So...

Officials and teams of the Super Truck Short Track Series came to Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, North Carolina Tuesday afternoon to conduct a mock weekend competition test, which included two practice sessions, a qualifying session, and a 50 lap race. Drivers and teams were told to treat the events as if it were a real situation. Tuesday evening, the first practice session saw young Bobby Ricky (who insists he's not Ricky Bobby in disguise) set the fast time before spinning in turn one and smashing the wall. The team brought a second truck to the track Wednesday morning that was not yet prepared to be seen by the public, being a solid white truck with just numbers and a hood decal.

Wednesday morning, during the second practice, Bobby Ricky was fastest again! With rain clouds moving in (and only three teams at the track), officials decided to cut qualifying and base the three truck field based on final practice speeds. When night time came around, the rain came down without mercy, pushing the start of the mock race to Thursday morning.

With the four tenths of a mile track dried, but rain still threatening the area, trucks rolled out onto the starting grid. Bobby Ricky and Alikz Ahlbrand led the front row, with Brendan Gorman trailing.



The green flag flew and the 77 of Ahlbrand was immediately in the back. Brendan Gorman filled the bottom lane, forcing Ahlbrand to the rear. It appeared that the 77 was off pace, while the 80 of Gorman gave the 62 all he could give, with no avail.





Lap nineteen saw the most action. Gorman's truck had fallen off from fighting the 62 as hard as he was, and it wasn't long before Ahlbrand caught him. Entering turn three, Ahlbrand stuck his nose inside and made contact with Gorman, forcing him up the track and back into third.



Meanwhile, the show belonged to Bobby Ricky, who ran a comfortable pace and never used up his truck. His strategy was to be really easy in the corner, and get a great run off. This proved to be the key to his dominance.

With five laps to go, Ahlbrand made his final run at Ricky. He got it down to two car lengths by running the same line as the 62, but once he tried to make the pass, it was all for nothing as he slid back another three car lengths.



With a dominant run and definitely the best truck(s) that were brought to the track, Bobby Ricky won the mock race, with Ahlbrand finishing .8 seconds behind, and Gorman, who was more than two seconds behind.



Series officials said there would be another mock weekend in a couple weeks, which will go hand in hand with the schedule release. More teams are expected to show up.