Willie Allen beats the heat, wins at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway

With temperatures on the asphalt track reaching a scorching 115 degrees Saturday at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, the drivers who showed up to compete at the historic facility had their mettle tested. 

Drivers and their crews not only had to endure the sweltering heat, but also follow COVID-19 restrictions, which includes wearing protective masks in the pits, in order to participate in the only spectator sport taking place in Nashville.

"I play basketball three or four times a week for four or five hours straight just to stay in shape to race," driver Cole Williams said. "The passion for racing is what brings us all out here in this heat. Look at my crew. We don't really pay them; they're all volunteers. To have them out here working hard and sweating in this heat means a lot and makes me want to go out there and perform better."

Veteran Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway driver Willie Allen did the best job of managing the heat to claim the 100-lap pro late models third race of the season. 

It was Allen's 26th victory at the Fairgrounds, which ranks 10th on the all-time premier division win list.

Allen, 40, held off Dylan Fetcho (second), Michael House (third), Austin Brawley (fourth) and Williams (fifth).  

Drivers and their crews spent most of the day at the track practicing, qualifying and having meetings. The pits opened at 10:30 a.m., and the last of eight races wrapped up at 9:55 p.m. 

"It's definitely tough," said former Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway champion Chad Chaffin, who was crew chief Saturday for his son Chaz in the pro late model feature. "When I was a lot younger, it didn't affect me as bad. Now that I'm 52, it's hard on an old man. There's a lot of guys out here older than me, and you've got to love this sport because not only is it hot outside, but you're around these hot race cars and this hot asphalt. It makes for a long day, and it will take a couple of days to recover."

The temperature intensifies when drivers climb into their cars. Reining pro late models champ Jackson Boone, who was on the pole Saturday, said the temperature routinely reaches 130-140 degrees inside his car.

But Boone doesn't sweat the heat.

"It is just unreal hot, but I can't say I dislike it because I like to use the heat to my advantage," he said. "When other drivers fall out in this heat, I like to stay in shape and pick them off one by one. You definitely have to have a lot of dedication to be out here at 3 p.m. burning your butt off."

Allen back in the winner's circle

A crowd of 2,485, the largest of the season and near capacity (2,550) allowed under COVID-19 restrictions, watched Allen move from fifth to second on lap 25 and take the lead from House on lap 53.

The Bon Aqua native led the rest of the way.

"It was a fun night," Allen said. "It was definitely one of the best cars I've had. I've had a lot of good cars and that thing was unreal. It's crazy how good it was there at the end."

Allen won the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway pro late models championship in 2015 and the track's NASCAR points championship in 2006.

He stretched his lead Saturday to a comfortable distance from laps 65 through 90 before Fetcho made up some ground when the two drivers started lapping other cars and got caught up in traffic.

"When we caught that traffic I was catching (Allen) and I was really excited," said Fetcho, who is from Lebanon. "Once he got through the traffic and I caught the traffic he kind of pulled back away."

For House, a Columbia resident and the son-in-law of two-time Daytona 500 champion Sterling Marlin, it was good just to finish a race.

"I've had a lot of bad luck, and I'm glad to be here," House said. "Unfortunately, I probably ran a little too hard at the beginning and burned my right side tires up. But we've been falling out of races here and there, so this is something to build on."

Other winners Saturday: Troy Hall (super truck), Josh Hood (pure stock), Bryson Shaffer (legends), Will Owens (front runner), Jeff Belt (limited late model), Brittany Climer (super street) and Aiden Potter (bandolero).

The next race at the fairgrounds is set for Aug. 29.

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.