Home cookin’: Bandit Series points leader grabs win at home track

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Updated Aug 25, 2018
Ricky “Rude” Proffitt picked up his second win of 2018 at his home track, Hickory Motor Speedway.Ricky “Rude” Proffitt picked up his second win of 2018 at his home track, Hickory Motor Speedway.

Minimizer Bandit Big Rig Series points leader Ricky “Rude” Proffitt took advantage of his familiarity with his home track to earn his second win of the season and extend his points lead over the rest of the field on Aug. 11 at Hickory Motor Speedway in Newton, North Carolina.

Hickory is one of just two tracks the Bandit racers saw last season on this year’s schedule, and Proffitt won one of the two races there last season.

Saturday’s race started with Allen Boles, another driver racing at his home track, on the pole and Proffitt starting in fourth.

It didn’t take long for Proffitt to challenge for the lead. He got around Marshall Davis and Jon Lisenbee to grab second by lap three and began chasing Boles for the lead. A caution flag flew on lap seven with debris on the track, lining Proffitt up next to Boles for the restart.

The long-time friends battled side-by-side for a couple laps before Boles pulled out in front of Proffitt on lap nine. With 15 laps to go, Proffitt was able to get on the outside of Boles and pass him for the lead. Despite a late caution with five laps to go, Proffitt never looked back once gaining the lead, cruising to his second win of the year.

Behind Proffitt were Minimizer CEO Craig Kruckeberg, Mark Noble, Scott Treadway and Mike Ward rounding out the top five.

The win extended Proffitt’s points lead to 612 points with three races remaining on the schedule.

The Bandits will return to the track on Saturday, Aug. 25, at Elko Speedway in Elko, Minnesota.