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Roby Helm
COLUMBUS, Miss. (June 21) - Ronny Lee Hollingsworth of Northport, AL used his experience of "The Baddest Bullring In The South" on Saturday night to win the GM Performance 40 for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series at Columbus Speedway in the Hollingsworth Motorsports Mastersbilt. Hollingsworth picked the right groove at the right time to post the win.
High riding Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN pressed Hollingsworth hard right down to the checkered flag, but had to settle for second spot in the Miller Brothers Coal Warrior.
"I've got a million laps around this place, and I've learned how to read the track to know when to get in what groove," Hollingsworth said. "I ran the first ten laps on the high side, and then went to the bottom. I knew somebody was challenging me on the outside, and I knew they had to be good to run up there."
Johnson came through the pack from the ninth starting spot using the high side of the race track to take over the second spot on lap 32. A couple of late-race caution flags erased the full straightaway lead of Hollingsworth, and Johnson made a couple of challenges for the lead, but Hollingsworth got off the bottom of the turns strong enough to stay in front.
Chris O'Connor of Cantonment, FL finished third in the Coggin Land Services Warrior, and Rick Rickman of Columbus, MS took the fourth spot in the Carquest Auto Parts Mastersbilt. Larry Boutwell of Baker, FL was fifth in the McLeod Construction TNT to earn the Race Car Engineering Fifth-Place Award, and move up from the fifth spot in points to second place.
Eddie Rickman of Columbus, MS drove the Rickman Trucking Mastersbilt to a sixth-place finish, and Cliff Williams of Star, MS was seventh in The Strength Center GRT. Josh Putnam of Killen, AL finished eighth in the Texas Roadhouse Rayburn.
Hunter Peacock of Macon, GA took a provisional to start 23rd in the Nasworthy Mechanical Bullitt, and finished ninth to earn the Circle H Concrete Hard Charger Award, and the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Race Award. Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS rounded out the top ten in the Tiffin Motorhomes Mastersbilt.
Hollingsworth took the lead at the drop of the green flag from his outside front row starting spot, followed by polesitter Boutwell, Rick Rickman, Tom Maddox of Centre, AL in the Cherokee Timber Barry Wright, and point leader Chip Brindle of Chatsworth, GA in the CSC Trailer Repair/Brindle Brothers Auto Parts GRT.
Brindle brought out the first two caution flags on laps two and 12 respectively. The first was for a spin in turn four while running fifth, and second when he stalled in turn two. Brindle retired after the second caution flag and finished 24th to earn the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award.
After having a 64-point lead coming into the event, Brindle still maintains a 34-point lead in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National point standings over Boutwell.
The lap 12 restart saw Hollingsworth leading Rick Rickman, O'Connor, Boutwell, Eddie Rickman, and Maddox. On lap 13, O'Connor drove under Rick Rickman for the second spot in turn two, and Maddox passed Eddie Rickman for the fifth spot, Maddox charge to the front was derailed on lap 15 when he spun in turn four.
On the restart, Johnson began his charge to the front, as he passed Lucky Keeton of Toomsuba, MS for the sixth spot. Maddox spun for the second time on lap 22 and he was done for the evening. The next restart saw most of the cars go to the bottom of the track with the exception of Johnson.
With each passing lap, Johnson would pick off cars on his way to challenge for the lead. On lap 25 Johnson passed Eddie Rickman for fifth. On lap 26 the "Chattanooga Flash" got by Boutwell for fourth. On lap 31, the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame inductee sailed around the outside of Rick Rickman for the third spot.
Johnson drove around the outside of O'Connor for second spot on lap 32, but Hollingsworth by then had pulled out to a full straightaway lead. That lead was erased on lap 33 when Scott Knowles of Lanett, AL spun the Meadows Racing GRT down the backstretch.
In the closing laps of the race, Hollingsworth hugged the inside groove taking the short way around, while Johnson tried to use high riding momentum to challenge for the lead.
Johnson could get a run on Hollingsworth coming off the corners, but Hollingsworth would slide up from the bottom groove at the halfway point of the straightaways in front of Johnson forcing him to lift off the throttle. That's all Hollingsworth needed to post his first NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series career win.
In preliminary action, Boutwell was the fast qualifier among the 37 entrants with a lap around the ¼-mile clay oval in 14.781 seconds. The two 15-lap Qualifying Races were won by Keeton in the Boland Performance GRT and Mark Stokes of Steens, MS in the Kountry Kitchen Trak Star.
The next event for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour will be the two-day $5000-to-win Red Top Auto Auctions 75 at Fort Payne Motor Speedway in Fort Payne, AL on Thursday night, July 3, and Friday night, July 4.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 9 AT COLUMBUS SPEEDWAY IN COLUMBUS, MS ON 6/21/08:
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 9 AT COLUMBUS SPEEDWAY IN COLUMBUS, MS ON 6/21/08:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 2 00 Ronny Hollingsworth Northport, AL 40 $2,500
2. 9 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 40 $1,250
3. 5 17 Chris O'Connor Cantonment, FL 40 $850
4. 4 86 Rick Rickman Columbus, MS 40 $700
5. 1 58 Larry Boutwell Baker, FL 40 $650
6. 8 68 Eddie Rickman Columbus, MS 40 $550
7. 15 4 Cliff Williams Star, MS 40 $500
8. 7 212 Josh Putnam Killen, AL 40 $450
9. 23 12 Hunter Peacock (R) Macon, GA 40 $500
10. 18 33c Eric Cooley (R) Fulton, MS 40 $375
11. 10 21m Ben McCreary Baldwyn, MS 40 $350
12. 14 87 Derrick Rainey Powder Springs, GA 40 $300
13. 12 2 Mark Stokes Steens, MS 40 $280
14. 13 8 Chris Tays Corinth, MS 40 $260
15. 22 41 Ted Lackey Munford, AL 40 $250
16. 24 2h Jason Hiett (R) Lincoln, AL 40 $240
17. 21 33 Justin Carter Marietta, MS 40 $220
18. 16 5e Shawn Edwards Louisville, MS 33 $200
19. 11 22 Lucky Keeton Toomsuba, MS 32 $200
20. 19 68x Brian Rickman Columbus, MS 32 $200
21. 20 82 Jason Sanderford Pheba, MS 30 $200
22. 17 31 Scott Knowles (R) Lanett, AL 30 $200
23. 3 19 Tom Maddox Centre, AL 21 $200
24. 6 38c Chip Brindle Chatsworth, GA 11 $200
ENTRIES: 37
FAST QUALIFIER: Boutwell, 14.781 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: Peacock and Hiett
LEAD CHANGES: None
LAP LEADER: Hollingsworth, 1-40
CIRCLE H CONCRETE HARD CHARGER: Peacock (started 23rd and finished 9th)
SUNOCO RACE FUELS ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Peacock
DOMINATOR RACE PRODUCTS HARD LUCK AWARD: Brindle
RACE CAR ENGINEERING FIFTH-PLACE AWARD: Boutwell
RACE CAR ENGINEERING EIGHTH-PLACE AWARD: Putnam
MAXIMUM SIGNS NINTH-PLACE AWARD: Peacock
OLD 29 GOLF CARTS TENTH-PLACE AWARD: Cooley
CAUTIONS: 7
TIME OF THE RACE: 30 Minutes, 17.483 Seconds
QUALIFYING (Top 10 Qualifiers Transfer To Main Event):
POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS LAP 1 LAP 2 TIME
1 58 Larry Boutwell Baker, FL TnT 14.969 14.781 14.781
2 00 Ronny Lee Hollingsworth Northport, AL Mastersbilt 14.843 14.855 14.843
3 19x Tom Maddox Centre, AL Barry Wright 14.994 14.853 14.853
4 86 Rick Rickman Columbus, MS Mastersbilt 15.053 14.867 14.867
5 17 Chris O'Connor Cantonment, FL Warrior 14.948 14.940 14.940
6 38c Chip Brindle Chatsworth, GA GRT 15.266 14.951 14.951
7 212 Josh Putnam Killen, AL Rayburn 15.185 14.973 14.973
8 68 Eddie Rickman Columbus, MS Mastersbilt 15.049 14.990 14.990
9 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN Warrior 15.112 15.011 15.011
10 21m Ben McCreary Baldwyn, MS Mastersbilt 15.074 15.025 15.025
11 22 Lucky Keeton Toomsuba, MS GRT 15.030 15.164 15.030
12 5e Shawn Edwards Louisville, MS Trak Star 15.049 15.690 15.049
13 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA DWB 15.314 15.140 15.140
14 2h Jason Hiett - R Lincoln, AL Warrior 15.149 15.357 15.149
15 68x Brian Rickman Columbus, MS Mastersbilt 15.265 15.156 15.156
16 33c Eric Cooley - R Fulton, MS Mastersbilt 15.185 15.226 15.185
17 33 Justin Carter Marietta, MS Mastersbilt 15.368 15.219 15.219
18 8 Chris Tays Corinth, MS Trak Star 15.236 15.308 15.236
19 2 Mark Stokes Steens, MS Trak Star 15.391 15.236 15.236
20 41 Ted Lackey Munford, AL Warrior 15.260 15.258 15.258
21 4 Cliff Williams Star, MS GRT 15.363 15.286 15.286
22 82 Jason Sanderford Pheba, MS Mastersbilt 15.621 15.307 15.307
23 2x Jay Blair Angie, LA Mastersbilt 15.360 15.342 15.342
24 56 Bubba Harrison Cleveland, MS GRT 15.528 15.359 15.359
25 12 Hunter Peacock - R Macon, GA Bullet 15.405 15.395 15.395
26 27T Danny Joe Thomas - R Robertsdale, AL Mastersbilt 15.413 15.458 15.413
27 42 Allen Gilreath Northport, AL GRT 15.447 15.672 15.447
28 87 Derrick Rainey Powder Springs, GA Warrior NT 15.466 15.466
29 17g Darrell Guess Mettleton, MS GRT 15.774 15.492 15.492
30 27 Reed Long Columbus, MS GRT 15.508 16.748 15.508
31 19 Marcus Minga - R Shannon, MS Rayburn NT 15.525 15.525
32 3 Tony Shelton Columbus, MS Mastersbilt 16.204 15.586 15.586
33 31 Scott Knowles - R Lanett, AL GRT 15.602 16.145 15.602
34 19b Gathan Burns Piedmont, AL Mastersbilt 15.742 15.672 15.672
35 m50 Allen Simmons West Point, MS GRT 17.091 16.259 16.259
36 112 Jason Warner Franklinton, LA Mastersbilt 16.675 16.683 16.675
37 16 Jeff Fields Aragon, GA Mastersbilt NT 16.711 16.711
QUALIFYING RACES (15 Laps - Top 6 Finishers Transfer To Main Event):
1ST QUALIFYING RACE: 1. Keeton; 2. Tays; 3. Williams; 4. Knowles (R); 5. B. Rickman; 6. Carter; 7. Gilreath; 8. Minga (R); 9. Simmons; 10. Peacock (R); 11. Blair; 12. Guess; 13. Turner DQ; 14. Fields DQ.
2ND QUALIFYING RACE: 1. Stokes; 2. Rainey; 3. Edwards; 4. Cooley (R); 5. Sanderford; 6. Lackey; 7. Shelton; 8. Thomas (R); 9. Harrison; 10. Warner; 11. Long; 12. Burns; 13. Hiett (R).
NeSMITH CHEVROLET DIRT LATE MODEL SERIES NATIONAL POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 6/21/08:
1. 38c Chip Brindle - 708
2. 58 Larry Boutwell - 674
3. 8 Chris Tays - 664
4. 66k Scott Knowles (R) - 626
5. 2x Jay Blair - 620
6. 12 Hunter Peacock (R) - 608
7. 41 Ted Lackey - 596
8. 16 Jeff Fields - 594
9. 1h Jason Hiett (R) - 586
10. 10 Matthew Turner - 568
10. 33c Eric Cooley (R) - 568
12. 87 Derrick Rainey - 548
13. F9 Frank Ingram - 464
14. 34 Chad Wallace (R) - 360
15. 22 Lucky Keeton - 344
16. 19 Marcus Minga (R) - 332
17. 5 Ronnie Johnson - 296
18. 86 Rick Rickman - 270
19. 17 Chris O'Connor - 254
20. 04 Blake Stewart - 240
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