Tucker Edges Hall for 2024 Super Late Model Series Championship in Thrilling Tiebreaker

(Left to Right): #43 Hudson Weston, #2 Ashton Tucker, and #83 Cory Hall - Photo by Rye Grizzly

August 19th, 2024

The 2024 Super Late Model Series (SLMS) Championship literally could not have come any closer between the top-2. Ashton Tucker and Cory Hall, two drivers who have been locked in a season-long duel, ended up tied in points after the Recar 150 finale. But when it came to the tiebreaker, it was Tucker who walked away with the championship, securing his first touring series title in what has been a remarkable year, building on past marquee wins, and becoming red hot down the stretch last year, into this year.

Tucker’s Road to the Championship

For Ashton Tucker in the SLMS, this season was a bounce back. He had a good season in 2023, but he was absolutely dominant this season. Tucker's 2023 season was derailed before it even got going. A broken foot at the start of the year had him racing at less than 100%, and some bad luck at times seemed to follow him around. But 2024 was different. "This season we’ve been fortunate enough to have some better luck and not as many mechanical failures. I think that’s the biggest difference in our results," Tucker said, reflecting on his journey to the championship title.

Tucker knew that consistency would be key, but he also understood the importance of capitalizing on every opportunity. His victory in the Recar 150 was just that—an opportunity he couldn’t afford to miss. The win not only clinched the race but also the championship, a reward for a season of perseverance and nearly flawless execution as a team, and a driver. “I think we are in a pretty good spot now, finally getting our first championship for me and the team is awesome,” Tucker said. “It takes a lot off of us knowing we are good enough to win a championship.”

Now, Tucker’s sights are set on the upcoming 250-lap races at Speedway 660 and Petty Raceway, tracks where he’s shown plenty of speed in the past. "660 and Petty are two of my favorite tracks," Tucker said. "I’m really hoping to have a good chance at winning one of them."

Hall’s Season of What-Ifs

Cory Hall’s 2024 season was as consistent as they come. Two wins and four second-place finishes in six races is the kind of stat line that would just about always win a championship. But this season, it wasn’t quite enough. “The whole model of a championship is consistency," Hall said. "So to win two and finish second in the other four is as consistent as you can get, we just needed another win."

Hall’s performances, especially on Prince Edward Island, kept him in the title hunt until the very end. But looking back, he can point to a few moments that could have made the difference. "I think we missed an opportunity in the Petty opener," Hall acknowledged. "With a winning car, I didn’t save enough tire early on to keep the lead."

In another instance, a heat race at Speedway 660, Hall got boxed in and missed out on valuable points, which also lingered in his mind. "We just needed to have one more win to tie that up and take home the championship," he reflected. “It goes to show how competitive the year was between Ashton and I, where his worst is a fourth. And it nearly lost him the title."

Despite some natural disappointment of losing the title via a tiebreaker, Hall remains proud of what his team accomplished. "All in all, I’m very happy with our year and team. To lose in a tie is better than not even being close," he said, summarizing a season where he was a constant threat at the front of the field.

A Season Defined by Razor-Thin Margins

The 2024 SLMS season was all about razor-thin margins. From Tucker’s last-to-first drive at the Castle Building Centres 150 at Speedway 660 in Race 2, to Hall’s domination at Oyster Bed Speedway in Race 3, leading every lap -- every race, and dominant performance had huge championship altering implications. The season opener at the Fog City Auto Spa 150 set the tone, with Tucker holding off Hall in a race that could have gone either way. Race 4 at Petty International saw Tucker take victory, after the year-end top-3 in points: Tucker, Hall, and MacEwen each took turns leading laps during that feature. Hall once again claimed victory in the 2nd trip to Oyster Bed in race 5, and of course Tucker led all 150 laps of the finale, race 6 en route to the tie breaker victory, besting Cory Hall's 2 feature wins, with his own 4 wins.

And then there were the postponements. Rain delays pushed back some races, adding another layer of unpredictability to a season that remained highly competitive, all the way through. Both Tucker and Hall navigated all of the challenges and attrition of a touring series season, setting up the championship showdown at the Recar 150, at Speedway 660.

The season was also marked by dramatic moments, including a near-miss in the championship for Tucker after a track bar failure during his victory lap—a moment that mirrored Dylan Gosbee’s misfortune after winning the title in 2023.

Race 2: A Microcosm for the Season

The 2nd race of the season, and 1st race at Speedway 660, served as a microcosm for the entire 2024 SLMS season, in a sense. In a rare instance of penalties being issued: Tucker, Hall, and Messer were all forced to forfeit their starting positions, relegating them to the back of the 21-car field due to an infraction from the first race, which was said to have involved some miscommunication—a mistake that wouldn’t be repeated for the rest of the schedule. Despite this setback, the race showcased the brilliance of the season’s top contenders.

At the technical Speedway 660 circuit, Messer, Hall, and Tucker methodically worked their way through the field, right from the drop of the opening green flag. Messer led the charge, with Hall and Tucker closely following. As Messer methodically worked through traffic at a quick pace, passing both inside and outside, Hall was right in tow behind him, with Tucker keeping up with Hall. By around lap 30 Hall briefly edged ahead, but Messer soon reclaimed the advantage, but very shortly after Hall did make the pass stick, with Tucker finding a tight gap with tight timing and impressively weaving his way through dense traffic to stay behind Hall.

On lap 35, misfortune struck for Gosbee, tightening the field and bringing the coveted leader position that much closer to them. The restart saw Tucker on the inside of Hall, a position he quickly capitalized on to pull ahead in. From that point on, Tucker was unstoppable, taking the lead on lap 107 and never looking back. Hall and Messer followed suite with 2nd and 3rd, respectively. And while none of that podium had an easy route, Hall got passed back by Messer for a while, as he became mired in thick traffic for quite a while, and was still able to bounce back for 2nd.

This race was a perfect reflection of the season as a whole: no setback or challenge could stop Tucker and Hall, except for each other. They were consistently a step ahead of the competition, with Tucker gaining the edge by 1 position on this night—just as he would in the season finale to claim the championship.

But while Tucker and Hall dominated the most headlines, both coming within 5% of a literal perfect points season, there were a lot of drivers to keep an eye on, including #23 Lonnie Sommerville, #1 Ryan Messer, #20 Greg Fahey, and #18 Darren MacKinnon who all went into the finale in that order, separated by only 20 points for 4th place through 7th place. Behind them were veteran #8 Kent Vincent, last year’s rookie of the year #43 Hudson Weston, and last year’s championship winner #16 Dylan Gosbee, to round out the top-10.

Robbie MacEwen: The Model of Consistency

Robbie MacEwen put together an outstanding season, good for 3rd place in the standings. Entering the Recar 150 finale with momentum from a recent Pro Stock Tour victory at his home track, Oyster Bed Speedway, MacEwen was poised to make a strong showing.

MacEwen’s consistency throughout the season, and going back to last year’s inaugural season was unmatched. He finished in the top 10 in all 12 races race, a feat that no other SLMS driver has accomplished. "It takes a lot to run up front in the SLMS series," MacEwen explained. "There is a lot of great talent, and this year myself and the team gave us a car to be able to do just that."

While the elusive first SLMS victory remains on his to-do list, MacEwen is optimistic about the future. "We’ve been working hard to score that first SLMS victory, but that’s going to have to wait until next season. We are happy with our improvements this year and look forward to 2025," MacEwen said, also expressing his plans to continue competing in both the SLMS and the Pro Stock Tour. "It looks like our 2025 season will be very similar to this year. We will run full time on the SLMS series and part time on the PST," he confirmed.

Lonnie Sommerville: Reflecting on the Season

Lonnie Sommerville’s 2024 SLMS season was marked by both progress and challenges. While he had less top-5s compared to the prior season, he showed more consistency overall; Sommerville acknowledged that there were some missed opportunities. "We gained a bit of speed at Petty, but seemed to lose some speed in Oyster Bed with a new setup we went with. It’s hard to dial it in on race day in a few short practices," he explained.

Sommerville faced several setbacks throughout the season, including getting into the wall in Race 1 at Petty and limping home with a bent lower control arm to finish 14th. "A right-front flat while running 4th in the second race at Petty probably hurt us most," he added. Despite these challenges, Sommerville had a strong placing in a tight, competitive season.

"We definitely had a better year as far as not blowing 3 motors like we did in six races last year," Sommerville noted. However, he acknowledged that a change in setup at Speedway 660 didn’t go as planned. "We went with a completely different shock package as more of a test for the Yard Gear 250, and it was a fail," he admitted with a laugh.

Sommerville reflected on the challenges of balancing work commitments and racing, acknowledging that he hadn’t put as much effort into car preparation as needed to be in top form. "I also don’t feel like we got the most speed available outta our race car. Just basically being too busy at work and I am not putting the effort into the car that it needs to win and that’s all on me," he said candidly.

As for the SLMS schedule, Sommerville expressed his satisfaction with the format, but also left the door open for more racing. "As far as the six-race schedule, I like it, but I would also be fine with a couple more races added if we stretched it out a bit further into September. But either way, if we want to race more, there are lots of options," he said.

Hudson Weston: Gaining Momentum

Hudson Weston, last year’s Rookie of the Year, made significant strides in 2024, culminating in his first career podium finish in the SLMS at the Recar 150. With the (Speedway 660) Yard Gear 250 on the horizon, Weston is feeling optimistic, and eager to build on his recent success. "We’re all very excited for the Yard Gear 250 coming up. We feel like we’ve finally broken through and are hoping to ride the momentum of this podium finish to another strong result," Weston said.

Reflecting on what he learned during the season, Weston emphasized the importance of sticking to the basics. "I think sticking to the fundamentals and focusing on the little things is what propelled us to the podium result. Staying focused and patient while continuously hitting my marks made the difference," he explained.

Dylan Gosbee: Defending Series Champion

Dylan Gosbee entered the 2024 SLMS season with the lofty expectations that follow a reigning champion. Gosbee had set the bar high with his performance last year. However, this season proved to be a challenging one.

Reflecting on his season, Gosbee was quick to avoid making excuses. "I don’t like to make excuses or claim bad luck," he said. "Tucker and Cory had great cars all year! Congrats to them on their year and dominant performance.”

Gosbee acknowledged some of the difficulties that he faced. "We definitely did not have the year that we wanted," he shared. "With starting a new business and three busy kids going in three different directions, time management was definitely an issue. We spent a quarter of the time compared to last year between shop time and testing."

Gosbee had hoped that a new car, put together at the end of last year, would improve his performance and reduce the workload heading into 2024. Unfortunately, the results didn’t meet expectations. "We had trouble finding the handle on the new setup and didn’t have the time for the testing that it was going to take to get it going, so we went back to our old car from last year," he explained. The return to the old car, however, brought its own challenges. "We literally hadn’t looked at it since it came off the track from the last race it did last year, and that came back to haunt us, causing a few DNFs.”

Despite the tough season compared to last, Gosbee remains optimistic and determined to improve. Looking ahead, he is focused on making the necessary adjustments to challenge to reclaim his place at the top. "We plan to take the new car back out a few times this fall to get things headed in the right direction for next year and give those guys a run for their money!"

In racing, as in life, input often equals output, and Gosbee knows that the time and effort put into preparation directly translates to results on the track. "You get out of it what you put in," Gosbee said.

One thing is certain: the 2024 SLMS season will be long remembered for its championship battle that came down to a tie breaker, between two drivers were nearly 100% flawless seasons.