Florida veteran Keith Lilley added his name to the list of winners in the Wheel Man Series Saturday night at Auburndale Speedway. Perhaps no one was more surprised than Lilley himself, who held off Tyler Scofield for the victory.
“I’m too fat and old for this, man," said Lilley in victory lane. "The car was awesome, the guys are awesome. I don’t know what to say, really. I’m glad I held him off, man, and I can’t thank these guys enough.”
Lilley had stepped away from racing entirely until recently, feeling the urge to race again after spending more time with Scofield. As fate would have it, Lilley had to fend off Scofield to pick up the win in Saturday's 75-lap feature.
“I quit this stuff two years ago. I was winning a few races here and there. I decided I didn’t want to do it no more, couldn’t do it no more, I was getting older. I started hanging out with Scofield and them, got the itch and had to have it.
“To get a win, I never thought I’d win a race, and definitely not a Wheel Man race.”
Scofield was pleased to finish second to Lilley. He felt the two cars were fairly equal, and it would have taken some physicality or a mistake by Lilley to open the door for a challenge.
“To be honest, I needed just a little bit, but I would have had to move him. Run side-by-side and get him stuck on the outside. The cars are pretty dead-even. He was getting me off the corners by quite a bit. I probably burnt the car up before I got up to him.
“Auburndale is all about clean air. Last race here, I started on the front row. As you can tell, it’s hard to beat that clean air.”
Brandon Morris finished third, the same position he took the checkered flag in when the Wheel Man Series visited Auburndale in January to start the season. Adam Briggs finished fourth, with Kevin Macy rounding out the top five.
Fans who missed Saturday's race can click here to watch highlights from the Wheel Man event at Auburndale.