By DAVID MILLER
Special to The Dispatch
Kyle Bronson turned his Super Late Model disappointment into a NeSmith Crate Late Model win Saturday at the Cotton Pickin’ 100 at Magnolia Motor Speedway.
The Florida native was leading the $20,000-to-win Super Late Model race near the 50-lap mark before clipping a tractors tire on the infield and falling to 11th.
Bronson hopped into his NeSmith Crate car, started in the top 5, led the majority of the 50-lap race and won $3,000.
“My car was kind of good all over,” Bronson said. “I think I put the wrong tire on for tonight. I should have had the hard tire on, but that soft one saved me late in the race when the track rubbered up. But when that thing got hot, it slid all over the place.
“I was really focused on my Super this weekend and wanted to run well in that car, but I hit that tractor tire in that car and it kind of cost me. I was frustrated, so there was no way I was going to lose this race.”
Bronson went back and forth with Vossburg native Scott Dedwylder, who started on the pole. Bronson passed Dedwylder on lap 2 but briefly relinquishing and recapturing the lead on lap 35.
“Every time I come to Mississippi to race, (Dedwylder) races me hard and clean,” Bronson said. “He’s one of the best guys I’ve ever raced up here.”
Bronson would extend his lead as the race marched on, but Lowndes County native Hunter Carroll moved up to second place. Lap traffic slowed Bronson a bit over the last two laps, but not enough for Carroll to catch him.
The runner-up finish was Carroll’s best at a premier race.
“I’ve been kind of hit or miss on big races over the last couple of years,” Carroll said. “I can make big shows sometimes, sometimes I can’t. This year, we haven’t been traveling to big races; we’ve just been staying here, trying to get a good setup for the $10,000-to-win race (Possum Town Grand Prix).
“We’ve been working on getting the right tune for this track for about four weeks now, but I think we have a good idea of which direction to go now. This is my first time running hard tires, so that was new to me.”
Millport, Alabama native Jeremy Shaw finished third. He started in the top 5 but carburetor issues slowed him, causing him to lose speed and fall to the middle of the pack. Shaw said he didn’t think it affected the final outcome of the race, but it made piloting the car more difficult.
“We fought carburetor trouble all weekend,” Shaw said. “I thought we had it fixed before we went out tonight, but it started up again about lap 2. You just have to ride it a little bit more than you normally would. If you let all the way off of it flood it and kill it out. It’s just a little harder to run consistent and hit your marks, because you don’t know when it’s gonna take off.”
Dedwylder and Josh Banes finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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