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Roby Helm
FORT PAYNE, Ala. (July 4) - Frank Ingram of Woodstock, GA picked up his first NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series win of the season on Friday night at Fort Payne Motor Speedway in the Red Top Auto Auction 75 Presented By South 107 driving the Dixon Hauling and Grading Rocket.
After starting on the outside of the front row, Ingram took the lead from polesitter Blake Stewart of Centre, AL on lap two, and never looked back to take a three car-length victory over point leader Chip Brindle of Chatsworth, GA in the CSC Trailer Repair/Brindle Brothers Auto Parts GRT. Brindle now holds a 64-point lead in the series points chase.
"Blake and I raced side-by-side for the first couple of laps, but I was running the high side and could drive about two or three car-lengths further in the corners, and that's what it took to take the lead," Ingram said. "I then covered the bottom for the rest of the race because I didn't know who was behind me, or how far back of me they were, but I knew if they were going to pass me, it would have to be on the outside."
The event was delayed over an hour and a half due to late afternoon and early evening showers, but the drivers came out twice to pack the track so the show could begin. A packed grandstand of spectators patiently waited during the rain, and were treated to an action-packed show.
Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS finished third in the Tiffin Motorhomes Mastersbilt and earned the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Race Award. Jordy Nipper of Gray, GA took the fourth spot in the Scotty's Muffler Rocket, and Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, GA was fifth in the Hays Family Racing/Barto Enterprises Warrior and earned the Race Car Engineering Fifth-Place Award.
Tom Maddox of Centre, AL took the sixth spot in the Cherokee Timber Barry Wright, and National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN came from the 16th starting spot to finish seventh in the Miller Brothers Coal Warrior.
Jason Hiett of Lincoln, AL had to take the 23rd Provisional starting spot, but rallied to finish eighth in the N&N Motors GRT. Hiett earned the Hard Charger Award and the Race Car Engineering Eighth-Place Award.
Brandon Overton of Appling, GA finished ninth in the Dorsey Trucking GRT, and the defending NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series East Region Champion Jason Wilson of Margaret, AL rounded out the top ten in the Tommy Pope Construction Warrior.
When the green flag dropped to start the race, the drivers in the first two rows raced in their starting formation for the first lap with Stewart and Ingram battling for the lead, and behind them, Brindle and Chase Washington of Houlka, MS were side-by-side for the third spot. Ingram took the lead coming off the second turn of lap two followed by Stewart, Brindle, Washington and Larry Boutwell of Baker, FL.
Brindle was able to race underneath Stewart for the second spot going down the backstretch on lap ten. The first of eight caution flags came out on lap 11 when Ted Lackey of Munford, AL stalled his C.S. Beatty Construction Warrior in turn one.
Ingram led Brindle, Stewart in the Parodi & Welch Warrior, Boutwell in the McLeod Construction TNT, Cooley, Washington, Maddox, Curtis Cline of Douglasville, GA, Rainey and Chris Tays of Corinth, MS down for the restart. When the field went green, Cline took his Flood Brothers Warrior around Maddox and Washington to move up to the sixth spot, bringing Rainey with him.
By lap 14, Washington had faded back to the 11th spot in the Jerry Inmon Race Cars GRT. On lap 17, Brindle was able to close on Ingram, as they raced in lapped traffic, and Brindle even pulled along side Ingram at one point, but as soon as Ingram cleared the traffic, he able to keep the bottom groove covered, and keep Brindle behind him.
The yellow came out on lap 22 when Boutwell spun in turn two out of the fourth spot. The restart saw Ingram, Brindle, Stewart, Cooley, Cline, Rainey, Hunter Peacock of Macon, GA, Tays, Nipper and Maddox in the top ten. The next yellow flag was waived on lap 36 when Marcus Minga of Shannon, MS stalled his B&M Salvage Mastersbilt in turn four.
Cline's top five run came to an end on lap 54 when he stalled on turn one while running fifth to bring out the fifth caution flag. Ingram led Brindle, Stewart, Cooley, Peacock, Nipper, Rainey, Tays, Maddox, and Johnson down for the restart. Tays spun his Bud Coley Trucking/Circle H Concrete Trak-Star in turn four on lap 58 while running eighth.
During the caution period, Stewart was forced to pit while running third. Although he returned to restart at the tail of the pack, it ended a great two-day run for the Fort Payne Motor Speedway regular, and NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series East Region title contender.
Stewart had set a new track record of 14.613 seconds during qualifying for the 40-car field, and won the first heat on Thursday night to earn the pole position for the race. Stewart's misfortune in the feature race earned him the Dominator Hard Luck of the Race Award.
In the closing laps of the race, trouble struck another top five car when Peacock broke off a shock and spring off his Nasworthy Mechanical Bullitt on lap 70, putting him out of the race. In the five lap dash to the checkered flag, Ingram was able to maintain a three car-length advantage over Brindle.
Other Dominator Race Products Heat Race winners on Thursday night were Ingram, Brindle and Washington. Winners of Friday night's two 12-lap B-Mains were Rusty Hoge of Ooltewah, TN in the H&H Powersports GRT, and Mitchell Browning of Buchanan, GA in the River City Propane GRT.
Hoge was unable to start the main event due to mechanical problems, and that put Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA in the show as the first alternate in the Turner Excavating DWB.
The next two events for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour will be at Penton Raceway in Penton, AL on Friday night, July 18, and then on to East Alabama Motor Speedway in Phenix City, AL on Saturday night, July 19. Both races will 40-laps paying $2,500-to-win, plus a $2,000 bonus if a driver can win both races.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 10 AT FORT PAYNE MOTOR SPEEDWAY IN FORT PAYNE, AL ON 7/3-4/08:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 2 F9 Frank Ingram Woodstock, GA 75 $5,000
2. 3 38c Chip Brindle Chatsworth, GA 75 $2,500
3. 7 33c Eric Cooley (R) Fulton, MS 75 $1,750
4. 11 1n Jordy Nipper Gray, GA 75 $1,500
5. 8 87 Derrick Rainey Powder Springs, GA 75 $1,250
6. 5 19 Tom Maddox Centre, AL 75 $1,000
7. 16 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 75 $850
8. 23 1 Jason Hiett (R) Lincoln, AL 75 $850
9. 15 28 Brandon Overton Appling, GA 75 $700
10. 13 11 Jason Wilson Margaret, AL 75 $650
11. 22 66k Scott Knowles (R) Lanett, AL 75 $600
12. 24 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 75 $550
13. 4 38 Chase Washington (R) Houlka, MS 75 $500
14. 9 8 Chris Tays Corinth, MS 75 $450
15. 20 42 Kasey Hall Geraldine, AL 75 $400
16. 1 04 Blake Stewart Centre, AL 75 $380
17. 6 58 Larry Boutwell Baker, FL 75 $360
18. 17 25 Mitchell Browning Buchanan, GA 72 $340
19. 12 12 Hunter Peacock (R) Macon, GA 70 $320
20. 14 38 Kenny Hall Geraldine, AL 68 $300
21. 10 44c Curtis Cline Douglasville, GA 53 $300
22. 19 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS 33 $300
23. 18 90 Jimmy Kay Taylorsville, GA 29 $300
24. 21 4 Ted Lackey Munford, AL 11 $300
ENTRIES: 40
FAST TIME: Stewart, 14.618 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: Knowles and Hiett
1ST ALTERNATE: Turner
LEAD CHANGES: 1
LAP LEADERS: Stewart, 1; Ingram, 2-75
LAPS LED: Ingram, 74; Stewart, 1
HARD CHARGER AWARD: Hiett (started 23rd and finished 8th)
DOMINATOR HARD LUCK AWARD: Stewart
ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Cooley
RACE CAR ENGINEERING 5TH-PLACE AWARD: Rainey
RACE CAR ENGINEERING 8TH-PLACE AWARD: Hiett
MAXIMUM SIGNS 9TH-PLACE AWARD: Overton
OLD 29 GOLF CARTS 10TH-PLACE AWARD: Wilson
CAUTIONS: 8
DOMINATOR RACE PRODUCTS HEAT RACES (15 Laps - Top 4 Transfer To Main Event):
1ST HEAT: 1. Stewart; 2. Maddox; 3. Tays; 4. Wilson; 5. Kay; 6. Ka. Hall; 7. Smith; 8. Carter; 9. Chumley; 10. Brown.
2ND HEAT: 1. Ingram; 2. Boutwell; 3. Cline; 4. Ke. Hall; 5. Hale; 6. Browning; 7. McMahan; 8. Green; 9. Lackey; 10. Hayes.
3RD HEAT: 1. Brindle; 2. Cooley (R); 3. Nipper; 4. Overton; 5. Busha; 6. Edge; 7. Hoge; 8. Turner; 9. Allen; 10. McCreary.
4TH HEAT: 1. Washington (R); 2. Rainey; 3. Peacock (R); 4. Johnson; 5. Hiett (R); 6. Stephens (R); 7. Minga (R); 8. Nasworthy; 9. Knowles (R); 10. Greene.
B-MAINS (12 Laps - Top 3 Transfer To Main Event):
1ST B-MAIN: 1. Hoge; 2. Kay; 3. Ka. Hall; 4. Turner; 5. Smith; 6. Carter; 7. McCreary; 8. Allen; 9. Busha DNS; 10. Edge DNS; 11. Chumley DNS; 12. Brown DNS.
2ND B-MAIN: 1. Browning; 2. Minga (R); 3. Lackey; 4. Nasworthy; 5. Hayes; 6. Knowles (R); 7. Greene; 8. Hiett (R); 9. Hale DNS; 10. Stephens (R); 11. McMahan; 12. Green.
NeSMITH CHEVROLET DIRT LATE MODEL SERIES NATIONAL POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 7/4/08:
1. 38c Chip Brindle - 804
2. 58 Larry Boutwell - 740
3. 8 Chris Tays - 736
4. 66k Scott Knowles (R) - 704
5. 12 Hunter Peacock (R) - 670
5. 1 Jason Hiett (R) - 670
7. 33c Eric Cooley - 662
8. 41 Ted Lackey - 648
9. 10 Matthew Turner - 644
10. 87 Derrick Rainey - 638
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