Dodge Carlbert Claims Win, UARA Sportsman Championship at Freedom Factory

Dodge Carlbert capped off his second consecutive UARA Sportsman Series championship on Saturday night, winning the Melon 1 - 75 at Freedom Factory.

Carlbert held off teammate Palmer Haag on a green-white-checkered restart to end the 75-lap event for his fourth UARA Sportsman win of the year. With the win, Carlbert successfully defended his 2024 title with the series and earned his eighth career win on the tour.

"That's great," said Carlbert in victory lane. "That was fun, hard racing. I felt like that was a great race, minus all the cautions. We just needed a green flag run. Our car was really good on the long runs and not very good on the short runs.

"I want to thank Palmer. To have our first Boyd 1-2 is awesome. It's kind of what we've been working towards, together as a team. I know he was close the whole time. I knew he was good, as my teammate. I'm happy for Palmer to finish second.

The runner-up finish for Haag marked his best result of the year, his rookie season with the series. It bettered a third-place result at South Alabama Speedway during Rattler 250 weekend.

The result also secured Rookie of the Year honors for Haag, who also finished second in a Pro Truck at Freedom Factory one week ago.

"It feels great to be out here, getting Rookie of the Year, running this track two weeks in a row," said Haag. "I'm having a blast. I love it out here. It's the second time we've been out here where we have zero drive off."

Haag overcame adversity before the race even started, after mechanical issues during Friday practice put his team on the back foot going into Saturday.

"We broke a transmission, had to run to Orlando and back, got back here at 2 a.m., so we could get it all back together," said Haag. "I'm just grateful to be out here. Good to see Dodge get a win and get a championship. We had a good short-run car there. Into the long run, our right rear would get further and further away. That thing was on fire."

Daniel Webster finished third to round out the podium. Webster lost the lead to Carlbert on lap 15 after contact between the two competitors, which led to a post-race conversation between the two drivers.

"I was just frustrated," Webster explained. "It was so early, and his car was so fast. I didn't feel like there was any reason to get into me and then bounce off me.

"I just had the veteran talk of, like, you're the one racing for a championship. I'm here in my second race of the year. I don't have anything to lose if I decide to retaliate on you for hitting me 10 laps into the race when your car is that fast."

Despite the early run-in, Webster tipped his cap to Carlbert and the Boyd team for the win, satisfied with a third-place finish considering the pace in his No. 1.

"Other than that, I mean, they had a freaking rocket ship, and they deserved to win," Webster said. "Congrats to the Boyd cars. I was good through one and two, but I could not figure out how to get off turn four, no matter what I tried."

Sammy Coghill finished fourth, with Matthew Green rounding out the top five.

While the series has crowned its 2025 champion, the UARA Sportsman will take part in Bill Bigley Memorial, Sr. 128 weekend at Freedom Factory on November 28-29. Fans can watch the race live on RacingAmerica.TV.

Melon 1 - 75 Unofficial Results