Worrell Conquers the Wilkesboro Chess Match to Open Season 27

North Wilkesboro, NC — The BRL Bushtalk Radio Super Late Model Series didn’t ease into Season 27… it threw the green flag into a blender. On a wide but slick North Wilkesboro Speedway, survival, patience, and tire whispering mattered more than outright speed.

With the top-13 invert in play, Steve Hilbert led the field to green alongside his brother Tom, while defending champ James Lowe lurked back in 13th like a storm cloud waiting for the right moment. Steve got the initial launch, but Chris Worrell wasted no time turning pressure into progress, eventually snatching the lead after an early restart.

The opening laps were a classic case of cold tires and hot tempers. Chris Davis brought out the first caution after looping it into the inside wall, and things escalated quickly from there. A violent multi-car crash involving Lol Juul, Benny Ellison, and Chris Haizlip brought out another yellow, with Juul taking the hardest hit against the attenuator.

Once the chaos cooled and the tires came alive, the race shifted into a strategic grind. With no tire changes allowed, managing wear became the golden rule. Kenny Allen, Ruben Altice, and Todd Liston traded punches inside the top five, each searching for that razor-thin edge of grip.

Then came another twist. A third caution erupted when Mark Hertzog and John Wilson tangled, collecting Louis Flowers and James Lowe. The defending champ’s night turned into a damage-control mission, picking his way forward despite nose and rear-end damage and even more contact later with a spinning Flowers.

The race’s defining moment came under caution when Todd Liston, who had surged into second, saw his night unravel with a mechanical issue or spin. Just like that, a prime contender vanished from the equation.

That opened the door for a 24-lap shootout between Worrell and Allen. Allen threw everything at it, searching high, low, and everywhere in between, “working both sides of the street” for grip. But clean air is a powerful ally, and Worrell drove like a man balancing a glass of water on the dashboard, smooth, controlled, and never overworking his tires.

Behind them, Jeffery Hardin quietly built a podium run in an autism awareness scheme, slipping into third late, while Chris Davis rebounded from his early spin to grab fourth from Altice in a strong recovery drive.

At the checkered flag, it was redemption for Chris Worrell, finally sealing the deal at a track that had denied him before. His post-race comments told the story: patience, discipline, and a little wisdom from James Lowe about keeping the tires under control made all the difference.

Kenny Allen came home second after a physically demanding run, while Jeffery Hardin completed the podium with a consistency-driven third-place finish.

Further back, Kurt Smith claimed sixth, and James Lowe salvaged a gritty seventh after a night full of adversity. Mark Hertzog climbed 11 spots to finish eighth, while pole-sitter Steve Hilbert faded to 13th, one lap down… but in a twist of the invert rules, that result hands him the pole for next week at Martinsville.

North Wilkesboro didn’t just host a race. It staged a 100-lap negotiation between drivers and their tires… and Chris Worrell struck the best deal.