2/6/2023
Ross Bailes
Ross Bailes travels to East Bay Raceway Park for Winternationals
Ross Bailes and the Billy Hicks Racing team continued their trek south to East Bay Raceway Park (Gibsonton, Fla.) for the week-long Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Winternationals.
To start the week on Monday, Bailes recorded the eighth-fastest qualifying lap followed by a runner-up finish in his heat. In the $5,000-to-win feature, Ross was caught up in an incident just before halfway but crawled his way back into the Top-15 to record a 12th-place finish in the 30-lapper.
For another $5,000-to-win feature on Tuesday, Ross nailed the fifth-quickest lap in his qualifying group before picking up the final transfer spot in his heat. Rolling off 16th in the A-Main, Bailes pulled off two laps shy of the checkered flag and recorded a 19th-place finish.
For Wednesday's $7,000-to-win show, Bailes transferred to the evening's A-Main with a runner-up finish in his heat. In the 40-lap feature, Ross held down a Top-10 position until mechanical issues plagued his racecar which forced him to pull off early.
With 64 Late Models on the grounds Thurday, Bailes landed a Top-10 qualifying effort and slipped by two competitors in his heat race to finish second. Rolling off seventh in the $7,000-to-win A-Main, Ross was caught up in an incident on lap 10 which ended his night.
For the $12,000-to-win program on Friday, Ross missed the transfer in his heat race by one spot but finished runner-up in his B-main for the last A-Main transfer position. Rolling off from the 22nd-position, Bailes pulled off 11 laps before the checkered flag flew and was 20th in the final rundown.
An unfavorable forecast for Saturday’s Wieland Winternationals event washed out the LOLMDS speedweek finale.
Full results from the event are available at www.LucasDirt.com.
Article Credit: Heath Lawson Photo
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