Madden Wins Blue Gray 100; Watkins is Crowned Carolina Clash Champion; Cooper Wins GM Performance 602 Late Models Championship

Madden Wins Blue Gray 100; Watkins is Crowned Carolina Clash Champion; Cooper Wins GM Performance 602 Late Models Championship

By Rhonda Beck, WISNC Creations/BeckRacingMedia

11-22-2023

Madden being Madden--as he often is at Cherokee Speedway—managed his tires and the rest of the field to win the 2023 Blue Gray 100 on Sunday, November 19, 2023. It was his ninth overall victory in the event co-sanctioned by the Carolina Clash and the XR Working Man Series this year. Madden had previous wins in 2004, 2006, 2020, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2022. He also captured the night’s pole with a fast lap of 14.890 and won the first heat race.

It was also a good night for the 2023 Carolina Clash Champion, Ben Watkins of Lancaster, S.C., who finished second to Madden. Watkins swapped spots with Enoree, S.C.’s Zack Mitchell, who won this year’s Mike Duvall Memorial at Cherokee Speedway and finished third on the night. Benji Hicks finished fourth and Daulton Wilson was fifth.

Watkins said he, Madden and Mitchell shared a laugh or two in victory lane after the race.

“He drove a pretty flawless race; obviously I got to see most of it. But I was very shocked he made it all the way on his tires, because we came in and pitted and he stayed out. And man, that just shows you how good he is. I did my best to pressure him as much as I could, but he definitely schooled us right there. He kind of laughed with us in victory lane. He said, telling me and Zack, ‘Hey, boys, would y’all, you know. I’m at the end of my career. Y’all have plenty of years left.’ But it was pretty cool. I grew up watching him win races in late models, but we were definitely tickled to death to run second to him,” said Watkins.

Watkins explained his strategy on pitting compared to Madden’s.

“So that was because the year before he stayed out. Two years ago, he stayed out and won it. Well, then last year I said, ‘Well, I’ll stay out.’ And I did. Well, he pitted and came back and passed me and Daulton Wilson and I ran third. But I was the only one to stay out on old tires. And here we are the year after that, and he stays out again. And made it work. So it was pretty neat. Like I say, it honestly just shows how good he is on that stuff,” said Watkins.

Watkins had mathematically secured his second Carolina Clash Series championship—his other being in 2015--after a win on Saturday at Lancaster Speedway. It was his sixth in a row at that track. He was victorious five times with the Carolina Clash in 2023, three times at Lancaster, once at Carolina Speedway and once at Cherokee. He talked about the Blue Gray being such a well-known race at the end of the season.

“In my opinion, the Blue Gray, the history behind it and the format of it, I think should pay more than $10,000 for a hundred laps. So $20,000 was very good, for sure. Whatever it took to make that happen, it’s always good to have more eyes on us, regardless of who is trying to help get it out there.? But it was nice that XR did that and the Clash teamed up with them,” said Watkins.

Gray Parton, of Rutherfordton, N.C. also had a successful year, finishing as the Carolina Clash Rookie of the Year and second in overall series points. He had his first Carolina Clash win at Harris Speedway. Watkins was aware that Parton was close to him in points throughout the year.

“With Parton, I think he had a really good year, especially for a rookie year. He had some poles this year and he’s been fast. And I knew one or two wrong things happen to us, and the championship could have easily landed in his hands. But for him to be second in the points, Rookie of the Year, and win a race, those guys can’t hang their heads on that. I knew any night that he was in front of me, I knew he was going to be fast. But a little more seat time, that’s just invaluable in these kind of cars. Just the way Madden did at the race, as many laps as he has, it always helps in these cars,” said Watkins.

Parton, who currently studies mechanical engineering at Clemson and works at Parton Lumber Company, discussed the last race weekend with the Clash.

“Yeah, we had a rough weekend. Well, we were fast Sunday at the Blue Gray. Lancaster was kind of a curveball for us in qualifying. The track was a lot drier than I expected, so I just got behind. We tried stuff for the main. I was starting like seventh or eighth, and there were a bunch of fast guys in front of me. So I thought that would be a good time to just try a bunch of stuff. And, well, it didn’t work for us, but it was a good experiment. We were fast at Gaffney and that’s always good. But the tracks were both good. I thought the track was really good for Sunday night; for the main it rubbered up. And it was actually a good race. But it was fun. It was a good end to the season and it’s always fun to race,” said Parton.

Like the other drivers, he knows how much experience Madden has at the track.

“After I had to come out of the race, I was watching him. He’s just really good on tire management and the guys like that are good on the dry slick tracks. Someone with that amount of experience is just tough to beat. But honestly towards the end, Zack Mitchell, Ben, and Trent Ivey—I think they all were a little bit faster than Madden. It’s just tough to pass, unless you’re a lot faster than somebody.”

Parton’s first Carolina Clash win at Harris Speedway was special, being it was at his hometown track in Rutherfordton, N.C.

“That win was awesome. It was a good race. I think we were fastest all night, and everything just worked out. I think that was the one track we raced at this year where I had more laps on it than the competition. And it helped that night. Because I’ve got laps around Harris, I know that place and I know what it does. And Mitchell, the guy who promotes it, he lets me come and practice a lot. And Ricky Weeks has practiced with me there. So it was a good time, and I’m glad we could get that one done, especially close to home,” said Parton.

Overall, he feels he’s gained a lot of experience this season being part of the Carolina Clash series.

“Running with these guys, it makes me a lot better. Moving from 604s to super, it’s a lot more competition. It’s like everyone out there is extremely good. We all have good stuff and everybody’s a good driver and they all have more experience than me. So it’s a good time for me to learn, especially when I’m running the races and I’m running behind Ben. I can watch him on the dry slick tracks; that’s where I struggle. But I’ve gotten a lot better on the dry slick, both in knowing what to do with the car and how to drive it.

“In the beginning of the season, a lot of times, I would just over-tighten the car, just trying to chase drive, where sometimes that would hurt me. A lot of times you have to slow down and change how you’re driving, and that will be the fastest way around the track. So stuff like that is going to help a lot. And everything I learned this year is going to really help us be strong right off the bat next year,” said Parton.

In the GM Performance 602 Late Model Series, 15-year-old Luke Cooper of Woodruff, S.C. won the race, leading all 40 laps. He was also the night’s fast qualifier with a time of 16.850. Finishing second was Jake Jackson of Rutherfordton, N.C. and last year’s champion, David Smith of Inman, S.C., finished third. John Ruggiero, Jr. was disqualified for being light at the scales, after running second to Cooper in the race. Rounding out the top five were Benji Hicks and Daulton Jacobs.

Cooper also secured his first GM Performance 602 Late Model Series Championship with the win. He talked about the track conditions at Cherokee Speedway.

“The track was definitely different Sunday. It was a day race. Three and four was tricky--very wide, very racey, very choppy. One and two was how it usually is. A black lane right around the top is where you want to be. Usually when you get strung out, that’s where you gotta run. It’s not that you couldn’t pass when you needed to. It was a little difficult getting through lap traffic, but it’s always going to be a challenge here and there. Other than that, I thought the track was really good,” said Cooper.

Overall, Cooper has done well in the series and became more dominant towards the end of the season.

“Started this year and had several top-fives. As the season progressed, I felt we finally had a hot streak, about I’d say September, October. We won four series races in a row and went to Charlotte--that’s always a humungous race for a crate car—and we ran fifth there. We were a little disappointed, but you never complain about a fifth. But then to come back at the Blue Gray and lead all 40 laps, I feel is a really big accomplishment. All of our other races were dominant wins, but I think that this one was a really good one,” said Cooper.

Cooper has a lot of good competition in the series, from last year’s champion, David Smith, to other consistent drivers, like John Ruggiero, Jr. He also is thankful for those who have helped him get to this stage in his driving career, especially his parents.

“Yeah, mom and dad. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here where I am today. Mom and dad had faith putting me in a late model at ten years old. And we had really good help from Buffalo Bar & Grill. He actually gave me my first race car; it was an old Barry Wright car. And ever since then, dad started building his own chassis, and I was one of the first to be in it. If it wasn’t for dad, I really wouldn’t be where I am today and I really appreciate it,” said Cooper.

Carolina Clash champion Ben Watkins says he enjoys seeing the progression of young drivers like Cooper.

“You’ve got Luke Cooper and then you’ve got little Beckham Malone there. And just man, these kids, to see how talented they are. I feel like I’ve been able to watch Luke kind of progress the last few years and watching him Sunday, I was like ‘Wow’. He did a phenomenal job. He did an amazing job. I know his mom and dad and then just seeing him grow up and running around the track and now—I mean, he looked really good out there,” said Watkins.

In other divisions, Rod Tucker was victorious in the Thunder Bombers main event, which was dedicated to the memory of Dustin Morris. ?Luke Clements of Boiling Springs, S.C. finished second and Gaffney, S.C.’s Shane McDaniel finishing third. Hunter Funderburke of Rock Hill, S.C. was fourth and Luke Doggett of Forest City, N.C. finished fifth. Kade Langley of Rock Hill, S.C. won the Renegade Sportsman feature with John James of Elkin, N.C. coming home in second and Christian Patterson of Fort Mill, S.C. in third. Union, S.C.’s Russell Williford was fourth and Greer, S.C.’s Timmy Smith was fifth. ?Joey Powell won the final Thunder Bombers Non Qualifier race.

The night also saw two double zero cars pacing the main events in honor of the late great Freddy Smith. Bobby Etters, who owns and helped build one of the cars, was set up near the grandstands where fans could find stickers and special memorabilia honoring the Southern Gentleman from King’s Mountain, N.C. Many people from the Carolinas had watched Smith race at Cherokee Speedway when he was close to home and not on tour.

“Well, I miss him every day. Me and him were getting pretty tight there. We have his car down here and we’re real proud of it. We have T-shirts and memory decals and stuff like that and a donation on them. We’re coming out the first of the year with an in-memory-of T-shirt,” said Etters.

Freddy’s son, Jeff Smith, finished fifth in overall Carolina Clash points on the season and was the 2009 series champion. Etters said he would be there, plus the two special Freddy Smith tribute cars.

“Got two driving today, Joel Earle and David Badger, to lead the field to green and stuff like that in remembrance of him. They all doing pretty good. Jeff will be here in a little while. He’s not racing but he’ll be here to help us with stuff.”

Freddy’s grandson, Zack Smith, was at the race and part of Ben Watkins championship crew in victory lane. The Carolina Clash will have their awards banquet in January of 2024 and Etters and his Smokin’ Mountain Boys BBQ catered last year’s event in King’s Mountain, N.C.

“We done the Carolina Clash awards banquet last year and Freddy went up there. He said he really had a good time up there among all of his buddies. He’s going to be missed,” said Etters.

Marion Limbaugh, owner of the Carolina Clash and Series Director Joey Chapman were pleased with the final race weekend and are looking forward to next year.

“The Carolina Clash concluded another successful season at the annual Blue Gray 100 at Cherokee Motor Speedway. We would like to thank all of our racetrack partners, fans and drivers that contributed to another successful season in 2023. Everyone stay tuned for news on the upcoming 25th Anniversary of the Carolina Clash,” said Chapman earlier this week.

Blue Gray 100 Results: Carolina Clash Super Late Models/XR Workin Man Late Models: 1. Chris Madden 2. Ben Watkins 3. Zack Mitchell 4. Benji Hicks 5. Daulton Wilson 6. Dennis Franklin 7. Anthony Sanders 8. David McCoy 9. Jordan Koehler 10. Josh Henry 11. Donald McIntosh 12. Trent Ivey 13. Christian Thomas 14. Tanner English 15. Gray Parton 16. David Yandle 17. Caleb Fulp 18. Adam Yarbrough 19. Nick Yandle 20. Austin Kirkpatrick 21. Ethan Dotson; Fast qualifier: Chris Madden, 14.

Carolina Clash Super Late Models Series Final Points Standings: Top 10: 1. Ben Watkins 1205 2. Gray Parton 1094 3. David Yandle 935 4. Adam Yarbrough 819 5. Jeff Smith 797 6. Benji Hicks 722 7. Dennis Franklin 720 8. Steve Banal 534 9. Anthony Sanders 489 10. Brett Hamm 486

602 GM Performance Late Models Results, 40 laps: 1. Luke Cooper 2. Jake Jackson 3. David Smith 4. Benji Hicks 5. Daulton Jacobs 6. Beckham Malone 7. Preston Dimsdale 8. Chuckie Duncan 9. Justin Taylor 10. Evan Garvy 11. Steven Thompkins 12. Keith Hart 13. Dustin Pitchell 14. Baron McDowell 15. Kendal Tucker 16. Evan Koehler 17. Bryan Mullis 18. Alex Vance 19. Nick Deitz 20. Cole Dockery 21. Micheal Mims 22. Brian Grumbles 23. Dalton Peavy 24. Travis Harp 25. Austin Mintz DQ John Ruggiero, Jr.

Renegade Sportsman: 1. Kade Langley 2. John James 3. Christian Patterson 4. Russell Williford 5. Timmy Smith 6. Andy Mattison 7. David Whitiker 8. John Fox 9. Jonathan Hinson 10. Todd Bolin 11. Kyle Cooper 12. Kyle Jarrell 13. Archie Hatley

Thunder Bomber: 1. Rod Tucker 2. Luke Clements 3. Shane McDaniel 4. Hunter Funderburke 5. Luke Doggett 6. Mark Towell 7. Greg Carroll 8. Nate Jackson 9. Grant Burton 10. Dallas Miller 11. Blake Dill 12. Zak Brown 13. Walt Waddell 14. Justin Hamrick 15. Jamie Decker 16. Bryson Harper 17. Bailey Hipp 18. Brandon Greene 19. Blake Lyons 20. Stetsen Todd 21. Ricky Bogan 22. Donnie Atkins 23. Grant Parr 24. Bradley Weaver; Thunder Bomber Non Qualifier race winner: Joey Powell

(Note: I will be coming out with longer individual articles on Ben Watkins, Gray Parton and Luke Cooper next week. Information used in this article were from interviews done with them this week.)

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