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Roby Helm
GREENVILLE, Ala. (November 8) - Larry Boutwell of Baker, FL drove his McLeod Construction Rocket to his first career NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series win on Saturday night at Avenger Motor Speedway. Boutwell took the lead on lap 14 after early race leader Shep Lucas of McKenzie, AL dropped out under caution with a broken rear end assembly.
The "Baker Law Breaker" took the checkered flag and the $3,000 top prize in the 50-lap main event with a 12 car-length advantage over the second-place driver, Scott Knowles of Lanett, AL in the All-Star Graphix Warrior. Knowles was the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Race.
"We've been working hard and it feels good to finally win one of these races," Boutwell said. "We just got a new Rocket Chassis a couple of weeks ago, and we've been out here for a couple of races to learn about the track, and it all paid off."
Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, GA took the third spot in the Hays Family Racing/Barto Enterprises Warrior, and Hunter Peacock of Macon, GA finished fourth in the Nasworthy Mechanical Bullet. Dana Eiland of Salem, AL was fifth in the Andy's Auto Parts Swartz, and sixth spot went to Ben McCreary of Baldwyn, MS in the Waddle Trucking Mastersbilt.
Stephen Brantley of Monroeville, AL was seventh in the Airport Sports Center Mastersbilt, and Chris Tays of Corinth, MS started 17th and finished eighth in the Bud Coley Trucking/Circle H Concrete Trak Star to earn the Hard Charger of the Race Award. Brandon Register of Highland Home, AL took ninth in the All-Star Graphix Mastersbilt, and Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS rounded out the top ten in the Tiffin Motorhomes Mastersbilt.
Lucas was the Circle H Concrete Fast Qualifier by out-timing the 33-car field with a lap around the 3/8-mile clay oval in 17.129 seconds driving the Signature Construction Trak Star. That earned Lucas the pole position for the main event.
When the 24-car starting field went green for the feature race, Lucas took the lead followed by Chris O'Connor of Cantonment, FL in the Coggin Land Services Warrior, Boutwell, Frank Ingram of Woodstock, GA in the Dixon Hauling and Grading Rocket, and Knowles. Boutwell passed O'Connor for second on lap five, and then began to reel in Lucas.
The first of seven caution flags came out on lap eight when Chad Wallace of LaGrange, GA spun his Mason Racing GRT in turn two. Lucas led Boutwell, O'Connor, Ingram, Knowles, Rainey, Eiland, Peacock, McCreary, Brantley, and Jimmy Thagard of Greenville, AL in the Camellia Auto Parts Trak Star down for the restart.
Caution flag number two came out on lap 14 when Will Henderson of Greenville, AL went off the backstretch in his Henderson Racing GRT. During the caution flag, Lucas went to the pit area with his mechanical problem, and Boutwell took the lead. That earned Lucas the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award.
On the restart, Ingram passed O'Connor for the second spot. O'Connor spun in turn two on lap 15 while running third, collecting Rainey and Peacock. The caution flag was charged to O'Connor, and Rainey and Peacock got their spots back for the restart.
Tays passed Thagard for the tenth spot on the restart, but spun on lap 17 in turn two. Officials ruled that Thagard spun Tays. Tays got his spot back for the restart, and the caution was charged to Thagard.
NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National point leader Chip Brindle of Chatsworth, GA had a rough night, as he spun in turn four on lap 20. Brindle was able to continue, but finished 15th in the CSC Trailer Repair/Brindle Brothers Auto Parts Mastersbilt.
Heading into the final points race of the season on November 29 at Columbus Speedway in Columbus, MS, Brindle has a 66-point lead over Boutwell. All Brindle has to do is start the main event at Columbus Speedway to clinch the 2008 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Championship and the $20,000 top prize.
When the race reached the halfway point, Boutwell enjoyed a half-straightaway lead over Ingram. The only thing that seemed to slow Boutwell down was lapped traffic, which he began to encounter on lap 28. Ingram closed briefly, but once Boutwell cleared the lapped cars, he opened up his lead.
Ingram suddenly slowed and stopped in turn four on lap 40 to bring out the sixth caution flag of the race. Ingram was unable to continue, so that moved Knowles up to the second spot for restart followed by Rainey, Peacock, Eiland, McCreary, Brantley, Tays, Register, and Jeff Fields of Aragon, GA in the J&J Transport Mastersbilt.
In the final 11 laps, Boutwell opened up a 12 car-length lead over Knowles and carried it to the finish. Cooley and O'Connor, who came back from his early-race spin, got by Fields for the tenth and 11th spots respectively in the closing laps.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 15 AT AVENGER MOTOR SPEEDWAY IN GREENVILLE, AL ON 11/8/08:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 4 58 Larry Boutwell Baker, FL 50 $3,000
2. 3 66k Scott Knowles (R) Lanett, AL 50 $1,500
3. 6 87 Derrick Rainey Powder Springs, GA 50 $1,250
4. 8 12 Hunter Peacock (R) Macon, GA 50 $1,100
5. 9 K9 Dana Eiland Salem, AL 50 $1,000
6. 11 21m Ben McCreary Baldwyn, MS 50 $850
7. 12 02 Stephen Brantley Monroeville, AL 50 $750
8. 17 8 Chris Tays Corinth, MS 50 $800
9. 10 68r Brandon Register Highland Home, AL 50 $650
10. 18 33c Eric Cooley (R) Fulton, MS 50 $600
11. 2 17 Chris O'Connor Cantonment, FL 50 $550
12. 13 16 Jeff Fields Aragon, GA 50 $500
13. 16 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 50 $450
14. 19 21 Rusty Hoge Ooltewah, TN 50 $400
15. 14 38c Chip Brindle Chatsworth, GA 50 $350
16. 15 777 Randy Adams Fort Deposit, AL 50 $300
17. 9 24 Jimmy Thagard Greenville, AL 49 $280
18. 5 F9 Frank Ingram Woodstock, GA 39 $250
19. 20 19 Marcus Minga (R) Shannon, MS 39 $250
20. 22 12r Ray Robbins Hartford, AL 38 $250
21. 21 44 Jim Till Greenville, AL 35 $250
22. 23 34 Chad Wallace (R) LaGrange, GA 19 $250
23. 1 57 Shep Lucas McKenzie, AL 16 $350
24. 24 18 Will Henderson Greenville, AL 12 $250
ENTRIES: 33
CIRCLE H CONCRETE FAST QUALIFIER: Lucas, 17.129 Seconds
PROVISIONAL: Wallace
LEAD CHANGES: 1
LAP LEADERS: Lucas, 1-13; Boutwell, 14-50
LAPS LED: Boutwell, 37; Lucas, 13
SUNOCO RACE FUELS ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Knowles
HARD CHARGER OF THE RACE: Tays (started 17th and finished 8th)
DOMINATOR PERFORMANCE HARD LUCK AWARD: Lucas
RACE CAR ENGINEERING 5TH-PLACE AWARD: Eiland
RACE CAR ENGINEERING 8TH-PLACE AWARD: Tays
MAXIMUM SIGNS 9TH-PLACE AWARD: Register
OLD 29 GOLF CARTS 10TH-PLACE AWARD: Cooley
CAUTIONS: 7
POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS LAP 1 LAP 2 TIME
1 57 Shep Lucas McKenzie, AL Trak Star 17.343 17.129 17.129
2 17 Chris O'Connor Cantonment, FL Warrior 17.655 17.220 17.220
3 66k Scott Knowles - R Lanett, AL Warrior 17.369 18.120 17.369
4 58 Larry Boutwell Baker, FL Rocket 17.384 17.447 17.384
5 F9 Frank Ingram Woodstock, GA Rocket 17.690 17.429 17.429
6 87 Derrick Rainey Powder Springs, GA Warrior 17.584 17.430 17.430
7 24 Jimmy Thagard Greenville, AL Trak Star 17.578 18.406 17.578
8 12 Hunter Peacock - R Macon, GA Bullet 17.897 17.592 17.592
9 K9 Dana Eiland Salem, AL Swartz 17.762 17.602 17.602
10 68r Brandon Register Highland Home, AL Mastersbilt 17.680 17.864 17.680
11 777 Randy Adams Fort Deposit, AL Larry Shaw 18.094 17.723 17.723
12 19 Marcus Minga - R Shannon, MS Mastersbilt 17.753 18.487 17.753
13 16 Jeff Fields Aragon, GA Mastersbilt 17.804 17.790 17.790
14 02 Stephen Brantley Monroeville, AL Mastersbilt 17.843 17.799 17.799
15 21m Ben McCreary Baldwyn, MS Mastersbilt 18.164 17.828 17.828
16 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA DWB 18.058 17.835 17.835
17 5 Rodgerick Dykes Smith Station, AL GRT 18.003 17.899 17.899
18 3 Cody Smith Holt, FL GRT 17.907 18.011 17.907
19 21 Rusty Hoge Ooltewah, TN GRT 18.155 17.919 17.919
20 38c Chip Brindle Chatsworth, GA Mastersbilt 18.009 18.024 18.009
21 8 Chris Tays Corinth, MS Trak Star 18.130 18.105 18.105
22 33c Eric Cooley - R Fulton, MS Mastersbilt 18.461 18.136 18.136
23 18 Will Henderson Greenville, AL GRT 18.376 18.143 18.143
24 52 Blake Koenigsberger Columbus, MS Mastersbilt 18.234 18.820 18.234
25 44t Jim Till Greenville, AL Trak Star 18.270 18.351 18.270
26 12 Ray Robbins Hartford, AL GRT 18.322 18.562 18.322
27 5 Mike Combs Odenville, AL TSR 18.445 18.406 18.406
28 11 Lucas Mosley Georgiana, AL Larry Shaw 18.430 19.088 18.430
29 8 Dewayne Morris River Falls, AL GRT 18.569 18.603 18.569
30 42 Jared Watson Andalusia, AL Rocket 18.742 18.651 18.651
31 14 Guy Robinson Rockmart, GA Rayburn 19.043 19.504 19.043
32 34 Chad Wallace - R LaGrange, GA GRT 19.430 19.347 19.347
33 21 Stacy Fleming Prattville, AL Barry Wright 20.889 20.798 20.798
B-MAINS (15 Laps - Top 6 Transfer To Main Event):
1ST B-MAIN: 1. McCreary; 2. Fields; 3. Adams; 4. Tays; 5. Hoge; 6. Till; 7. Henderson; 8. Dykes; 9. Combs; 10. Morris; 11. Robinson; 12. Fleming DNS.
2ND B-MAIN: 1. Brantley; 2. Brindle; 3. Turner; 4. Cooley (R); 5. Minga (R); 6. Robbins; 7. Smith; 8. Wallace (R); 9. Mosley; 10. Koenigsberger; 11. Watson DNS.
NeSMITH CHEVROLET DIRT LATE MODEL SERIES NATIONAL POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 11/8/08:
1. 38c Chip Brindle - 1,214
2. 58 Larry Boutwell - 1,148
3. 66k Scott Knowles (R) - 1,134
4. 87 Derrick Rainey - 1,116
4. 8 Chris Tays - 1,116
6. 12 Hunter Peacock - 1,054
7. 33c Eric Cooley (R) - 1,046
8. 16 Jeff Fields - 954
9. 1 Jason Hiett (R) - 922
10. F9 Frank Ingram - 890
11. 10 Matthew Turner - 878
12. 4 Ted Lackey - 736
13. 2x Jay Blair - 712
14. 19 Marcus Minga (R) - 570
15. 34 Chad Wallace (R) - 550
16. 22 William Thomas - 474
16. 1n Jordy Nipper - 474
18. 22k Lucky Keeton - 468
19. 17 Chris O'Connor - 450
20. 04 Blake Stewart - 444
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