LUCAMA, NC – Entering the final race of the regular season, Jonathan Kornegay trailed Brian Obiedzenski in the Charger division standings and had not win a race – but he would change both on September 10th.
The 30-year-old from Goldsboro, North Carolina swept the Charger doubleheader in the championship finale at Southern National Motorsports Park. With the sweep, he was able to clinch the Charger division championship, capping off a season of rock solid consistency and a season-long battle with Obiedzenski.
“I was pretty daggum excited,” Kornegay said. “I wanted to race for a championship and, at the beginning of the year, I was only going to run one race in Tracy Muse’s car with Michael O’Brien. We ended up, Tracy said if I wanted to run the car all year, he’d let me run for the championship and we did. I knew it was going to take being consistent all year and we were.”
While Kornegay had hoped to win more races, the races he won counted the most. In a “Game 7” moment, the veteran came through with a clutch performance.
“I finished second or third a handful of times, but that last race, we made it count,” Kornegay remarked. “I knew, going in, that I needed to finish ahead of Obiedzenski both races but I knew, if I went out there and won both races, it would happen. Pressure has never really bothered me. I don’t care one way or the other. If I win, I win. If I don’t, I don’t, we’ll just go home and work that much harder for a win. It all worked out at the end but it was close.”
Kornegay was supported by Raynor Farms, H&H Body Shop, Short Track Engineering, Graphix NC, Aero Force Fabrication, Randy Jackson Trucking, Scott Construction, Pro Coat Powder Coating and Tommy Grantham Farms.
“If it wasn’t for them, it could not happen,” Kornegay commented.
Kornegay will run the Thanksgiving Classic in a Charger. Next season, while his plans aren’t certain, he will continue racing in the Charger division as well as in a Limited Late Model.
