Rookie takes the checkered!
Rougemont, NC - As Tech Racing rolled into the pits of Orange County Speedway, they didn’t quite know what to expect out of the night. Daniel Dean Jr, having last competed at Goodyear All-American Speedway a few weeks prior, had completed twin 50-lap Late Model Stock races and placed 7th and 6th respectively. Dean had learned a lot in those starts and now knew where he needed to improve. Since he wasn’t running there for points, he didn’t want to risk running into someone that was competing for points, so he wasn’t nearly as aggressive as he should’ve been.
That wasn’t the case tonight.
Since they were running for points at OCS, Dean knew he would not have the opportunity of riding around, and would have to dial the aggression up considerably. Rolling out to practice, the team was off the pace. Their driver still had the lines and marks from GAAS loaded in his head, and it took a few laps for him to recall what he had learned in the off-season. Soon, they were back within a few tenths of the leaders. Riding on old tires like usual, this showed good progress and was a good sign for the rest of the night.
Once it came time for qualifying, team owner Thomas Chappell ordered for the new sticker tires to be put on and sent Dean out for a scuff lap and 2 qualifying laps. Dean, having learned how much harder he needed to drive the car during qualifying as compared to the race pace, went out and was set to kill. He laid down a scorching lap time on the 1st lap, and the 2nd lap was shaping up to be even faster. Dean drove out of turn 2 sideways, never lifting. Live timing had gone down during their qualifying session, so outside of speculation, the team had no idea where Dean placed the car.
As the call to the staging lanes rang out over the track loudspeakers, Tech Racing was still unsure of where they were starting. Their driver rolled out onto the track with Chappell as his eyes-in-the-skies on the spotter stand. The team had guessed we were starting on the front row, but it was only when the #32 car of Austin Purnell was on the outside that they had realized where they placed. “You put it on the pole, driver!” came over the radio. Dean had qualified the car in 1st place, barely edging the 2021 track champion out by mere hundredths of a second! Dean felt his heart thumping in his chest, but composed himself shortly before taking the green flag.
The field rolls to the starting line, and Chappell yells “Green, green green!”. Dean jumps on the throttle, but was still not as aggressive as he needed to be. By the time they came back around, Dean had fallen back to 3rd. The field started to settle in until Rusty Daniels began challenging Dean for his 3rd place position. Daniels gets to the outside of Dean, and the two start to battle lap after lap. It wouldn’t be long before 2nd place Chance Carpenter falls off the pace. Still locked in a fierce battle, Dean and Daniels split the #60 of Carpenter, with Daniels going high and Dean diving down low. The two meet back up at the beginning of turn 1, challenging each other once again. They go side-by-side down the backstretch. Suddenly, Daniels disappears from Deans peripherals and he hears “Clear outside.” When he comes back to the frontstretch, he sees Daniels’ car resting against the wall just past the start-finish line.
After a lengthy caution, Dean and Purnell start on the front row once again. Purnell elects to take the outside row, so Dean goes to the inside. As the green flag waves, Dean wastes no time and his competitor cuts him no slack. He grabs a gear and drives deep into turn 1 with Purnell on his door. The two drive side-by-side for two laps, and eventually Dean manages to clear him. Purnell stays attached to his rear bumper and is clearly driving deeper on entry, but Dean is able to consistently drive away on exit. As the laps tick down, Purnell raises the aggression level and starts knocking on the back bumper in an attempt to gently move Dean up the track or force a mistake. He hears Chappell in his ear say “5 to go!” and sees the signal from the flagstand. At this point, his heart is thumping out of his chest, and Dean isn’t even daring to breathe for fear of missing his mark or giving Purnell an opportunity. They come around the frontstretch and the white flag seems to fill up Dean’s windshield. Once the two exit onto the backstretch, Chappell screams “Clear inside, protect the bottom!”, and Dean immediately throws the block.
CONTACT!
As Dean’s nose points to the inside wall, he quickly realized Purnell was just at his rear bumper when he went low. Instead of driving through and dumping Dean, Purnell backs off, wanting a clean race. Miraculously, Dean catches the car and recovers! He jumps to the bottom once again and leads the field to the checkered flag! Much to his disbelief, the rookie had brought Tech Racing a win and prevailed over the 2021 track champion in what was the most exciting race of the evening! Chappell hands Dean his first checkered flag, and Dean is cheered and applauded as he takes his victory lap. When he parks it in victory lane, he’s met with a thunderous celebration with his family, team, and a handshake from Purnell.
Tech Racing and Daniel Dean Jr. had made their presence known and proved that they would be a threat throughout the year. As the celebration drew to an end, the team immediately set their sights on July 23rd.
