LateModelStock.com - News

Carolina Kid Tames "Hurricane Hickory"

Hickory, NC (June 9, 2001) - January 9th, 1987. That's the day Asheville, NC's Stephen Lite entered the world. June 9th, 2001. That's the day Stephen Lite, the Carolina Kid, laid waste to the best collection of Late Model Stock car drivers in the country over 125 laps at one of the toughest short track speedways that has ever existed.

In a 35 car field with less than 4/10's of a second separating the top 26 qualifiers, on the tough .363-mile bullring of Hickory Motor Speedway, in competition with the ARA Late Model Stock All-Stars, Lite came, saw and conquered, much as he did just one month ago in the ARA Southern Thunder Late Model Series visit to the historic track.

The entire evening treated the near-capacity crowd to another classic short track war that has become the hallmark of the young Late Model series. The action immediately began with a spin on the backstretch on the second lap. Officials were late getting the caution out as the massive freight train of cars prepared to dive into Turn 4. As the field seized up, Lite seized the opportunity to pass Scott Kilby, who had earlier captured the Battery Supply of Virginia Pole Award. The caution finally flew, and following a single file restart, Lite established a comfortable lead over Kilby that he would never relinquish.

While the leaders pulled away, the field spread out, ringing the entire speedway. Battles erupted at every turn on every lap as the All-Star hurricane continued its counter-clockwise swirl in front of the mesmerized crowd. Another spin in Turn 4 brought out the second caution and a collective sigh of relief from fans and drivers alike twenty laps later.

With the cars refiring, Hurricane Hickory resumed until lap 54 when debris from the 3-wide, fender bending, sheet metal ripping storm collected in Turn 4, bringing out the night's third caution and offering more relief to drivers and fans. By this point, Tim Weaver and the "Gunslinger" Greg Marlowe had closed the gap on the top ten, while Ashley Huffman, the "Purple People Eater," was making a run on the top five.

The much anticipated showdown between the "Iceman" Westley Huffman and Mark Setzer transpired without much incident. Huffman overtook Setzer on lap 39, passing on the inside, and held his ground against the tough Hickory driver for the rest of the evening. The Iceman could not hold off Ashley Huffman (no relation), however, who drove his purple No. 7 to the inside and into the fourth position on lap 83, where he would go on to finish.

By lap 100, a remarkable 22 of the original 35 cars to take the green remained in competition. All night long, through the tight Hickory confines, drivers saved cars that had gone sideways and avoided those that couldn't save them, keeping the field relatively intact throughout the event, a testament to the talent that has been attracted to this highly competitive series.

While the Ghost Rider, Keith Bumgarner, hounded Scott Kilby's bumper over the final 25 laps in a battle for second, Greg Marlowe had reeled in Westley Huffman in a battle for the fifth spot. On lap 120, the Gunslinger found an opening inside in Turn 4, grabbing the bottom line. Huffman stuck hard and fast to the outside, refusing to budge. The two drivers ran side by side for two laps, with Huffman keeping the slight advantage until a lapped traffic spin in Turn 4 in front of the leaders brought out the night's final caution with two laps remaining. Huffman would off Marlowe off following the green - white - checker finish.

For Lite, sporting a new red and white color scheme on his Ford Taurus following a new sponsorship deal with Action Racing Collectibles, the caution was de ja vu all over again. Just last week in the ARA Southern Thunder event at Peach State Speedway, a late lap traffic accident put Lite, leading at the time, in fourth, where he managed a second place finish. Saturday night would be different, as Lite picked his way through the traffic and maintained his position. Lite handled the restart with ease and cruised in for the win. Action will also sponsor Lite in the Southern Thunder Series for the remainder of the year.

"This car was awesome tonight," said Lite. "It was looser than I wanted it, but I was able to go in real high and get off on the bottom. As long as I was able to keep the thing straight I was able to pull them 2 to 3 car lengths off the corner, and that's where you win races, if you can get them off the corner."

Veterans take note. When the Carolina Kid speaks, it just might pay to listen.

Scott Kilby held on for second and will likely overtake Bumgarner, who qualified and finished third, by several points when the series standings are officially updated on Wednesday.

"The Kid's car cut a whole lot better than ours and he could really run off the corner," said Kilby. "Not bad for a Chevrolet, though, running up here with a couple of Fords. When you start that many cars here, it's gonna be trouble, but it really wasn't near as bad as I thought it was going to be. We still got all the fenders on it."