by Jason Mitchell


ASHEBORO, N.C. -- They say that in racing, the first victory is by far the sweetest. After Erik Darnell picked up the lead late in the running of the AutoZone 150 at Caraway Speedway on Wednesday night, the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, the Southeast Series driver wasnt about to argue about how sweet his win really was.

Not only was it Darnells first Southeast Series win, but also his first victory at a NASCAR level of any kind.

This is definitely the greatest win of my life, Darnell said. Weve been getting so close to winning that its nice to finally pull a victory off. To pick up my first NASCAR win is huge to me and it takes a big monkey off my back. Id finished second too many times until this.

Darnell also had a little bit of the racing luck shine his way when Kevin Prince who had led every lap since the start of the race relinquished the lead when he thought there would be a caution when another car let out a plume of smoke. That opened the door for Darnell to slip by and steal the victory.

We had the win and let it get away, said a disappointed Prince. There were just certain circumstances that cost us tonight, but were going to take this and build on it for the next race. When I saw the smoke on the backstretch, I was waiting for the caution to come out but it never did.

Wayne Anderson, the all-time victory leader in the Southeast Series, was looking to add to his racing resume but came up short with a third-place finish.

The effort was good, but it wasnt the results I was looking for, Anderson said. We passed a couple of very good cars. Since I dont race in this series fulltime, its kind of hard to expect to come in here and blow them away. We knew we had our work cut out for us, but it was a good night for us.

Rounding out the top-five were J.R. Norris and Jeff Fultz. With his fifth-place finish, Fultz was able to maintain the Southeast Series championship lead heading into the next race at Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway.

There were eight cautions that slowed the 150-lap race by 37 circuits.

RESULTS

Results for Wednesday, July 7, from the "AutoZone 150" NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southeast Series race at Caraway Speedway, showing finishing position, driver, hometown, manufacturer and laps completed:

1. Erik Darnell, Beach Park, Ill., Chevrolet, 150.
2. Kevin Prince, Wilmington, N.C., Chevrolet, 150.
3. Wayne Anderson, Wildwood, Fla., Chevrolet, 150.
4. J.R. Norris, Mulga, Ala. Ford 150.
5. Jeff Fultz, Mooresville, N.C., Chevrolet, 150.
6. Jason Hogan, Woodstock, Ga. Ford 150.
7. Steven Howard, Greer, S.C., Chevrolet, 150.
8. Robert Richardson, McKinney, Texas, Chevrolet, 150.
9. Brandon Riehl, Boring, Ore., Chevrolet, 150.
10. Donald Long, Pensacola, Fla., Chevrolet, 150.
11. Dusty Williams, Garden City, Ga., Chevrolet, 150.
12. A.J. Frank, Bluffton, S.C., Chevrolet, 149.
13. Allen Karnes, Sharpsburg, Ga., Chevrolet, 148.
14. Greg Pope, Monroe, N.C., Chevrolet, 146.
15. Michael Britt, Cumming, Ga., Chevrolet, 144.
16. Justin Wakefield, Woodstock, Ga. Ford 140.
17. Eddie Stivers, Columbia, S.C., Chevrolet, 137.
18. Pat Brewer, Seymour, Tenn. Dodge 116.
19. Randy Pedley, Owensboro, Ky., Chevrolet, 81.
20. Chris Davidson, Pearland, Texas, Chevrolet, 74.
21. Wayne Bowen, Concord, N.C., Chevrolet, 71.
22. Michael Faulk, High Springs, Fla., Chevrolet, 27.



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