Special from Speed51.com – A pair of drivers have been the class of the field in the Pro Late Model division at Nashville in 2020, and it showed once again Saturday night.  In a reversal of roles from the previous race on September 12, it was Dylan Fetcho getting the best of championship rival Cole Williams to score his first-ever Pro Late Model win.

 

Williams took the lead just after halfway and appeared to be on his way to his third win of the season before a yellow with 18 laps to go bunched the field back up.  Fetcho used that and another late restart to take control of the race and held off the two-time track champion to earn the popular win.

 

“That last restart was good for us.  I went in hard and pushed up like you’re supposed to and we sealed it off and got it done,” Fetcho told Speed51.  “I knew my car was a little bit better on the short run.  Once we had that red flag it cooled off, after that I felt like it was going to be good and it ended up good.”

 

The Nashville native had been a bridesmaid many times at the historic 5/8-mile oval in the past two seasons, which included a runner-up points result in 2019 and second-place runs in each of the previous two events.  He would not be denied his first win Saturday night.

 

With a tight points battle between he and Williams, he hopes to carry the new-found momentum into the last two races and perhaps his first championship.

 

“We’ve been racing Late Models here for four years and finally got the first one, so it means a lot.  Hopefully we took the points lead, we’re shooting for the championship now.”

 

Restarts proved to be Williams’s kryptonite after he appeared to be on his way to a third win of the season.  The Indiana driver made sure to keep Fetcho’s mirror full during the final laps, but ultimately he had to settle for second.

 

“We struggled on restarts at the end there, he was the last thing I wanted to see there at the end.  We had a really good long run car, we were able to set the pace there up until that caution came towards the end,” Williams said.  “We never could get the car to take off on restarts.  We were fighting as much as we could there but Fetcho just had a better car at the end.”

 

He finds himself once again in a tight points battle at Nashville.  This isn’t Williams’s first rodeo when it comes to championships coming down to the wire, with two already under his belt.  He added a fast time award Saturday night to go along with his second-place run, leaving a dead heat between he and Fetcho with two races left.

 

“I know we’ve got a good car and a good crew.  We’ve been in this position before so we just need to take it one race at a time.  That’s how I look at it, take it one race at a time and the points come to you.”

 

Chase Johnson inherited third-place after Austin Wilson was disqualified in post-race tech for a left side weight violation.  Stacey Crain and Hunter Wright rounded out the top-five.

 

Click here to watch a replay of Saturday night’s event at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.

 

-Story by: Koty Geyer, Speed51 National Correspondent – Twitter: @kgeyer3

-Photo Credit: Paradigm Racing

 

Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway – Pro Late Model Results:

  1. Dylan Fetcho
  2. Cole Williams
  3. Chase Johnson
  4. Stacey Crain
  5. Hunter Wright
  6. Tandy Marlin
  7. Michael Bolden
  8. Dylan Bates
  9. Mike Murray
  10. Joe Ross
  11. Mark Day
  12. William Hale
  13. Joey Strode
  14. Daniel Bolden
  15. Bryson Shaffer
  16. Billy Sisco
  17. Kyle Neveau
  18. Austin Wilson (DQ)
  19. Davey Coble (DQ)