CECIL, Ga.— Matt Hawkins might not win the Miller Lite Rookie of the Year, but the Canton, Ga., driver could be the only rookie to finish the season with multiple victories.
Hawkins, driver of the No. 2 H&H Electric Ford, slipped past Bobby Gill on a restart on lap 197 and held off charges by Mike Garvey and Mark McFarland in the closing laps en route to victory in the Dan Duncan Memorial Aaron’s 250 at South Georgia Motorsports Park on Saturday night.
“This is awesome,” said Hawkins, who won the season opener at USA Int’l (Fla.) Speedway. “Peach State and South Georgia are both like my home tracks, so this is great.”
The event looked as though it was going to have a great ending for Hawkins’s teammate, Mike Garvey, as well. After Hawkins took the lead, Garvey slid past Gill and moved into second. The Georgia drivers distanced themselves from the pack and started to dice it for the lead. But on a restart with 11 laps to go, Garvey’s bid for the win—and possibly the point lead—went awry when Hawkins was slow to come up to speed.
“I flat messed up and spun the tires,” said Hawkins, who took home $13,000 for the win. “I don’t know what happened after that.”
When Hawkins spun the tires, Garvey, driver of the No. 17s JaniKing Ford, tried to split Hawkins and the lapped car of Chase Pistone, but there wasn’t enough room. Garvey bounced off Pistone and spun to the inside of the track. Garvey finished 19th after the contact.
Even without Garvey in the fray, Hawkins couldn’t relax on the final restart of the night, especially with polesitter and two-time winner Mark McFarland right behind him. McFarland chased Hawkins hard into turn one after the restart, but he eventually faded .561-second behind in the final five laps.
James Buescher, driver of the No. 84s Mercedes Homes Chevrolet, posted his best finish of the season by coming home third. Bobby Gill and Woody Howard completed the top five. Gill’s fourth-place finish, coupled with Trevor Bayne’s DNF, gives the three-time champion some breathing room heading into the season finale.
Bayne, who entered the race 15 points behind Gill, suffered transmission problems and finished 68 laps off the pace in 30th position.
The finish:
(Driver, car, money won) 1. Matt Hawkins, Ford, $13,000; 2. Mark McFarland, Chevrolet, $8,000; 3. James Buescher, Chevrolet, $5,500; 4. Bobby Gill, Ford, $4,500; 5. Woody Howard, Chevrolet, $4,000; 6. Michael Ritch, Ford, $3,500; 7. Brandon Ward, Ford, $3,000; 8. Tom Hessert, Chevrolet, $2,800; 9. Jody Lavender, Ford, $2,600; 10. Gary St. Amant, Chevrolet, $2,400; 11. Benny Gordon, Ford, $2,200; 12. Mart Nesbitt, Ford, $2,100; 13. Dusty Williams, Ford, $2,500; 14. Johnny Rumley, Chevrolet, $1,900; 15. Derek Kale, Chevrolet, $1,800; 16. Jeff Agnew, Ford, $1,700; 17. Bill Plemons, Jr., Ford, $1,700; 18. Ben Stancill, Ford, $1,700; 19. Mike Garvey, Ford, $2,700; 20. Kirk Leone, Ford, $1,700; 21. Jay Fogleman, Ford, $1,600; 22. Matt Carter, Ford, $1,600; 23. Frank Deiny, Jr., Ford, $1,600; 24. Chase Pistone, Chevrolet, $1,600; 25. Dange Hanniford, Chevrolet, $1,600; 26. Wade Day, Chevrolet, $1,500; 27. Shane Wallace, Ford, $1,500; 28. A.J. Frank, Chevrolet, $1,500; 29. Jeff Fultz, Chevrolet, $1,500; 30. Trevor Bayne, Chevrolet, $1,500; 31. Joey Coulter, Ford, $1,500; 32. Caleb Holman, Chevrolet, $1,500; 33. Ray Love, Jr., Chevrolet, $1,500; 34. Richard Boswell, Chevrolet, $1,500; 35. Michael Kidd, Chevrolet, $1,500; 36. Clay Jones, Ford, $1,500.