #18 car drifted up into the #77 – resulting in 3 trashed race cars and a war of words on the front stretch.  After the dust all settled, the #77 was awarded the win by the tracks “Protect the Leader” rule on the last lap, followed by the #9 car in second, the #24 finishing 3rd and the #18 finishing last on the lead lap.

For Ames, the win was costly – causing Doug Stevens to have to work Over Time this week to repair the #77 prior to the PRI Legends Race in Orlando, FL.  The team is headed to Sunny Florida on Wednesday for the PRI Show Invitational December 6&7.   Ames is excited about his opportunity to run this prestigious event.  Keep up with Dylan’s Progress via his website - www.DylanAmes.com