JOHNSON GLIDES TO TALLADEGA SHORT TRACK NeSMITH WIN
JOHNSON GLIDES TO TALLADEGA SHORT TRACK NeSMITH CHEVROLET DLMS WIN
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
EASTABOGA, AL – Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN took the lead on lap 21, and then pulled away to win the Fall Nationals 50 Presented By NeSmithNow.com for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series on Saturday night at Talladega Short Track driving the Miller Brothers Coal Warrior.
Johnson started fifth and used the outside groove to work his way to the front of the pack. The victory was the 11th series career win and third of the season for the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee driving the Miller Brothers Coal Warrior.
“Just love this race track because it’s always racy, like it was tonight, and I also love the fans here,” Johnson said. “The car worked great on the outside, but I had to get to the bottom to work through lapped traffic, and it was also good down there. This was a great tune up race for the $10,000-to-win Dega 100 here in three weeks.”
While Johnson pulled away from the rest of the field, Danny People of Margaret, AL topped an exciting four-car battle at the end of the race to take the second spot in the Tommy Pope Construction Warrior. Ben McCreary of Baldwyn, MS was the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Race with a third-place finish in the Waddle Trucking Mastersbilt.
Todd Morrow of East Ridge, TN took the fourth spot in the T.J. Hunt Trucking Mastersbilt, and Tim Busha of Boaz, AL finished fifth in the Kilpatrick Chevrolet GRT to earn the Race Car Engineering Fifth-Place Award. Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA was sixth in the Turner Excavating DWB.
Early race leader Derrick Rainey of Powder Spring, GA ended up seventh in the Hays Family Racing/Barto Enterprises Warrior. Rainey was the McLeod Construction Fast Qualifier by out-timing the 56-car field with a lap around the ¼-mile clay oval in 15.090 seconds.
It was Rainey’s fifth McLeod Construction Fast Time Award this season and with two point races left in the 2009 season, and he clinched the most fast time awards this season. Rainey will receive a cash bonus award at the series banquet in Tampa, FL on December 9.
Jason Wilson of Margaret, AL finished eighth in the Tommy Pope Construction Warrior to earn the Race Car Engineering Eighth-Place Award, and Lee Burdett of Hueytown, AL was ninth in the City Auto Sales GRT to earn the Maximum Signs Ninth-Place Award. Hunter Best of Greenback, TN rounded out the top ten in the Robin Myrick Reality Executives Warrior.
Marcus Minga of Shannon, MS took a provisional and started the B&M Salvage Mastersbilt from the 24th spot. Minga finished 14th on the lead lap to earn the GM Performance Parts Hard Charger of the Race Award.
Point leader Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS had rough going at Talladega Short Track. After starting seventh in the 78 Towing and Recovery Victory Circle, Cooley was the first car out of the race on lap 15 when his car lost a driveshaft. That earned Cooley of the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award.
Cooley still holds an 86-point lead over Larry Boutwell of Baker, FL in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National point standings. Boutwell finished 17th in the McLeod Construction TNT, and gained 16 points on Cooley to stay in the championship battle.
Rainey took the lead at the drop of the green flag from the pole position followed by McCreary, Turner, Busha, and Johnson. By lap four, the high-riding Johnson had worked his way up to the third spot. Turner began to fade out of the top five, as Busha moved to the fourth spot on lap five, and Peoples moved into the top five on lap six.
Busha drove under Johnson on lap seven and the two drivers waged a side-by-side battle for the third position. Rainey caught the cars on the tail of the lead lap by lap 10, and Johnson was able to use the lapped cars to his advantage to hold the third position over Busha.
Cooley brought out the first of two caution flags in the race when he stalled going down the backstretch on lap 15. Rainey had the cars of McCreary, Johnson, Busha, Peoples, Turner, Best, Carlton Freeman of Eastaboga, AL in the Shan Recycling GRT, Burdett and Morrow doubled up behind him for the restart.
The double-file restart shuffled up the top five when the field went back to green flag action, as Johnson and Peoples glided around the outside of McCreary to pick up the second and third spots respectively. McCreary was joined by Busha to battle Peoples for the third spot on lap 18, and McCreary retook the position behind Rainey and Johnson on lap 19.
Rainey stayed on the bottom groove, but he could see the rim-riding Johnson to his right by lap 20. After a two-lap side-by-side battle for the lead, Johnson took the lead on lap 21. Jimmy Hiett of Oxford, AL stalled the Freestyle Graphics GRT down the backstretch on lap 25 to bring out the caution flag.
Johnson led Rainey, McCreary, Peoples, Busha, Turner, Best, Burdett, Morrow, and Freeman down to the green flag to start the second half of the race. On the restart, McCreary moved up to challenge Rainey for the second spot, and Busha passed Peoples for the fourth position. Rainey held the second spot on lap 27, while Morrow moved up to the seventh spot and Wilson moved into the top ten on lap 29.
McCreary drove under Rainey for the second position coming off the fourth turn on lap 31, but by lap 35, Johnson had pulled out to a full straightaway lead. Morrow continued his march to the front, passing Turner for the sixth spot with 15 laps to go. While Morrow was moving forward, Rainey was falling back, settling into the seventh spot on lap 37.
With five laps to go, McCreary, Busha, Peoples, and Morrow battled each other two and three-wide for the second spot, while Johnson checked out. Peoples took the second spot for good on lap 48, with McCreary holding on to third followed by Morrow and Busha at the checkered flag.
In preliminary action, Cooley, Best, Morrow and Freeman won the 12-lap heat races, while Brian Smith of Cedar Bluff, AL in the Patriot Performance JC3 and Chris O’Connor of Cantonment, FL in the Coggin Land Services Warrior won the two 15-lap B-Main races.
The next two events for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series will be topless events at South Mississippi Speedway in Gulfport, MS with 40-lap $2,000-to-win race on October 16, and a 50-lap $2,500-to-win race on October 17. These two events will be the final two points race of the 2009 season.
The NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS will return to Talladega Short Track for a non-points race on October 22-24 with the $10,000-to-win Red Top Auto Auctions Dega 100 Presented By Hoosier Race Tire.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 21 AT TALLADEGA SHORT TRACK IN EASTABOGA, AL ON 10/3/09:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON 1. 5 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 50 $2,500 2. 6 22p Danny Peoples Margaret, AL 50 $1,250 3. 3 21m Ben McCreary (R) Baldwyn, MS 50 $850 4. 9 T16 Todd Morrow East Ridge, TN 50 $700 5. 4 15 Tim Busha * Boaz, AL 50 $650 6. 2 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 50 $550 7. 1 87 Derrick Rainey Powder Springs, GA 50 $600 8. 11 22 Jason Wilson (R) Margaret, AL 50 $450 9. 13 B97 Lee Burdett Hueytown, AL 50 $400 10. 8 007 Hunter Best Greenback, TN 50 $375 11. 15 1 Jason Hiett Lincoln, AL 50 $350 12. 12 25 Justin McRee Woodstock, AL 50 $300 13. 19 17s Brian Smith Cedar Bluff, AL 50 $280 14. 24 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS 50 $360 15. 25 47 Adam Martin Talladega, AL 50 $250 16. 10 F22 Carlton Freeman Eastaboga, AL 49 $240 17. 14 58 Larry Boutwell Baker, FL 49 $220 18. 18 55 Terrance Nowell Phenix City, AL 49 $200 19. 16 82 Jason Sanderford Pheba, MS 49 $200 20. 22 B4 Justin Beasley Montevallo, AL 49 $200 21. 23 38 Chase Washington (R) Houlka, MS 48 $200 22. 20 17 Chris O’Connor Cantonment, FL 35 $200 23. 21 55h Jimmy Hiett Oxford, AL 24 $200 24. 17 17k Scott Knowles Lanett, AL 17 $200 25. 7 33c Eric Cooley Fulton, MS 14 $200
* - Busha’s fifth spot pending tire inspection
ENTRIES: 56 McLEOD CONSTRUCTION FAST QUALIFIER: Rainey, 15.090 Seconds PROVISIONALS: Washington and Minga PROMOTER’S CHOICE PROVISIONAL: Martin LEAD CHANGES: 1 LAP LEADERS: Rainey, 1-20; Johnson, 21-50 LAPS LED: Johnson, 30; Rainey, 20 SUNOCO RACE FUELS ROOKIE OF THE RACE: McCreary GM PERFORMANCE PARTS HARD CHARGER: Minga (started 24th and finished 14th) DOMINATOR RACE PRODUCTS HARD LUCK AWARD: Cooley RACE CAR ENGINEERING FIFTH-PLACE AWARD: Busha RACE CAR ENGINEERING EIGHTH-PLACE AWARD: Wilson MAXIMUM SIGNS NINTH-PLACE AWARD: Burdett CAUTIONS: 2 TIME OF THE RACE: 27 Minutes and 51.234 Seconds
McLEOD CONSTRUCTION QUALIFYING: POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS LAP 1 LAP 2 TIME 1 87 Derrick Rainey Powder Springs, GA Warrior 15.129 15.090 15.090 2 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA DWB 15.096 15.175 15.096 3 21m Ben McCreary - R Baldwyn, MS Mastersbilt 15.096 15.160 15.096 4 15 Tim Busha Boaz, AL GRT 15.281 15.102 15.102 5 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN Warrior 15.186 15.223 15.186 6 22p Danny Peoples Margaret, AL Warrior 15.320 15.196 15.196 7 17s Brian Smith Cedar Bluff, AL JC3 15.366 15.203 15.203 8 007 Hunter Best Greenback, TN Warrior 15.393 15.211 15.211 9 T16 Todd Morrow East Ridge, TN Mastersbilt 15.269 15.213 15.213 10 47 Adam Martin Talladega, AL Barry Wright 15.359 15.244 15.244 11 33c Eric Cooley Fulton, MS Victory Circle 15.365 15.291 15.291 12 25 Justin McRee Woodstock, AL Trak Star 15.359 15.321 15.321 13 17k Scott Knowles Lanett, AL Trak Star 15.713 15.364 15.364 14 14jr Victor Turner Munford, AL Rocket 15.364 15.662 15.364 15 22 Jason Wilson - R Margaret, AL Warrior 15.491 15.386 15.386 16 38 Chase Washington - R Houlka, MS GRT 15.410 15.557 15.410 17 B97 Lee Burdett Hueytown, AL GRT 15.440 15.428 15.428 18 4L Ted Lackey Munford, AL Trak Star 15.429 15.586 15.429 19 1 Jason Hiett Lincoln, AL GRT 15.445 15.455 15.445 20 82 Jason Sanderford Pheba, MS TnT 15.456 15.638 15.456 21 17g Adam Gauldin Talladega, AL GRT 15.600 15.459 15.459 22 4 Kevin Henderson Cottondale, AL Trak Star 15.464 15.562 15.464 23 89 Carey Smith Carrollton, GA Warrior 15.470 16.384 15.470 24 F97 Red Farmer Hueytown, AL Rayburn 15.478 15.645 15.478 25 25s Jody Summerville Rome, GA Barry Wright 15.488 15.747 15.488 26 17 Chris O'Connor Cantonment, FL Warrior 15.677 15.491 15.491 27 9 Tom Maddox Centre, AL Mastersbilt 15.525 15.550 15.525 28 18 Chase Edge LaFayette, AL Mastersbilt 15.535 15.652 15.535 29 34 Chad Wallace LaGrange, GA GRT 15.548 15.890 15.548 30 F22 Carlton Freeman Eastaboga, AL GRT 15.556 15.555 15.555 31 07 Jimmy Elkins Jr. Talladega, AL Mastersbilt 15.560 15.719 15.560 32 T13 Josh Taylor Birmingham, AL GRT 15.574 15.567 15.567 33 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS Mastersbilt 15.591 15.571 15.571 34 55 Terrance Nowell Phenix City, AL GRT 15.573 15.601 15.573 35 35 Sam Hughes Pelham, AL GRT 15.579 15.838 15.579 36 11 Chad Smith Cedartown, GA GRT 15.627 15.598 15.598 37 55h Jimmy Hiett Oxford, AL GRT 15.799 15.605 15.605 38 58 Larry Boutwell Baker, FL TnT 15.628 15.872 15.628 39 17f Billy Franklin Calera, AL Mastersbilt 15.633 15.700 15.633 40 P19 Paul Walters Valley, AL GRT 15.824 15.710 15.710 41 5y Logan Yates Delta, AL TSR 15.713 15.713 15.713 42 90 Jimmy Kay Taylorsville, GA Warrior 15.893 15.714 15.714 43 16 Jeff Fields Aragon, GA DWB 15.746 15.772 15.746 44 B4 Justin Beasley Montevallo, AL Mastersbilt 15.981 15.780 15.780 45 55k Ryan King Anniston, AL TSR 15.881 15.795 15.795 46 84 Michael Williams Anniston, AL Warrior 15.808 15.903 15.808 47 52 Marc Gooden LaFayette, AL GRT 15.848 15.893 15.848 48 17h Cameron Heath Weaver, AL GRT 15.945 16.238 15.945 49 20 David Dailey Trussville, AL Stinger 16.393 15.950 15.950 50 14 Pete Cochran Dallas, GA Rocket 15.961 15.974 15.961 51 32 Troy Dixon Temple, GA Rocket 16.207 16.263 16.207 52 13 David Pettus Lineville, AL GRT 15.471 17.092 16.471 53 19b Ron Bozarth Gurley, AL GRT 16.721 16.650 16.650 54 32h Jason Hawkins Remlap, AL Warrior 15.302 15.440 DQ-LT 55 47h Brad Hall Knoxville, TN Rayburn 15.128 15.062 DQ-TIRE 56 38g Jerry Goodwin Wilsonville, AL GRT 15.203 15.144 DQ-TIRE
HEAT RACES (12 Laps – Top 3 Transfer To Main Event):
1ST HEAT: 1. Cooley; 2. Wilson (R); 3. Ja. Hiett; 4. B. Smith; 5. Hughes; 6. Elkins; 7. Maddox; 8. Franklin; 9. Gooden; 10. Fields; 11. Ca. Smith; 12. Dixon; 13. Hall DNS.
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