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Robert Walden
BULL GAP, Tenn. (April 12) - Stacy Boles made a bold statement Saturday night at Volunteer Speedway in the season-opening points event for 2008 presented by Appalachian Cycle of Kingsport. Jumping out to the lead at the drop of the green over Jeff Maupin and never looking back, Boles set a blistering pace en route to claiming his first career victory at "The Gap" by leading the "Gateway Ford" Super Late Model feature flag-to-flag in a race that ran caution-free.
Boles led Maupin, Kerry Jones, Bobby Mays and Michael Jackson back around to the stripe to put one lap in the books. Riding a rocket from the start, Boles quickly began to put some real estate between his Advanced Transmissions/West Haven Speed Equipment/AFCO Shocks & Springs/Ohlins Shocks/Simpson/Hitch Race Engines/Whites Total Performance/Dirty White Boy (DWB) Race Cars/No. 11B Pontiac GTO, and his closest challengers.
With Maupin drifting up the banking between turns three and four on the fifth circuit, both Jones and Mays took advantage and respectively moved into second and third in the running order, dropping Maupin back to fourth place. At the halfway point in the 35-lap event Boles was in a zip code of his own, holding a half-track advantage over the field.
While Boles was on cruise control riding in style out front, with ten laps remaining Mays was pressuring Jones for the runner-up spot. Mays, who was making his first career Super Late Model start after laying claim to the Crate Late Model track title last year, appeared ready to strike and take the position away as he and Jones negotiated lapped traffic.
Mays continually stepped up the banking in the turns to pull along the outside of Jones racing off the corners and show him the nose of his car. Getting a strong run off the high-side of (turn) two with six laps to go, Mays, with slower cars stacked up ahead raced side-by-side with Jones down the backstretch into the third turn. Slight contact was made between turns three and four, with Jones holding onto second place.
Boles rolled under the waving checkered flag unchallenged for the victory, while behind him Jones held Mays off for second place. Finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, were Maupin and Jackson.
Completing the top 10 at the finish were Bryan Hendrix, Chad Ogle, Dale Ball, Travis Greer and Mike Smith.
Boles, from Claxton, had a big smile on his face after climbing from his car in victory lane: "While this might not be my home-track, I must admit that I really like racing here on the occasions I drop in. I like high-speed, momentum racetracks, and this place is definitely fast. Man, it's just awesome to finally get a win here at Volunteer Speedway, because for some reason over the years I've just never really ran all that well here.
"We've got a new Dirty White Boy (chassis) car this year, and to run as strong as we did tonight in winning is exciting. It just pumps you up as a driver to win this early in the season, and makes you wish the next racing weekend would hurry and get here. When lapping cars tonight, if I had to move up to go around the outside of them the car worked really well, and likewise we never missed a beat when we ran on the bottom of the track. We actually were running quicker lap times near the end of the race than we did in the early going. I want to thank my brother Ron Boles (crew chief), and Leroy Vann and Robert Buffalo for helping work on the car. I also want to thank my family for their support of my racing over the years, it really means a lot to me."
Greeneville's Jeff Maupin made his first career start in the "Courtesy Chevrolet" Crate Late Model division a memorable one. Getting the lead over pole-sitter Luke Laney at the drop of the green, Maupin left no doubt about his mission - winning the 25-lap feature event.
As the 25-car field completed the opening lap, Maupin led Laney, Ty Dillon, Dale Ball and Ryan Gifford under the flagstand. Ball dropped under Dillon racing off turn two on the second circuit to move into third. Caution waved on the seventh lap when Hugh "Wishbone" Scalf, Anthony Arnwine and Brent Hensley spun between turns three and four.
With a clear track ahead on the restart, Maupin quickly stretched his lead to a half-straightaway over the quartet of Laney, Ball, Dillon and Gifford, who were engaged in a heated battle for position. Maupin's commanding advantage was wiped off the slate on lap 14 when sixth-running Jerry Broyles was drilled in the left-rear quarter panel by a hard-charging Clyde Stanton as they raced off the second turn, with both cars spinning to bring out the caution flag.
Before one lap could get completed going back green, the yellow waved. Wanting to quickly drop the hammer on Ball, young Dillon, the teenage grandson of NASCAR multi-team owner Richard Childress, was penalized for a restart-cone infraction in the fourth turn, relegating him to the tail of the field for the restart.
Maupin once again launched out to a comfortable margin over Laney, Ball and Gifford. Ball began working on Laney for the runner-up position, looking to both the inside and outside as they raced through the high-banked turns on both ends of the track. Just behind the duo of Laney and Ball, Richard Childress Racing/Team Dillon Motorsports developmental driver Gifford was poised and ready to strike.
With Ball getting a good run to the inside of Laney racing off turn two on lap 17, the pair raced door-to-door down the backstretch into the third turn. Racing off the fourth turn, with Ball still on the bottom, he grabbed the second spot from Laney. With the door still open, Gifford seized the opportunity and drove by Laney into third behind Ball.
With Maupin receiving the white flag and headed to victory, fireworks were getting ready to erupt behind him. Racing off into the first turn, Ball got nudged from behind and slid up the banking allowing both Gifford and Laney to move into second and third in the running order, dropping Ball back to fourth.
Racing to the checkered flag, Laney tagged Gifford from the rear in the fourth turn which resulted in both cars spinning directly in front of the field. Laney stayed hard on the gas (pedal) and spun completely around in front of Ball, while Steve Jones, Todd Brooks and Josh Henry dove to the bottom of the track and stood on the throttle to come home second through fourth, respectively, with Laney reeling in his mount to finish fifth.
Rounding out the top 10 finishers were Ball, Kelly Glass, Rusty Fox, Broyles and Travis Trent.
Dustin Shaver of Morristown sped to victory in the 20-lap "Rusty Wallace Toyota" Hobby Stock feature over Jon Cook, Chuck Johnson, Mike Hodges and Ray Jarnigan.
Joey Allen of Newport led green-to-checkered in easily winning the 20-lap Mini Stock feature over John Broce Jr., Allen Carrier, Chuck McMahan and Toby Jones.
With the track bringing back open-wheel racing in 2008, Jerry Broyles of Jonesborough outran Jimmy Dalton and Danny James for the victory.
"GATEWAY FORD" SUPER LATE MODEL (35 laps)
1) Stacy Boles #11b; 2) Kerry Jones #6; 3) Bobby Mays #25; 4) Jeff Maupin #0; 5) Michael Jackson #Q; 6) Bryan Hendrix #5; 7) Chad Ogle #10; 8) Dale Ball #7; 9) Travis Greer #11g; 10) Mike Smith #4; 11) Marty Calloway #7c; 12) Phil Helton #24h; 13) Dennis Alverson #71; 14) Herman Goddard #22; 15) Dwight Sams #54 - Did Not Start: Dan Tipton #12t
"COURTESY CHEVROLET" CRATE LATE MODEL (25 laps)
1) Jeff Maupin #0; 2) Steve Jones #1; 3) Todd Brooks #T1; 4) Josh Henry #B00; 5) Luke Laney #9; 6) Dale Ball #2; 7) Kelly Glass #01; 8) Rusty Fox #25; 9) Jerry Broyles #72; 10) Travis Trent #5; 11) Vic Chandler #88; 12) Ricky Moore #99; 13) Ty Dillon #2; 14) Joe Southerland #57; 15) Ryan Gifford #29; 16) Clyde Stanton #74; 17) Joe "Dirt" Good #911; 18) Anthony Arnwine #11a; 19) Weston Gantte #14; 20) Hugh "Wishbone" Scalf #56; 21) Allen Champ #11c; 22) Logan Hickey #16; 23) Jensen Ford #83; 24) Brent Hensley #70; 25) James Cole #5c - Did Not Start: Mark Sant #79w
"RUSTY WALLACE TOYOTA" HOBBY STOCK (20 laps)
1) Dustin Shaver #7; 2) Jon Cook #0z; 3) Chuck Johnson #17; 4) Mike Hodges #m2; 5) Ray Jarnigan #31; 6) Dennis Metcalf #55; 7) Terry Dean #47; 8) Chris Long #75; 9) Jesse Wilder #79; 10) Shannon Davidson #4; 11) Terry Cobb #T14; 12) David Shelton #7s; 13) Roger Hunter #7-11; 14) Chris Gregg #9; 15) Dale Reed #52; 16) Robbie Woods #16; 17) Charlie Bates #27; 18) Bobby Reed #54; 19) Les Bradley #34; 20) Brandon Jordan #46
MINI STOCK (20 laps)
1) Joey Allen #A00; 2) John Broce Jr. #44; 3) Allen Carrier #B1; 4) Chuck McMahan #99; 5) Toby Jones #66; 6) Ernie Stubblefield #21; 7) Shawn Henry #B00; 8) Terry Dean #20r; 9) Kevin Atwell #95; 10) Eddie Smith #8s - Did Not Start: Runah Henry #0
IMCA OPEN WHEEL MODIFIED (15 laps)
1) Jerry Broyles #72; 2) Jimmy Dalton #2; 3) Danny James #4 - Did Not Start: David Henslee #24
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