Dillard exorcises demons at Deer Creek

Cade Dillard made the long haul from Louisiana to compete in the 17th Annual Featherlite Fall Jamboree at the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., this past Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 24-26.

On Thursday, he won his heat race from the outside of the front row which put him tenth on the grid for the 40-lap main event and the final points race in the Hunt for the USMTS Casey’s Cup powered by S&S Fishing & Rental. After a rough start, he was able to bounce back for a 12th-place finish when the checkered flag waved. The effort gave him a tenth-place finish in the final USMTS points for 2015.

On Friday, ‘The Thriller’ started seventh in his heat race but powered his way to a runner-up finish and a spot among the top-eight points-earners for the main event redraw. After starting seventh in the 40-lap feature, mechanical woes on lap 14 knocked Dillard out the race with a 29th-place finish.

Continuing his string of strong heat race performances, Dillard roared from 11th on the grid to finish third in the second heat race of the night. After starting fourth in the 50-lap finale, he held on for a seventh-place finish after a rim-riding race around the top side of the high-banked racetrack and pocketed $2,000 for his work.