The Pure Stock division was in the spotlight this past weekend as All-Tech Raceway hosted the 8th Annual Borderline Brawl presented by Georgia Auto/RV Auction, LLC . Thirty of the best Pure Stock drivers from Florida and Georgia came through the gates in hopes of conquering the half-mile clay oval.On Friday, Nevin Gainey and Kevin Durden won the two qualifying races that were used to determine Saturday’s starting lineup, while all 30 competitors were guaranteed a starting spot in the 50-lap main event.
Before the green flag waved on Saturday, the top six starters would participate in a rather unique redraw. Each driver would draw a number one through six at random, but instead of keeping the number they drew, they would be forced to pass the number to another driver participating in the redraw. When it was all said and done, Nevin Gainey would retain his pole position, while Kevin Durden was moved back the fourth. Durden’s teammate Patrick Williams would be granted the outside pole.
When the feature race kicked off, Williams used the front-row starting spot to his advantage and quickly passed Gainey for the lead. A few early cautions would hinder the flow of the race, including a lap five incident that ended the night for John Ward. On lap 11, former Borderline Brawl winner Tyler Sanders would retire from the race with transmission trouble. Meanwhile, Quentin Steedly and Blake Clouser, who started 19th and 21st respectively, were charging through the field. The two would eventually make contact in turn three, causing Steedly to spin. Steedly would retain his spot while Clouser dropped to the tail. During the caution, pole sitter Nevin Gainey would head down pit road for adjustments.
On lap 22, David Showers Jr would get together with Joseph Tedesco, sending both cars viciously into the turn one wall. Tedesco’s car would come to rest atop the wall, pinned next to the car driven by Showers. Both drivers were quick to show their displeasure towards one another but were able to walk away from the incident once track officials and a Columbia County Sheriff’s Deputy intervened with the verbal altercation. Several drivers would use the red flag to come down pit road to service their car.
The race got back underway with Patrick Williams and Ronnie Newsome on the front row. Newsome, the three-time defending winner of the Borderline Brawl, would take the lead from Williams and lead just two laps before being passed by Kevin Durden. On lap 27, Michael Stalnaker slammed the turn two wall while running in fourth, ending his race. Also collected were Brandon Elwood and Nevin Gainey. Elwood would continue, but ultimately retired on lap 36. Gainey would come down pit road for a third time and attempt to rally from the back once more. Williams would take the lead back from Durden on lap 31 and hold the top spot until lap 42 when Brian Grantham and Shawn Taylor crashed in turn one. Taylor’s car would pierce the catch-fence and roll over once before landing back on all four wheels. Both drivers were unharmed.
The race went back green with just eight laps remaining; showing the way on the restart were Patrick Williams and Kevin Durden. It looked as if the race would be decided between the two, which has been the case many times at All-Tech. However, Rich Pratt and Shane Taylor would both enter the picture and make bids for the lead. Pratt, with a broken left rear shock, would pass Williams on lap 44 to take over the second spot and set his eyes on Durden.
Pratt would reel Durden in, and it was a dead heat for the lead when the white flag waved, but no one could anticipate what would happen next. Pratt entered turn one right on Durden’s door and the two banged doors, sending Durden’s car hard into the wall. Pratt would continue and take the win, while Durden was relegated to a 15th place finish. Patrick Williams, who lost brakes late in the race, came home second, while Shane Taylor, Jason Garver and Blake Clouser completed the top five.
Pratt would give the state of Florida its first Borderline Brawl win since 2018, while also snapping Ronnie Newsome’s three-year win streak.
The next Borderline Brawl in set to take place the last weekend of April 2025 at Needmore Speedway in Norman Park, Georgia, in 2025.
RESULTS
Jet Concrete Works 604 Late Model
A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 74-Jason Garver[6]; 2. 20K-Nick Kirkus[11]; 3. 29S-Cameron Saunders[10]; 4. 5-Chase Collins[4]; 5. 71-Bo Allen[5]; 6. 87-Briar Cheatham[14]; 7. 131-Matt Herlong[7]; 8. 31-Tim Swartz[8]; 9. 6-Kyle Bridges[1]; 10. 9-Nick Johnson[2]; 11. 67-Garret Stewart[9]; 12. 17G-Nevin Gainey[3]; 13. 51-Larry Anderson[16]; 14. 139-Gordon Peck[13]; 15. (DNS) 86-Kody Jett; 16. (DNS) 01-Fletcher Mason; 17. (DNS) 8-Bubba Whitener
Heat 1: 1. 17G-Nevin Gainey[2]; 2. 6-Kyle Bridges[1]; 3. 71-Bo Allen[5]; 4. 131-Matt Herlong[8]; 5. 67-Garret Stewart[9]; 6. 20K-Nick Kirkus[7]; 7. 139-Gordon Peck[4]; 8. 86-Kody Jett[3]; 9. 8-Bubba Whitener[6]
Heat 2: 1. 9-Nick Johnson[1]; 2. 5-Chase Collins[3]; 3. 74-Jason Garver[5]; 4. 31-Tim Swartz[6]; 5. 29S-Cameron Saunders[8]; 6. 01-Fletcher Mason[2]; 7. 87-Briar Cheatham[7]; 8. 51-Larry Anderson[4]
Pure Stock
A Feature 1 (50 Laps): 1. 9-Rich Pratt[7]; 2. 56-Patrick Williams[6]; 3. 82-Shane Taylor[10]; 4. 01-Jason Garver[5]; 5. 5C-Blake Clouser[21]; 6. 9T-Dylan Litchfield[18]; 7. 73-Jason Floyd[11]; 8. 41G-Nevin Gainey[1]; 9. 22B-Joe Belkey[12]; 10. 69-Derrick Wood[23]; 11. 11V-Ronnie Newsome[9]; 12. T3-Tanner Reich[30]; 13. 4-Chris Litchfield[16]; 14. 77-Wes Davis[27]; 15. 33-Kevin Durden[2]; 16. 31-Shawn Taylor[24]; 17. 5G-Brian Grantham[8]; 18. 57-Joey Haslauer[17]; 19. 11-Quentin Steedley[19]; 20. 22-Michael Brown[28]; 21. 14-Justin Hart[25]; 22. 12-Curt Spencer[15]; 23. 28-Brandon Elwood[22]; 24. 9X-Michael Stalnaker[3]; 25. 31T-Joseph Tedesco[20]; 26. 06-David Showers Jr[4]; 27. 15-Jamie Carter[14]; 28. 8-Ralph Smith[26]; 29. 95-Tyler Sanders[13]; 30. 182-John Ward[29]; 31. (DNS) 00-Shaun Daugharty
Crown Vic
A Feature 1: 1. 125-Johnny Collins[7]; 2. 66-James Erickson[3]; 3. 12-Brody Collins[9]; 4. 18D-Dustin Taylor[8]; 5. 77-Ty Ottinger[4]; 6. 28B-Blake Bedenbaugh[13]; 7. 28-Will Harden[16]; 8. 45-Fred Lowery[2]; 9. 18-Josh Panetti[12]; 10. 55-Chris Thompson[5]; 11. 50-James Ratliff[14]; 12. 2X4-Kyle Wiggins[1]; 13. 14-Billy Marlin[6]; 14. R6-Ragen Johnson[10]; 15. 44X-Joseph Baldwin[11]; 16. 41S-Sam Stalnaker Jr[15]; 17. 00-Lighting Lowery[18]; 18. (DNS) 07X-Jake Gibbs
Heat 1: 1. 2X4-Kyle Wiggins[6]; 2. 66-James Erickson[4]; 3. 55-Chris Thompson[1]; 4. 125-Johnny Collins[7]; 5. 12-Brody Collins[3]; 6. 44X-Joseph Baldwin[8]; 7. 28B-Blake Bedenbaugh[5]; 8. 41S-Sam Stalnaker Jr[9]; 9. (DNS) 07X-Jake Gibbs
Heat 2: 1. 45-Fred Lowery[1]; 2. 77-Ty Ottinger[2]; 3. 14-Billy Marlin[6]; 4. 18D-Dustin Taylor[7]; 5. R6-Ragen Johnson[5]; 6. 18-Josh Panetti[4]; 7. 50-James Ratliff[9]; 8. 28-Will Harden[3]; 9. 00-Lighting Lowery[8]