Zach Briggs, Dodge Carlbert Score Wins in UARA Sportsman Twin 50s at Auburndale

There was no shortage of excitement and drama in the Salted Metals Twin 50s for the UARA Sportsman Series at Auburndale Speedway on Saturday night. Zach Briggs took the win in the first 50-lap race of the evening, while defending series champion Dodge Carlbert went to victory lane in race two.

In the first 50-lap feature of the evening, Tim Sozio crossed the finish line first. However, Zach Briggs was credited with the win, as Sozio was disqualified for a ride height violation in post-race technical inspection.

Cody Krucker was third across the line, but was also disqualified for a carburetor violation. Thus, James Seeright was credited with second place, with Dodge Carlbert rounding out the podium in the official rundown from race one.

In his post-race interview, Briggs thanked his fellow competitors for respectful racing at the front of the field in the first feature.

"I'm not used to getting ran very clean," said Briggs. "I appreciate those guys running me clean. I really want to thank the Morris family, Preston Davis, everybody giving me an opportunity to drive this car. Mr. Wayne, he's busted his butt for the last two weeks to get this thing ready so I could race it this week."

As fate would have it, it would be a clash between Briggs and brother Adam Briggs that dashed his hopes of a sweep for the evening.

While battling for the lead late in the second race, Adam Briggs spun after contact with Zach Briggs. However, Adam Briggs maintained his spot as moments prior, the caution flag flew for a spin in turn three.

On the ensuing green-white-checkered restart, the Briggs brothers made contact on the front row, sending both cars into the outside wall as they slid into turn one and ending their race.

This turned the top spot over to Dodge Carlbert, who held on for one more restart for the win. However, he was greeted in victory lane by Brandon Morris, sharing his displeasure after contact between the two drivers with 17 laps to go.

"I was very conservative in the first race. You know, I tried to just run clean. The 56 [of Morris], you know, ran me up in the wall. So then we're side-by-side, he tries to pinch me down. What do you want me to do? I guess you guys have got fans and stuff. It's all good. I'm happy, we got the win. Oh well. I guess I lost some fans today, but I ran as clean as I could."

Brandon Morris, who ultimately finished fifth, offered a strong rebuttal in his take of the second race.

"You just get drove shit by the 02 [of Carlbert]. He's a f---ing joke. Drives everybody like shit every week. His whole crew is pretty much worthless. The only one over there worth a shit is Jason Boyd. I've got a lot of respect for him and he does a hell of a job. Everybody else can get ready to work on race cars, because the next time he takes two inches from me, he's going to figure it out."

Joe Winchell finished second, overcoming plenty of adversity for the runner-up finish. Between mechanical issues throughout the weekend and some struggles in the first 50-lap race, it was a battle all night long for Winchell and his team.

"The first thing I want to say is this is living proof God is real," said Winchell. "I wouldn't be here without God, God took care of me tonight. We broke a top link last night and broke a right-front hub right before practice. We got no practice, qualified like ass, sorry about that. I screwed up in the first race and ruined Matthew Green's night. I drove my ass off in the second race and these guys right here worked all freaking night long to give me that car. Congratulations to Dodge, they won. We're back."

James Seeright came away with a second podium finish on the evening. However, those two races couldn't have been more different from his perspective.

"In the last one I was in front of a lot of the mayhem that went on, other than that one on the back straightaway," said Seeright. "This one, it felt like I was dropped in the middle of Afghanistan. I don't know what was going on. I'm lucky my dad changed a bunch of stuff trying to make the car better, and he did. We're still missing a little bit. I don't know if it's track, tires or setup. We'll go back to work, try to find that last little bit, and try to come back and battle for a few more wins."

The next event for the UARA Sportsman Series comes on May 24 at the Freedom Factory. Both the UARA Sportsman and UARA National Super Late Models will be on hand as part of the Bigley Memorial Tune-Up 125.

-Photo credit: United Auto Racing Alliance

Salted Metals 50 presented by Melon 1 Results

Race 1

Race 2