KERSHAW, SC, December 6th, 2010: The Allison Legacy Series held their final race of the year at Carolina Motorsports Park on Saturday, December 6.
The points battle was down to the wire coming into the final event. Justin Allison led Tyler Hill by a mere 17 points. Allison had seven wins and Hill had six wins. Both drivers had 19 "top 5s." Justin Allison won six races in a row earlier in the year, and Tyler Hill had two three-race winning streaks throughout the entire season. That being said, all Allison had to is keep Hill in his sights and not let more than two cars separate himself from Tyler Hill's No. 2 car. That seems like a simple task, but it would not come easy to the 18 year old.
Qualifying was cancelled due to the threat of rain and snow. That made the championship battle even more dramatic as Allison and Hill sat on the front row because of where they were in the points standings.
Whenever the green flag dropped, the cars charged towards the first corner in hopes that their cars would stick. Bobby McCarty was third halfway into the first turn until he got sideways and collected Quinn Fowler. Both cars went spinning and clogged up the exit of the first corner sending the whole field searching for a clean escape. Multiple cars were collected, but everyone drove away with minimal damage.
On lap two, ARCA driver, Timmy Hill went for a spin in turn one, and on lap four, Jantzen Stirewalt made the same mistake. Meanwhile, Ryan Glenski, John Nemechek, and Mark Nahrstedt battled each other for the third position. On lap 12, Ian Isringhausen went off road, but quickly returned to the track.
The championship contenders had quite a scare in turn one about halfway through the event. On lap 15, Justin LaDuke lost control and came just inches away from collecting championship contender, Tyler Hill. With only 10 laps to go, Justin Allison saw his championship hopes quickly disappearing. Allison lost control entering turn one, and Dale Ogburn took the whole rear-end off Allison's No. 1 Manfredi Logestics Strutmasters.com car. Justin Allison quickly fell from second all of the way back to fourth as Mark Nahrstedt and Timmy Hill passed him.
Besides Tyler Hill who checked out on the field, the rest of the "top five" cars were battling each other hard all day long. The leaders continuously passed each other while trying to navigate through the thick lapped traffic. Every now and then locking up the brakes and smoking the tires.
Tyler Hill dominated the race leading all of the 30 laps in route to his seventh win of the year, and his first road course victory. Mark Nahrstedt was the runner-up and Rookie of the Race. Timmy Hill finished third and captured the Hard Charger of the Race Award. Justin Allison finished fourth, and Bobby McCarty rounded out the "top five." Justin LaDuke became the 2010 Rookie of the Year after the race as well.
Tyler Hill did everything that he could possibly do in efforts of winning the championship. However, he came two points shy, and Justin Allison limped his car around to win his first Allison Legacy Series championship in his four years of trying. The race went down into the history books as the closest points battle ever for the Allison Legacy Series.
"I messed up down shifting and spun out," Champion Justin Allison said. "I thought that it was over, but we got it done. I really don't know what to say. All that kept going through my head was that I hope we have enough points, and I hope that they did the math right."
Justin Allison said that winning six races in a row and then wrecking at Florence Motor Speedway while making a comeback win at Rockingham Speedway, were the most memorable moments of the season, and of course, winning the championship was at the top of that list as well. Tyler Hill reminisced back to the Newport Speedway race this year as his most memorable moment. After winning at Newport, Hill went on a three-race tear winning at Dillon Motor Speedway and Concord Motor Speedway.
As of December 2010, the Allison Legacy Series will kick off its 2011 season at Dillon Motor Speedway in March, but that could change. There is an estimated 18 to 22 races scheduled for next year as well. The series will run five races with the PASS Series and four races with the USAR Pro Cup Series. The Allison Legacy Series is also looking at adding Motor Mile Speedway in Virginia onto the 2011 schedule.
Finishing Order at Carolina Motorsports Park
1.) #2 Tyler Hill
2.) #3 Mark Nahrstedt
3.) #4 Timmy Hill
4.) #1 Justin Allison
5.) #6 Bobby McCarty
6.) #51 John Nemechek
7.) #07 Quinn Fowler
8.) #98 Hunter Moody
9.) #5 Jantzen Stirewalt
10.) #27 Justin LaDuke
11.) #97 Ian Isringhausen
12.) #33 Dale Ogburn
13.) #68 Ryan Glenski
14.) #7 Benn Klatt
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