Advance Auto Parts Super DIRT Series - A Day At The Races

The second race of the '04 season for the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRT Series was a little south of the series' usual haunts. Competi- tors traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, and The Dirt Track at Lowe's Motor Speedway to compete in the $10,000-to-win Ferris 100 presented by DynoMax.

Support races for the Big-Block feature race included the Small-Block Modifieds and the full-bodied Pro Stockers. On Friday evening, Modified racing legend Brett Hearn took home the Small-Block prize. The Pro Stock class held its feature before the 100-lap Modified race, and it was won by Jamie McGannon. McGannon started on the outside pole, took the lead on the first lap, and never gave it up over the course of the 20-lap race.

After winning on Friday night, Hearn was definitely one of the favorites to claim the checkers on Saturday, but the crowd favorite was never able to get untracked. He never led and was only able to work his way to Fifth. Instead, in the biggest surprise of the event, Ricky Elliott won from the eighth starting position. Although Elliott has been driving in the series for nearly 15 years, he had never won a race and wasn't considered much of a factor before the start of the race.

After claiming the $10,000 winner's purse, Elliott admitted he didn't think he had much of a chance even as he led late in the race: "This is a brand-new team, and we've only been out four times this year. The motor was flawless, but we lost a cylinder with two to go, and I'm like, Oh, my god. It's going to get away from us."