Ben Watkins couldn’t imagine it, but his No. 16 was sitting in front of a plethora of cameras following Friday night’s World of Outlaws Late Model race.
The Rock Hill, South Carolina native pulled his car in and was ready to celebrate his first career victory in the series, winning at Lavonia Speedway.
“I’ll be honest, I cant put it into words,” Watkins said on DirtVision. “It hasn’t sunk in yet. Growing up as a little kid, it was my dream just to race a super late model, let alone win a race. Now here we are with the World of Outlaws”
Watkins’ W came over Tyler Bruening, points leader and three-time tour champion Brandon Sheppard, and the hottest driver in late model racing in Brandon Overton.
Watkins lead throughout the 40-lap main event, starting on the pole, evading a spinning lapped car, and capping it off in victory lane over some of the series’ best.
Overton and Sheppard will move on, but Bruening is still without his first career World of Outlaws win.
He and the rest of the series will return to the track for its third race of the week on Saturday, heading up to Bulls Gap for a showdown at Volunteer Speedway.
World of Outlaws Late Model Results
Lavonia Speedway
1. Ben Watkins
2. Tyler Bruening
3. Brandon Sheppard
4. Brandon Overton
5. Zack Mitchell
6. Daulton Wilson
7. Ross Bailes
8. Ricky Weiss
9. Dennis Erb Jr.
10. Chris Madden
11. Cla Knight
12. Trent Ivey
13. Ryan Gustin
14. Ryan Wilson
15. Payton Freeman
16. Kenny Collins
17. Boom Briggs
18. Brent Dixon
19. Brent Larson
20. Nick Schlager
21. Michael Brown
22. Will Harris
23. Ethan Wilson
24. Walker Arthur
