NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series News Release:
Contact – ROBY HELM – (865) 207-4157
January 29, 2011

RONNIE JOHNSON EARNS THE BOB CROSS MEMORIAL LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

CARTERSVILLE, GA – Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN earned the first Bob Cross Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award on Saturday night at the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Annual Awards Banquet at the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel. Johnson is a 30-plus year veteran of dirt late model racing and is enshrined in the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame.

The award is named in memory of the late Bob Cross, who was an engineer at GM Racing that developed the economical GM Performance Crate Engines that power the race cars in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. Cross passed away on April 25, 2010 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

“I never met Bob Cross, but I know what he has meant to dirt late model racing, and I’m proud to receive this award honoring his memory,” Johnson said. “The GM Performance Crate Engines have been very good for my career because they are good affordable engines. We have Bob Cross to thank for that.”

Johnson has run most of the major dirt late model series across the country during his career and is a two-time winner of the prestigious Dirt Track World Championship Race. Also known as “The Chattanooga Flash,” Johnson has over 500 wins in his illustrious career, and he has won at 52 different race tracks.

With the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series, Johnson has 14 career wins to top that list, and he the only driver to win at least one series race in each of the six seasons the series has been in existence.

In presenting the Bob Cross Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award to Johnson, NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Founder and Director Mike Vaughn said Bob Cross would be pleased with Johnson being the first recipient of the award.

“I would talk to Bob Cross at least twice a week, but I was able to meet with him in person just twice a year,” Vaughn said. “Bob never showed much emotion, rarely smiled, but he was intense when talking about the nuts and bolts of racing. I know one thing that would have made Bob Cross smile, and that would be the first recipient of this award. Bob Cross could do a lot with a little, just like Ronnie Johnson.”

Johnson, who received a standing ovation from the drivers, crew members, sponsors and officials, gathered for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Annual Awards Banquet, was able to reflect a little during his acceptance address at the banquet about what he enjoys most about racing.

“It’s always great to look up into the grandstands and see the fans that have paid hard earned money to watch us race,” Johnson said. “We all owe it to them for giving us the opportunity to do what we do. Even at this point in my career, I still get a good feeling about winning a race by spending less than the competition, and winning a race by making the right choice on a tire, or by making the right adjustments on the race car.”

Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS accepted his accolades for winning his second-straight NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Championship. The 19-year-old driver picked up a points fund check for $20,000.

Larry Harrod of Plains, GA received the $5,000 VP Racing Fuels Rookie of the Year Award from Robert Rodgers of VP Racing Fuels. Harrod’s crew chief, Melvin Welch, earned the NeSmith Performance Parts Crew Chief of the Year Award.

Johnny Stokes of Columbus, MS and Chase Edge of Lafayette, AL were honored as the 2010 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Regional Champions – Stokes in the West Region, and Edge in the East Region. The NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series is a series designed for non-touring drivers that race at their home tracks during the season.

Wesley Washington and James Clolinger, promoters at Greenville Speedway in Greenville, MS, were named the 2010 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Promoters of the Year. Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA picked up two special awards, the GM Performance Parts Hard Charger of the Year Award, and the Ironman Award for competing in 107 consecutive series races.

Mike Boland of Boland Performance in Cuba, AL accepted the NeSmith Chevrolet Chassis Manufactures Challenge Championship Awards for both the National Tour and the Weekly Racing Series on behalf of Trak-Star Race Cars that are built by Boland Performance. It was the first time in series history that the same chassis brand has won both awards in the same year.

Vaughn unveiled what the drivers will be racing for in 2011 on the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour with the beautiful NeSmith Cup. The Top 10 drivers in the 2010 National Tour point standings and the Top 3 in each NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Regions were also honored at the annual awards banquet.

During his State of the Series Address, Vaughn called for more positive feedback from the competitors and fans by talking up the sport to their friends and especially on the internet through social networking sites and on their own web sites to make new fans.

“Public forums on the internet have created an explosion of so-called experts who hide behind screen names and tell you everything that is wrong with the sport,” Vaughn said. “People that are not that familiar with the sport – people that are potential fans and sponsors – read all of this garbage, not knowing that it’s garbage, and turn away from the sport. Instead of writing about what is wrong with this sport on the internet, let’s write about what is right with this sport.”

Vaughn said by creating a positive attitude among friends and fans, and on the internet, new interest in the sport will be created.

“Being positive and talking up the sport will make a big difference,” Vaughn said. “It will create new fans, and it will create new sponsors. Your small efforts can make a big difference. That positive difference can make our sport stronger by creating new interest. This new interest will put more people in the stands, bring new sponsors to the sport, and will keep more tracks open.”

The first three events of the 2011 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour will be on February 24, 25, and 26 at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, FL. The February 24 and 25 races will each be 40-lap $2,000-to-win events, and the February 26 race will be 50 laps and pay $3,000-to-win.

For more information about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series visit the series web site at www.nesmithracing.com, or visit the series on Facebook at NeSmith Racing. Becoming a fan of the NeSmith Racing Facebook page will make you eligible for special prizes that will be given away each month.