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RACING
NEWS
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| Kelly Prevails In Mid Atlantic Championship Wild Finish | 
by Skip Wall
Owen Kelly turned the tables on Frank Deiny Jr. and Jason York Sunday afternoon, and pulled off what could be the race of the year at Caraway Speedway.
Kelly a JR Motorsports development driver, pulled off the upset with six laps left in the season finale for the late model stock cars, known as the Mid-Atlantic Championship after Deiny and York dominated the race and both tangled with less than thirty laps to go in the race.
"It was a great opportunity and honor to drive this car today and the way it turned out" says the scrappy Austrailian who now calls Mooresville NC his home now.
"We knew we had a good car, I faded a little bit and then those guys (Deiny and York) got a bit scrappy, and I just kept my boot in it."
 Kelly said when the cars of Deiny and York collided with each other, with thirty to go, coming off of turn four, that he got into Deiny but says "that was just one of those deals."
York and Deiny swapped the lead on four different occasions during the 250 lap event that was extended to 253 after a late crash on lap 245.
York dogged Deiny for some twenty laps before getting into the back of Deiny with thirty to go. That contact netted York a flat tire and a chance at victory.
Upon returning to the race after the flat tire,York waited on Deiny to catch up and put him another lap down which bunched the field up. The pushing,retaliation and shoving allowed Kelly to overtake Deiny and take the lead. Moments later Deiny spun out with five to go.
Matt McCall, coming off a solid finish from Martinsville a few weeks ago, came home second, followed by Tommy Lemons Jr., Ryan Wilson and Kelly Kingery.
Deiny was still upbeat after the race in which he won the pole for.
"We still had a great race" he says. "The only way they could beat us today was to crash us, and they did."
"We had the dominate car and everyone knew that" he said of his 8th place finish.
York led at one period, lap 170 to lap 185 in which Deiny says that he let York lead. "He wanted to run a little harder than we did at the time so we let him go until we cooled the tires off" Deiny said.
York still hadn't calmed down well after the race and had a different opinion.
"This is the second time that this has happened" said a dejected York who just won his career best race a few weeks ago at Martinsville in the Bailey's 300. "We let him go at the beginning and then with about 60 to go we reeled him in and he just wouldn't let us by. We got under him several times and he would just chop my nose off every time."
On the contact with York said that Deiny had let up and he got under him. " I guess that's where the flat came from was when I got under him."
"Deiny needs to know that he is not always going to win" explained York. "He (Deiny) just didnt want to be beat."
Both drivers declined to talk to each other after the race.
The late model stock cars return to action next week in a big race at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont NC. Deiny plans on running in that event.
In the meantime, Caraway will host a UARA race next Saturday night in which York plans on returning to run in that race.
For Kelly, the biggest career for him means yet another victory for JR Motorsports. He will tell you that it takes victories to move up the ladder in the development system at JR Motorsports.
"This is a big win for us however it take victories to get in another car. We would like to get into a Nationwide car but (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) the owner says we need to win win and still win. So I just bide me time."
The Mid-Atlantic Championship is a non points race for regulars at Caraway. For track champion, Randy Benson, it couldn't come at a better time as he had problem after problem and had to settle for a 26th place finish.
There were nine cautions for 51 laps in the race. The most serious was when Jeremy Donley and Travis Swaim crashed hard into the backstretch wall early into the race while dueling for fourth place. Neither driver was injured.
BJ Mackey of Rock Hill SC won the twenty lap last chance race just to make the main event, besting female contestant Brianne Conrath, Jesse Ingle and Pete Stewart. Nine drivers would have to go home.
Mackey, who won the Rusty Harpe Memorial earlier this year, would get up into the top five late in the race before running out of gas costing him a 17th place finish.
Unofficial Finish of Mid-Atlantic Championship
1. Owen Kelly, Mooresville NC 253 laps
2. Matt McCall, Denver NC 253
3. Tommy Lemons Jr, Troy NC 253
4. Ryan Wilson, Randleman NC 253
5. Kelly Kingery,Vnton VA 253
6. David Latour, Asheboro NC 253
7. Darrell Wallace Jr., Concord NC 253
8. Frank Dieny, Ashland VA 253
9. Brad Brinkley, Sanford NC 253
10. Robert Tyler,Greensboro NC 253
11. Brent Raymer, Concord NC 253
12. Davin Scites, Wayne WV 252
13. Rusty Skewes, Bluefield,WV 252
14. RD Smith, Elon NC 252
15. Bob Saville, New London NC252
16. Pete Stewart, Archedale NC 250
17. BJ Mackey, Rock Hill SC 250
18. Dustin Snow, Elizabethton NC 240
19. Jason York, Reidsville NC 241
20. Mack Little, Walkertown NC 241
21. Brianne Cronrath,Corncord NC 235
22. Garrett Campbell,Asheboro NC 201
23. Mike Bledsoe, Elon NC 186
24. Jesse Ingle, Gibsonville NC 184
25. Chuck Crump, Star NC 176
26. Randy Benson, Rockingham NC 147
27. RA Brown, Irmo SC 113
28. Kris Bowen, Mooresville NC 74
29. Ronnie Bassett, W-S NC 48
30. Chris Hairfield, Moseley VA 38
31. Jeremy Donley, W-S NC 24
32. Travis Swaim, High Point NC 23
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