While Street Stock drivers from all over the country come to Dillon Motor Speedway each January for the New Years BASH, the trophy typically stays in the Carolinas. In 12 prior runnings of the event, only Wisconsin's James Swan has beaten the Mid-Atlantic Street Stock drivers on their home turf.
Wilbraham, Massachusetts' Tommy O'Sullivan overcame the odds on Sunday night, persevering through a B-Main and escaping the chaos of 100 laps to take the checkered flag.
After missing out on a top-20 qualifying spot, O'Sullivan went to one of two B-Mains to start Sunday afternoon. O'Sullivan won his race, giving him a starting spot on the 11th row for the feature. He worked his way up to fourth place, but spun after contact with Sonny Schoffen on lap 45.
Undeterred, O'Sullivan raced his way through the field again, taking the lead on the final lap after contact with Josh Way in turn two. While several cars crashed behind him in turn three on the final lap, O'Sullivan escaped to the finish line.
"This feels awesome," O'Sullivan told Racing America. "I can't even tell you what it feels like, to come down here against some really good equipment and really, really good drivers, to come through the B-Main, end up winning that, and then to get all the way to the front in the feature and go all the way to the back.
"At the end, it was me and the 25 [of Way], we were just driving for everything we had," O'Sullivan explained in victory lane. "That's short track racing for you right there. I didn't wreck him. I did everything I had to do to win this thing."
"It was a total team effort. These guys really worked hard all weekend and I can't thank them enough. I was just the lucky guy to steer the wheel."
Despite the highs and lows, O'Sullivan found his way to victory lane. While he promises he'll be back in 2024 to defend his title in the race, he added the event is a great way for him to reconnect with racing friends who now lives in the Carolinas.
"It's a great time to see some of our buddies from down south. A bunch of them work for different Cup teams and stuff. My spotter lives in Midland, North Carolina, a friend of ours from when we were kids. It's a great opportunity to come down whatever the result is. We were very fortunate to get the win."
The event was littered with major accidents, one of the most chaotic New Years BASHes in recent memory. Perhaps the biggest scare of the day came during the B-Mains, when Ant Kohler had a mid-air collision with the pit wall.
He was taken to a local medical facility out of precautionary measures, but was treated, released, and returned to the track later in the evening to watch the rest of the racing program.
2023 NEW YEARS BASH RESULTS
1. Tommy O'Sullivan
2. Sonny Schoffen
3. Dave Trute
4. Chris Riendeau
5. Tanner Woodard
6. Brandon Caraway
7. Ricky Locklair, Jr.
8. Gary Ledbetter
9. Josh Way
10. Austin Somero
11. Jeff Sparks
12. Adam Rowe
13. Josh Sage
14. Joe Gerard
15. James Swan
16. Kyle Lynch
17. Jeff Melton
18. Wayne Locklair
19. Chris Buffone
20. Aaron Plemons
21. Josh Poore
22. Chad Smith
23. Ricky Locklair
24. Jr. Torch
25. Bobby Selsing
26. Wayne Silvia
27. JR Moore
28. Ron Flynn
29. Tim Sams
30. Jason Thoma
31. Alby Ovitt
32. Wade Berger
33. Steve Stacy
34. Chris Meinders