Owen Kelly turned the tables on Frank Deiny Jr. and Jason York Sunday afternoon, and pulled off what could be the race of the year at Caraway Speedway.
Kelly a JR Motorsports development driver, pulled off the upset with six laps left in the season finale for the late model stock cars, known as the Mid-Atlantic Championship after Deiny and York dominated the race and both tangled with less than thirty laps to go in the race.
“It was a great opportunity and honor to drive this car today and the way it turned out” says the scrappy Austrailian who now calls Mooresville NC his home now.
“We knew we had a good car, I faded a little bit and then those guys (Deiny and York) got a bit scrappy, and I just kept my boot in it.”
Kelly said when the cars of Deiny and York collided with each other, with thirty to go, coming off of turn four, that he got into Deiny but says “that was just one of those deals.”
York and Deiny swapped the lead on four different occasions during the 250 lap event that was extended to 253 after a late crash on lap 245.
York dogged Deiny for some twenty laps before getting into the back of Deiny with thirty to go. That contact netted York a flat tire and a chance at victory.
Deiny was still upbeat after the race in which he won the pole for.
“We still had a great race” he says. “The only way they could beat us today was to crash us, and they did.”
“We had the dominate car and everyone knew that” he said of his 8th place finish.
York led at one period, lap 170 to lap 185 in which Deiny says that he let York lead. “He wanted to run a little harder than we did at the time so we let him go until we cooled the tires off” Deiny said.
On the contact with York said that Deiny had let up and he got under him. ” I guess that’s where the flat came from was when I got under him.”
“Deiny needs to know that he is not always going to win” explained York. “He (Deiny) just didnt want to be beat.”
For Kelly, the biggest career for him means yet another victory for JR Motorsports. He will tell you that it takes victories to move up the ladder in the development system at JR Motorsports.
“This is a big win for us however it take victories to get in another car. We would like to get into a Nationwide car but (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) the owner says we need to win win and still win. So I just bide me time.”
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