Hayden Cardwell maintains a small lead over his fiercest competitor Dylan Wilson, securing his World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model World Championship.
Photo credit: iRacing
It was a duel among equals: Hayden Cardwell and Dylan Wilson engaged in a close battle for the championship at the 2020 World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Championship Series. Both competitors were only two points apart going into the tenth and final round at Charlotte’s dirt track on Monday.
With 587 and 585 points, Cardwell and Wilson boasted a comfortable lead over the other championship contenders. But Kendal Tucker and Devon Morgan were still well in reach of the two points leaders with 563 and 559 respectively. Mathematically, Evan Seay had a shot at the championship as well but needed the other top 5 players to make severe mistakes.
We’re almost an hour away from the finale of the @iRacing World of Outlaws @MortonBuildings Late Model World Championship!
— World of Outlaws Late Models (@WoOLateModels) August 24, 2020
Four drivers are separated by 28 points. Only one will win the $10,000 title though.
It’s LIVE & FREE on @DIRTVision at 9pm ET! pic.twitter.com/D13GeEww9W
Cardwell wins by four points
The final day of the World of Outlaws series couldn’t have been more exciting. Wilson came into the main race ahead of Cardwell. Keeping his lead over his opponent was certainly a tall order. However, Wilson proved time and again this season that he’s capable of keeping the Texan at bay.
Cardwell remained relentless and pushed for a top placement. After some 30 laps, he eventually passed his rival taking second place. Despite not quite getting the better of Seay, finishing as the runner-up sufficed to maintain is marginal lead over Wilson.
His championship was worth $10,000, Wilson may rejoice at getting at least $4,000 prize money. The tournament’s third place finisher Devon Morgan went home with $2,000 in his pocket.
Seay: hero of the day
While all eyes were on the epic battle between Cardwell and Wilson, it was certainly Evan Seay who impressed the most that night. The young talent from Spartanburg, South Carolina, had a magnificent race. He started the Feature Race from pole and didn’t give away his lead until the end. Even Hayden Cardwell who carved his way out to P2 from the fourth row wasn’t able to overtake him.
Although his victory couldn’t win him the championship, Seay concluded the season with an excellent performance which makes his future look quite promising. In the post-match interview, he commented: “We were just trying to be consistent and I felt we were improving upon last year. And we will try to do the same thing next year.”