Matt McCall, crew chief for Jamie McMurray in the Cup Series, got back behind the wheel Sunday and won the 17th Thanksgiving Classic Late Model race at Southern National Motorsports Park in Lucama, North Carolina.
It was McCall’s first Late Model win since 2015 and his first Late Model start since last year’s Thanksgiving Classic.
“We worked really hard to get here, and it’s always good to get rewarded with a trophy,” McCall said, according to the track’s website. “That’s why you come here. It worked out. It’s really hard to come back to Late Model Stock racing and know what pace to run, but it came to our hands. We seemed to have a little more tire than most to end it.”
Questions about McCall’s win were raised after the race when it was discovered that the transponder was incorrectly placed on the car and how it could have played a role in putting McCall in the lead after a late caution in the 200-lap race. Justin Johnson was second. McCall won by 1.502 seconds.
"Here’s a race that clearly he [McCall] dominated the last 20 laps of the race. If at any point Justin had the car to beat him, he would’ve.” - SNMP track owner Michael Diaz.
— Southern National Motorsports Park (@SNM_Park) November 27, 2017