For The Tribune
BROWNSTOWN
While Devin Gilpin is no stranger to Victory Lane at Brownstown Speedway, his win Saturday night is quite arguably the biggest win of his already stellar career.
The second annual Born Free 40, paying $5,000 to win, attracted a strong 24-car field of talent, all eyeing the big payday.
Gilpin made his presence known early on in the evening by posting the quickest lap in qualifying with a time of 13.384 seconds in his Jim Beeman-owned MasterSbilt chassis powered by a Jay Dickens racing engine.
Three heat races provided an abundance of racing action for the large crowd of spectators.
Seymour’s Jeremy Hines waged a fierce battle with Michael Chilton of Salvisa, Kentucky, and Jared Bailey of Bedford. Chilton would prevail over Hines and Bailey.
Gilpin and Justin Rattliff also picked up heat race wins.
In a fitting tribute to Independence Day, all 20 competitors who made up the feature field paraded around the quarter-mile dirt track carrying large American flags while area singer Rusty Shields sang “God Bless the U.S.A.”
Gilpin and Chilton made up the front row for the 40-lap main event. Gilpin jumped to the early lead and never looked back as the race progressed. Chilton closed the gap on Gilpin in the late stages of the race only to slip off the racing surface in Turn 4. Gilpin went on to win the race uncontested.
“We’re getting better every week,” Gilpin said in Victory Lane. “We’ve really got a good hold on this place right now. I’m really excited for the Jackson 100 to see where we stack up with the Lucas cars.”
Seymour’s Adam Bowman charged from his 11th-place starting position to finish respectfully in the fifth position. The Bowman Motorsports driver has raced regionally throughout the Midwest in the 2016 racing season and was pleased to place a solid finish at his home track.
Edinburgh’s Chad Stapleton picked up the win in the Indiana Pro Late Models feature after passing Remington Gill in the late stages of the race.
Mike Fields made a late-race pass over Seymour’s David Brewer to pick up the feature win in the Super Stocks division.
Tim Rivers picked up his third win of the season in the Pure Stocks division, his second in as many weeks. Seymour’s Jim Ruddick finished fourth after starting 11th.
Elizabethtown’s Trent Adams picked up the feature race win in the Hornets division.
Up next on the schedule at Brownstown Speedway is Senior Citizens Night on Saturday, featuring Super Late Models, Indiana Pro Late Models, Modifieds, Super Stocks and Pure Stocks.
For information, visit brownstownspeedway.com.