Mitch Morris' first feature in a Late Model was a memorable one.
The McCausland, Iowa, driver took the checkered flag in the first Late Model feature during Friday night's season-opener at Davenport Speedway.Â
Opening night drew 120 cars to the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds. Other winners were Austen Becerra (Mods), Logan Veloz (SportMod), Nick Seplak (Street Stocks), Nathan Ballard (Hobby Stocks) and Cyle Hawkins (6-Cylinder).
Morris, who also won his heat race, started third and prevailed in a bumpy first Late Model feature of the campaign. It was eventually called early with several cautions, forcing the curfew rule before all 25 laps could be ran.
Chris Lawrence ended second and early leader Mike Goben was third.Â
Becerra and Veloz registered wire-to-wire wins.
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In the Mod final, Becerra drew a front row spot and never gave it up. The Carthage, Ill., racer maintained the lead position and the clean air on multiple restarts and sailed to a three-second victory over Spencer Diercks, who worked his way toward the front after starting seventh.
Veloz didn't give anybody else a shot in the SportMod feature. The Colona, Ill.-based driver led all 15 laps to start the season with a win. East Moline's Trey Grimm drove to a runner-up finish on the tower.Â
Seplak proved to be very good in traffic Friday night. The Coal City racer started ninth and worked his way into the lead on the ninth of 15 circuits. Once in front, Seplak pulled away, hanging a four-second win on the board over second-place finisher Landen Chrestensen of Davenport.
Nathan Ballard was fast all night inside his Hobby Stock. Following a heat win, the Marengo, Iowa, driver started the 15-lap feature fifth. He needed just four laps to assume the lead position and never relinquished the spot, winning by four seconds over Jordan Miles of Bernard, Iowa.
Durant's Cyle Hawkins started the 2024 season where end ended 2023 -- on top. Last year's Sport Compact champion was the first of just four cars to finish all 12 laps. Davenport's Joe Lafrenz was second.
Friday, April 19 at the Speedway is "Hot Rod Night at the Races," with discounted tickets to anybody that brings their hot rod to the track.Â