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Feathers signed in at Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, PA on Saturday night as part of a quality 29-car field on hand to take their shot at the $3,500 winner’s share that was up for grabs.

The event used the PA Late Model Speedweek format, which kicked off with time trials.  The fastest eight advanced directly to a timed dash later in the evening to set the top four rows of the main event.  Meanwhile, the remainder of the field would be split to compete in two qualifiers and a consolation race to set the rest of the starting field.

Feathers came out of the gate fast and locked himself into the dash with the 5th quickest overall lap.  Applying what he learned by way of some adjustments to his Team Zero No.20, he then went on to lay down the fastest lap in the timed dash, which put the Winchester, VA native on the pole for the Lazer Late Model Clash finale.

Working the bottom of the speedway during the opening laps of the 30-lap feature, Feathers got out front and took command.  Ross Robinson worked the top of the speedway following an early restart and slipped by on the outside to take the lead.

The pair ran one-two for the next thirty laps.  Feathers never left Robinson get more than a few car lengths away.  When they caught lapped traffic, Feathers closed in.

Feathers pulled alongside Robinson with three laps remaining and took the lead for good with just two circuits to go.  He held on to take the victory.

“I’m glad I got by when I did.  I got so focused on him (Ross) and looking for a shot to get by, I didn’t realize I was running out of laps until I saw the white flag.”, a happy Feathers said.  “I don’t really agree with the mentality that it’s better to be in second when you get to lapped traffic.  I would have rather been out front, controlling the race.  My dad (Bo Feathers) taught me to race everybody the same and I stick to that approach.  I think that helped me during the last five laps.“

Feathers definitely got through traffic efficiently.  Once taking command, he built up a 1.134-second advantage over the two remaining laps.

“This car is a breath of fresh air.  I can’t thank Shane McDowell enough for helping us get this car going.”, Feathers added.  “We made the right tire choice tonight.  I was a little free on entry, so I was on the edge and had to be careful not to over-rotate but this car was great.”

“As a driver, when things aren’t going right like earlier this year, you start to doubt yourself, both with adjustments and behind the wheel.  I didn’t change anything about how I drive or the adjustments I make.  The only change we made was to get this car, and now it all clicks.  That’s a huge confidence boost, not only for me but the whole team.  I am always striving to be better, in the shop and on the track.  In this sport, you have to be constantly learning and preparing to handle new situations.“

Feathers was on top of his game right out of the box again Friday night, setting quick time in qualifying.  He backed it up by winning his heat, finishing just ahead of car owner Omps.

The redraw handed Feathers the 6th starting spot for the feature.  He fell as far back as 9th during some heated battles but found his rhythm and recovered to record a 3rd-place finish.

“We were good enough to contend for the win, but ran out of laps after getting caught up in some stuff earlier.“, Feathers said.  “Glad we were able to recover and get on the podium.“

Threatening weather combined with a rare Friday night race at Port Royal Speedway as part of the Night Before the 50 program left the Central Pennsylvania oval with a lower than usual car count in the super late model pit area.  That said, the phrase quality over quantity came to mind as the field contained the usual tough competitors such as Eckert, Yoder, Rine, and Stuhler.

The weather also played a role in the format for the night.  Teams were presented with an option to time trial and race a feature, skipping the usual heat races.  The plan would give teams a much better chance of completing their feature and earning a paycheck, rather than drag the program out and risk getting rained out.  The plan was adopted and set into motion.

Feathers got his night off on the right foot by ripping around the big fairgrounds half-mile in 19.024 seconds, good enough for 3rd quickest in his McFarland Custom Painting & Wall Coverings, Larry Royston’s Septic Services, Martins Pumping Service, Feathers & Sons Roofing, North River Farm, Leggett Engine Research, Hot Rod Septic Treatment, Team Zero Race Cars, Shane McDowell Racing, Coffelt Graphics, Larry Royston Properties, Larry Royston Equipment, Fox Racing Shox, Bo Feathers Racing, Clem’s Garage, No.20.

The Rumble by the River preliminary night featured a split field with each half running a complete show.  The format drew a high quality field of 52 teams to try to position themselves well for Saturday night’s $50,000 to win finale.

Feathers got his shot under the clock in Group B qualifying.  His 17th quickest lap in the group was a disappointing result for the Winchester, VA native who has shown good speed at the big fairgrounds half mile over the past month while finishing no worse than 8th in three outings.

“That qualifying run was on me.  I drove into turn one too hard and didn’t get the car rotated like I should have.  Made the same mistake on both laps.“, Feathers shared.

It wasn’t a lot but Feathers helped himself a little by racing from 6th to 5th in his heat race in the McFarland Custom Painting & Wall Coverings, Larry Royston’s Septic Services, Martins Pumping Service, Feathers & Sons Roofing, North River Farm, Leggett Engine Research, Hot Rod Septic Treatment, Team Zero Race Cars, Shane McDowell Racing, Coffelt Graphics, Larry Royston Properties, Larry Royston Equipment, Fox Racing Shox, Bo Feathers Racing, Clem’s Garage, No.20.

Feathers started the 25-lap main event from outside row seven with a goal of driving into the top ten to put himself near the front of a Saturday night heat race lineup.  The opening laps only made that job harder when he wound up slipping back to 17th in the early going. 

About ten laps into the race Feathers had found his rhythm and started to reclaim the lost track position.  With ten laps remaining he found himself back where he started, 14th.  The progress continued in the late stages and Feathers took the checkered flag in 11th.