Potter Charges from 10th to Victory at Lanier

Braselton, Georgia — Trent Potter carved his way through the field and into victory lane in Round 7 of the Virtual Grip Network’s Red Light Racing Checkered Flag Auto Supply Scrambler Series, charging from 10th on the grid to claim a gritty win at Lanier National Speedway on March 9, 2026. In a 150-lap short-track showdown packed with cautions, strategy calls, and playoff implications, Potter’s patience and a perfectly timed two-tire gamble proved enough to overcome a dominant performance by pole-sitter Chris Hammett.

The night opened with intense pressure surrounding the playoff cutoff line. With only three races remaining before the postseason, the spotlight centered on the fight for the 12th and final playoff position. Geoffrey Souza entered the race 13th in points, just one point behind Tony Strano, who was absent from the event. Souza made an immediate statement by qualifying second on the front row, while fellow bubble contender Bill Benedict rolled off 11th. Hammett captured the pole with a strong qualifying effort and quickly established himself as the early favorite.

Chaos struck almost immediately when Souza tangled with Bruce Potter on the opening lap, sending Souza to the back of the field with damage that derailed his playoff hopes for the evening. The incident proved costly, as Souza eventually limped home 15th, four laps down, surrendering valuable ground in the standings battle.

Out front, Hammett controlled the race, leading the opening 101 laps while the rest of the field formed a tight mid-pack freight train. One of the race’s most entertaining duels developed for fifth place between Adam Matz and Sean Single, who ran side-by-side for dozens of laps in a grinding battle that chewed through tires and bottled up the pack behind them.

The race’s rhythm shifted repeatedly through a series of cautions. A key moment came on lap 47 when James Skelton and Maxime Theriault made contact while battling for position, spinning Skelton and triggering another yellow flag. During the caution cycle, Benedict, Kenny Allen, and Jason Wells stayed out in hopes of gaining valuable track position. Allen attempted an especially bold strategy, remaining on worn tires twice in an effort to trap competitors a lap down. The gamble ultimately backfired as his pace faded on the restart, forcing a pit stop that left him finishing 13th.

The decisive moment came during the final round of pit stops. Potter elected to take just two tires, a move he later admitted made the car more responsive in the corners even if it made the throttle feel “touchy.” The call proved brilliant, allowing him to leap ahead of Hammett, who opted for four tires but struggled to regain the track position he had lost.

A late caution involving Skelton and Single set the stage for a tense sprint to the finish. When the green flag waved again, Hammett pressed hard on Potter’s rear bumper, even delivering a few “love taps” on the final lap in an attempt to unsettle the No. 18 machine. Potter held his line on the bottom groove and powered off the corner cleanly, sealing his second win of the season.

Potter’s victory lane celebration capped an impressive drive through the field, while Hammett settled for second despite leading the majority of the race. Theriault completed the podium in third, with Single finishing fourth and Luke Logan Allen rounding out the top five. In the crucial playoff bubble fight, Benedict’s seventh-place finish allowed him to extend his advantage over Souza heading toward the final stretch of the regular season.

After the race, Potter admitted the closing laps had him on edge, unsure how his two-tire strategy would hold up once the tires cooled. “I was pretty worried there,” he said, “because I didn’t think it was going to drive as good once they cooled off a little bit, but thankfully that was all it was.” Hammett, reflecting on his runner-up finish after leading 101 laps, took the result in stride, noting that hindsight suggested two tires might have been the better call before joking that Potter handled the final-lap contact well. He also revealed he will miss the next race while vacationing in the Bahamas.

With Lanier now complete, the Scrambler Series pushes closer to the postseason cutoff as drivers prepare for the final rounds of the regular season and the playoff grid begins to take shape.