COCHRAN, Ga. – Mark Whitener earned the pole Friday night for Saturday’s $10,000-to-win fourth annual Durrence Layne Performance Parts Street Stock World Championship Race at Cochran Motor Speedway.
Whitener won the first of four heat races on Friday night to earn the inside front row starting spot.
Hayden Moran drove the We Buy Junk Cars Special to victory in Friday night’s second heat race and will start Saturday’s main event from the outside of the front row. Tyler Love will start on the inside of row two on Saturday night after winning the third heat.
The fourth heat race on Friday was won by Michael Stalnaker in the SRE Electrical Special. Stalnaker will start Saturday night’s 100-lap race from the outside of row two.
The top four finishers in Friday’s heat races earned one of 16 starting spots in Saturday night’s $10,000-to-win race. Wil Herrington, Charles Christian and Kevin Durden followed Whitener in the second through fourth, respectively, in the first heat race.
Brooks Strength, Chase Collins and Tim Powers finished second through fourth behind Moran in the second heat. Ricky Greene, Shawn Washam and Tuck Trentham were second through fourth in the third heat.
Robby Metts, Michael Blount and Tyler Turvin raced into Saturday’s main event after finishing second through fourth in the fourth heat.
Drivers that finished fifth on back in their heats will have another opportunity to make the 24-car starting field in one of two B-Main races on Saturday night that will take the top four finishers to fill in starting spots 17 through 24.
In other Friday night preliminary action, Herrington drove the Childs Racing Special to the $100 Boyd Bilt Fabricators Fast Time Award in Group Qualifying. Herrington out-timed the 40 entrants with a lap around Cochran Motor Speedway in 17.235 seconds.