Fans pack Richmond Raceway for 36th Annual Butterball Memorial – Motorsports Monday

Dillon Gaudet recaps the latest from the motorsports world

August 21, 2023

Dillon Gaudet,

Richmond Raceway hosted the 36th Annual Butterball Wooldridge Memorial Saturday Night. Greg Johnson and Ricky Weiss started on the front row to start this 59 lap feature. Johnson got a quick the jump but it didn’t take long for Weiss to power into the lead.

Weiss, a Mantioba native, won last year’s Butterball Memorial and he had his hot rod hooked up in this one. He sat a blistering pace and it was a relatively quiet feature with only two cautions. There was some great racing through the field though as Dustin Linville came from a 19th starting spot to finish in the top five.

Weiss had a great jump on a late race restart and he is able to cruse to a win. Weiss takes home the $20,059 purse for the second straight season.

“”My biggest fear was qualifying and we were able to be fastest in my group and get through the heat race,” Ricky Weiss said post-race. “Just real proud of all my guys all the hard work they put into this car.”

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Tyler Carpenter was officially scored in second place after apparent second place finisher Kyle Hardy failed post race inspection. Verona’s own James Rice finished in third place. Ross Bailes finished fourth, while “The Rooster” Dustin Linville came in fifth.

The Modifieds feature was the next race of the night. Cole Falloway out of Owensboro picked up the win. Trent Young came in second place. Local drivers Zach Powers, Dennis Roberson, and Josh Hampton round out the top five.

The final race of the night was the Crate Late Model feature. Waco’s own Justin Rattliff started outside front row and was able to get the win. Jason Barrett finished in second place, while Daniel Dial, Clay Turner, and Elliott Williams round out the top five.

The action filled month of August wraps up next week with The 12th Annual Harold Hardgrove Memorial at Lake Cumberland Speedway.. This is biggest weekend in track history according to the track’s Facebook page. Hope to see y’all there!

Onto NASCAR, the Cup Series was in western New York at Watkins Glen International Raceway. Heading into the race several big names including Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, and Bubba Wallace were still not locked into the playoffs which start in two weeks. Last week’s winner Michael McDowell captured the stage one win, but he had pit road penalties on his next two pitstops. He then had engine issues which would end his day.

With McDowell’s issues William Byron was able to take over the top spot. There were big issues for Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates though. Chase Elliott ran out of gas late in Stage Two which took him out of contention. This leaves Elliott in a must win scenario next week at Daytona International Raceway. Kyle Larson also got busted for a pit road speeding penalty, which ruined his day as well. However, not all doom and gloom for Hendrick. William Byron was able to dominate the race, never giving up control of the race after taking the lead early on.

Pole sitter Denny Hamlin finished second, followed by Christopher Bell and AJ Allmendinger. NASCAR heads to Daytona International Speedway next week with only one spot up for grabs before the Cup Series Playoffs begin at Darlington.