FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 28, 2014
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NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 9 Round Up

by Roby Helm
CARTERSVILLE, GA – Week 9 of the 2014 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series season saw Noah Daspit of Kiln, MS give true meaning to the title defending National Champion. Daspit made the trip to Battleground Speedway in Highlands, TX on Saturday night to do a little Bounty Hunting.

Going into the weekend, Chris Holley of Dayton, TX had won six straight NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Late Model feature races, and was undefeated in series competition. The track had placed a $200 Bounty on Holley for any driver that could beat him in a main event, and Holley still running at the end of the race.

Daspit unloaded the Billy Riels Racing Trak-Star in the pit area on Saturday night at the appropriately named Battleground Speedway, and like two Texas Gunslingers, Daspit and Holley in the Land Bridge Transportation Special faced each other for the showdown. It was on!

Holley is undefeated no more and the streak is over, as Daspit swept the program winning both the heat race and the $1,000-to-win feature race to collect the $200 Bounty Bonus. The two drivers fought right down to the checkered flag.

Holley could have hit the kill switch and coasted to infield before the checkered flag, but he slowed class and sportsmanship in following the defending NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Champion under the checkered flag in the second spot. Daspit had earned Holley’s respect as he simply said, “Daspit is the man. He’s the real deal!”

These two drivers, Daspit and Holley, have placed themselves in a position to battle for the $10,000 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Championship for the remaining 18 weeks of the 2014 points season. Holley said he is looking forward to meeting Daspit again on the race track, even at Daspit’s home track, St. Tammany Raceway in Lacombe, LA.

Stay tuned because it’s going to be a hot summer on the race track to decide the 2014 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Champion because it’s just about a sure bet that Daspit and Holley will have some company before it’s all said and done.

Adam Gauldin of Talladega, AL may have a say so in the outcome in the last weekend of September. Gauldin finished second on Saturday night at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL driving the Adam Gauldin Racing GRT to remain the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series point leader.

Gauldin has 433 points after two wins, eight top five finishes and ten top ten finishes in ten races over nine weeks of competition. Gauldin has a nine-point lead over Daniel Bridgmon of Meridian, MS, who finished fourth on Friday night at Hattiesburg Speedway in Hattiesburg, MS driving the Robinson Electric Supply Special.

Bridgmon has 425 points after two wins, eight top five finishes and nine top ten finishes in ten races over nine weeks. Shannon Lee of Lumberton, MS drove the Billy Riels Racing GRT to a second-place finish on Friday night at Hattiesburg Speedway and is third in the standings with 402 points after two wins and nine top five finishes in 12 races over nine weeks.

Youth is being served in the Top 10 of the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series point standings, as 12-year-old Cruz Skinner of Oxford, AL is fourth in the standings with 393 points after driving the Skinner Body Shop Special to a third-place finish on Saturday night at Talladega Short Track for his third top five finish and sixth top ten finish in 11 races over nine weeks.

As a guest on the NeSmith Race Report on Tuesday night, Skinner spoke about his race car and how he communicates with his father, veteran driver Greg Skinner, about how it is working like a 20-year veteran. Cruz Skinner – you heard that name here first folks!

Doug Sanchagrin of Florence, MS is fifth in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 386 points after one top five finish and five top ten finishes in ten races over nine weeks. Sanchagrin finished sixth on Friday night at Hattiesburg Speedway driving the Permanent Exterior Solutions Trak-Star.

Mike Combs of Odenville, AL drove the Pro-Grafx Special to a sixth-place finish on Saturday night at Talladega Short Track and is sixth in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 369 points. Combs has one win, four top five finishes and nine top ten finishes in nine races over eight weeks.

Ronnie Cooper of McKenzie, TN took his first NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Late Model win of the season on Friday night at Lexington 104 Speedway in Lexington, TN driving the Ronnie Cooper Trucking Rocket. It was a 40-point win against a field of less than eight cars, so Cooper scored more points with a third-place finish on Saturday night at Arkadelphia Speedway in Bremen, AL with a car count of over eight.

Cooper is seventh in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 350 points after one win and nine top five finishes in nine races over eight weeks. Holley is one point behind Cooper in the eighth spot with his six wins and one second-place finish in seven races over seven weeks. Kyle Clifton of Ranburne, AL is ninth in the standings with 344 points after two top five finishes and five top ten finishes in eight races over eight weeks in the Clifton Racing GRT.

Talladega Short Track is not only where you can see one of the youngest in dirt late model racing today in Cruz Skinner, but you can also without a doubt the oldest active dirt late model driver in octogenarian Red Farmer of Hueytown, AL there as well. Farmer rounds out the Top 10 in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 340 points after one top five finish and three top ten finishes in nine races over eight weeks.

The defending NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Champ Daspit is just outside the Top 10, in the 11th spot, with 337 points after four wins and seven top five finishes in eight races over seven weeks. The Iceman is coming, as we will outline in tomorrow’s NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 10 Preview by looking at the Weekly Point Averages among the Top 20 drivers.

In other NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 9 action, Michael Arnold of Hattiesburg, MS picked up his second win of the season on Friday night at Hattiesburg Speedway driving The Strength Center Trak-Star. Montana Dudley of Phenix City, AL took his second win of the season on Saturday night at East Alabama Motor Speedway in Phenix City, AL in the Eiland Pools Rocket.

Dallas Cooper of Talladega, AL drove the Cooper Racing GRT to his first NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series win of the season on Saturday night at Talladega Short Track. Rusty Ballenger of Sevierville, TN was a first-time winner on Saturday night at 411 Motor Speedway in Seymour, TN in the Rehel Diesel/E. TN Metal Special.

Kody Barber of Bogalusa, LA grabbed his second NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series win of the season on Saturday night at St. Tammany Racing driving the Barber Racing Special. Heath Minor of Ralph, AL drove the Mike Minor’s Auto Repair Warrior to his third win of the season on Saturday night at Arkadelphia Speedway.

Neil Baggett of Shannon, MS drove the Montgomery Farms Trak-Star to his second NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series win of the season on Sunday night at Greenville Speedway in Greenville, MS. There was one rainout in Week 9, and that came on Friday night at Salina Speedway in Salina, KS.

Trak-Star Race Cars built by Boland Performance of Cuba, AL extended their lead in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Chassis Manufacturers Challenge after three Week 9 wins from Daspit, Arnold and Baggett to bring their season total to 13 victories.

Wins from Ronnie Cooper and Dudley moved Rocket Chassis into a tied for the second spot with GRT Race Cars of Greenbrier, AR at nine victories apiece after a Week 9 win from Dallas Cooper for GRT.

Minor’s win for Warrior Race Cars built by Goddard Performance of Knoxville, TN moved them into a tie for the fourth spot in the Chassis standings with CVR Race Cars of Lenoir City, TN at two wins apiece. TNT Race Cars of Piney Flats, TN is also participating in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Chassis Manufacturers Challenge and is still looking for their first win of the 2014 season.

In the first nine weeks of NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series competition, a total of 324 different drivers have earned points. The complete NeSmith Chevrolet WRS point standings are posted on the NeSmith Chevrolet WRS web site at www.nesmithracing.com.

For more information and rules about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series, visit the series all-new web site at www.nesmithracing.com

NeSMITH CHEVROLET WEEKLY RACING SERIES POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 5/25/14:

POS CAR # DRIVER PTS RACES WINS TOP 5 TOP 10 WEEKS
1 17 Adam Gauldin 433 10 2 8 10 9
2 09 Daniel Bridgmon 424 10 2 8 9 9
3 47 Shannon Lee 402 12 2 9 9 9
4 11 Cruz Skinner 393 11 3 6 9
5 34 Doug Sanchagrin 386 10 1 5 9
6 5 Mike Combs 369 9 1 4 9 8
7 10 Ronnie Cooper 350 9 1 9 9 8
8 17 Chris Holley 349 7 6 7 7 7
9 67 Kyle Clifton 344 8 2 5 8
10 F97 Red Farmer 340 9 1 3 8
11 347 Noah Daspit 337 8 4 7 7 7
12 18 Justin Angle 335 9 3 8
13 15 Heath Minor 335 8 3 7 7 7
14 23 Chris Jewell 331 7 6 7 7
15 19 Caleb Coan 326 8 1 5 8 7
16 00 Buster Deen 317 7 4 7 7
17 01 Nick Thrash 315 8 1 3 7 7
18 84 Mike Davenport 311 7 2 7 7
19 4 Michael Arnold 310 8 2 4 7 7
20 C11 Cliff Williams 302 10 6 7 7

NeSMITH CHEVROLET WEEKLY RACING SERIES WEEK 9 RESULTS:

May 23:

HATTIESBURG SPEEDWAY – HATTIESBURG, MS:
1. 4 Michael Arnold
2. 47 Shannon Lee
3. 21 Kody Barber
4. 09 Daniel Bridgmon
5/ K3 Jamey Smith
6. 34 Doug Sanchagrin
7. 56 Kash Wilson
8. C4 Chris Reid
9. 33 Sid Scarbrough
10. 41 Al Kouhout
11. 11 Wayne Byrd DNS

LEXINGTON 104 SPEEDWAY – LEXINGTON, TN:
1. 10 Ronnie Cooper
2. 73 Ashley Newman
3. 00 Bronson Berry
4. 55 Michael Lee
5. 56 Perry Butler
6. 115 Cody Gentry

SALINA SPEEDWAY – SALINA, KS:
Rained Out

May 24:

EAST ALABAMA MOTOR SPEEDWAY – PHENIX CITY, AL:
1. 55 Montana Dudley
2. K9 Dana Eiland
3. 19 Keith McGuire
4. 18d Cord Dodgen
5. 66k Dylan Knowles
6. 105 Taylor Mitcham
7. 55p Tim Peters
8. 19 Trey Wood

TALLADEGA SHORT TRACK – EASTABOGA, AL:
1. D7 Dallas Cooper
2. 17 Adam Gauldin
3. 11 Cruz Skinner
4. 67 Kyle Clifton
5. 1 Steve McElroy
6. 5 Mike Combs
7. J8 Justin Angle
8. 4 Brad Whittle
9. 27 Nicholas Kimbrell
10. 33 Shane Mayfield
11. 11h Tyler Hill
12. 66 Wesley Ford
13. F97 Red Farmer

411 MOTOR SPEEDWAY – SEYMOUR, TN:
1. 29 Rusty Ballenger
2. 66 Adam Beeler
3. 71 Brian Courtney
4. 27 Scotty Covington
5. 79c Marty Calloway
6. 7 William Overbey
7. 31 Brad Seagle
8. 52 Ryan King
9. 10 Chad Beeler

BATTLEGROUND SPEEDWAY – HIGHLANDS, TX:
1. 347 Noah Daspit
2. 17 Chris Holley
3. 23 Chris Jewell
4. 00 Buster Deen
5. 99 Randy Lovell
6. 95 Jamie Green
7. 45 Earl Cannon
8. 96 Donald Mick
9. 84 Mike Davenport
10. 83 Joe Penney

ST. TAMMANY RACEWAY – LACOMBE, LA:
1. 21 Kody Barber
2. 221 Tyler Allen
3. 77 Michael Santangelo
4. 2T Tootie Arnold
5. 50 Joey Credidio
6. C4 Chris Reid
7. 99j Justin Bowman
8. 7 Bryan Foy

ARKADELPHIA SPEEDWAY – BREMEN, AL:
1. 15 Heath Minor
2. 14 Chance Inman
3. 10 Ronnie Cooper
4. B97 Lee Burdett
5. 7 Jon Biles
6. 2 Thomas Langley
7. 11 Larry Stacy
8. 97 Chris Mahan

May 25:

GREENVILLE SPEEDWAY – GREENVILLE, MS:
1. 21 Neil Baggett
2. 8 Mike Palasini Jr.
3. 33 Justin Carter
4. 7p Peter Hazzard
5. 21 Ryan Colby
6. 311 Henry Pullen
7. 7 Eric Carr
8. 44 Peyton Wilkerson
9. D6 Christopher Huckabey
10. 70 Dewayne Estes
11. 17k Cody Kierre
12. J8 Bobby Jordan
13. 7d Brent Dillon
14. C4 Cole Burns
15. 34 Rhett Burns
16. 25 Billy Pate
17. 88 Howard Irby Jr.
18. 2 R.J. Clark
19. 20 Tyler Arnold