FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 21, 2010

Cleveland Speedway's THURSDAY NIGHT THUNDER with Ray Cook's Southern Nationals Series, July 22nd

Cleveland, TN. (7/21/10) — The Southern Nationals Series for dirt Super Late Models rolls into the Cleveland (TN) Speedway, after hosting races in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. The race as the series marks its 5th annual visit, to Monty Morrow's dirt track, since the series was conceived in 2005 by racing superstar Ray Cook, whom puts forth a two-week tour around the South beginning in mid-July. This THURSDAY NIGHT THUNDER event will pay $3,500 to-WIN with a hefty $450 payout, just to start the 35 lap "A" Main feature and has yet to produce a repeat winner. The local LLM/Crate division will be also in competition Thursday night.

Defending race winner is Chris SMOKEY Madden of Gaffney, SC, whom bested 33 other entrants in 2009. Previous Southern Nationals Cleveland Speedway winners include CAT-DADDY Clint Smith (’06), Randy THE DREAM Weaver (’07), and Cleveland fan favorite THE O-SHOW Jimmy Owens (’08). The event (like this season) follows the Cleveland Speedway's BUDWEISER: Jean Johnson Memorial event and is expected to see the return of the most recent winner; Ronny Lee Hollingsworth of Northport, AL. Qualifying will lock in the Top-10 fastest to the "A" Main feature, leaving the remainder of the competitors to race in Last Chance "B" Main races. No one (1) racer has yet to win two So. NATS. events at the Cleveland track.

A partial list of out-of-state drivers "possibly" expected at Cleveland Speedway for the Southern Nationals Series THURSDAY NIGHT THUNDER include; Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, GA.; Chris Madden of Gaffney, SC; Tony Knowles of Tyrone, Ga.; John Henderson of Aiken, SC; Brian Booze of Marion, PA; G.R. Smith of Mooresville, NC; Brian Nuttal Jr. of Clayton, GA; Ethan Hunter of Tiger, GA; Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, GA; Ivedent Lloyd Jr. of Ocala, FL; Scott Creel of Franklinton, LA; Dennis Franklin of Gaffney, SC; Jeff Smith of Dallas, NC; John Pursley Jr. of Clover, SC; Donald Bradsher of Burlington, NC; Kennie Compton Jr. of Bland, VA; Daniel Baggerly of Rural Retreat, VA., Jordan Bland of Concord, NC; Chris Brown of Spring, TX; Jared Landers of Blackwell, AK;

Also expect to see in action a strong contingent from nearby; NC, TN/GA and AL. Former Cleveland Speedway Super Late Model champions Jamie Perry & Kevin Gibson of Ringgold, GA; (whom share 3 titles between them) as well as fan favorites and former East Tennessee teammates Skip Arp and Freddy Smith could be in action. Georgia's Lee Sutton and THE COACH David Payne of Murphy, who's coming off one of his more stout performances this weekend, should be entered Thursday. Local Cleveland Speedway Track Defenders Jake Knowles and Todd Morrow should see action also. Throw in the likes of Powell TN's Mark Vineyard and Steve Smith, East Tennessee's Billy Ogle Jr. and Chad Ogle ...of no relation, Shanon Buckingham of Morristown, Rick Rogers of Knoxville and defending series champion ROCKETBOY Tommy Kerr could make it interesting to see who'll be the next to add their name to the Cleveland Winners Column.

Adult grandstand admission on Thursday, July 22nd is $15, with kids 11-and-under admitted free in grandstands when accompanied by an adult. Pit passes are $30. The pit gates will open Thursday, July 22nd at 4PM EST, and the grandstands at 5PM. Reserve seats for the Top-3 Rows at Cleveland Speedway will go on-sale at 4PM. The LLM/Crate division will be racing Thursday with the So. Nats. SLM's. Hotlaps are tentatively scheduled to begin around 8PM., to be followed by qualifying and then racing action. For information about the So. NATS. series visit them online at www.SouthernNationalsSeries.com.