7/3/2022
Payton Freeman
Freeman notches runner-up finish at Clarksville Speedway
Following the DIRTcar Summer Nationals back to the Land of Lincoln, Payton Freeman was one of 24 Late Models on the grounds at the newly reopened Red Hill Raceway (Sumner, Ill.) on Tuesday for the opener of the third week on the Hell Tour. (Josh James Artwork)
After claiming the fast time honors in time trials, Freeman scored a third-place finish in his heat, which positioned him eighth on the starting grid for the A-Main. Gaining momentum late in the 40-lapper, Payton raced to a third-place finish, trailing Tyler Erb and Brian Shirley across the line.
He trekked to Benton Speedway (Benton, Mo.) on Wednesday for the round 13th of the Hell Tour but officials made the decision to cancel the event due to rough track conditions.
In a field of 24 cars on Thursday at Fayette County Speedway (Brownstown, Ill.), Payton followed up a second-place finish in his heat with a 10th-place finish in the feature.
On Friday at Paducah International Raceway (Paducah, Ky.), Freeman earned the fast time honors in time trials but was involved in a multicar pileup in the feature that forced him to retire.
The following night at Clarksville Speedway (Clarksville, Tenn.), Payton scored a second-place finish in the 40-lap feature, marking his best finish on tour with the DIRTcar Summer Nationals. He followed Brian Shirley across the line with Josh Putnam rounding out the podium.
For the weekend finale on Sunday at Lincoln Speedway (Lincoln, Ill.), Freeman faded four spots in the main event to finish ninth.
Payton climbed to fourth in the latest DIRTcar Summer Nationals point standings.
Article Media
