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Roby Helm
JACKSON, Miss. (June 13) - Mike Boland of Cuba, MS picked up his second NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series win of the season on Saturday night in the Jackson 50 at Jackson Motor Speedway driving The Strength Center Trak-Star. Boland won an opening race battle with Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, GA to take the lead, and then stretched out to a 5.6 second margin of victory.
Boland also just barely got by a spinning lapped car on lap nine, but that was the only trouble the race leader encountered. Boland used the inside groove all night long, and gained his most ground coming off the corners.
"My crew chief runs here every week and he made the tire choice and told me to stay on the bottom of the track," Boland said. "It was close when the lapped car spun in front of me, and we were lucky not to damage anything."
While Boland dominated the race up front and led all 50 laps, there was plenty of close racing throughout the field from second on back. Two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion David Gentry of Lewisburg, TN had to manhandle his Eades Trucking/Dixon Plumbing Mastersbilt home for a second-place finish.
Gentry broke a left-rear shock absorber early in the race while running seventh. Gentry's car showed a shower of sparks on restarts until one of the rear bars on the suspension bent just enough to really make the car come to life, and Gentry began to move up through the field.
NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National point leader Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS finished third in the 78 Towing and Recovery Victory Circle, and local favorite Cliff Williams of Star, MS was fourth in the Ware Construction Trak-Star. Rainey took the Race Car Engineering fifth spot in the Hays Family Racing/Barto Enterprises Warrior, and Larry Boutwell of Baker, FL finished sixth in the McLeod Construction Rocket.
Jarrette Gunn of Brandon, MS started 17th in the Groves Sheet Metal Rocket and finished seventh to earn the GM Performance Parts Hard Charger of the Race Award. Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA was the Race Car Engineering Eighth-Place Award winner.
Marcus Minga of Shannon, MS had his best finish of the season in the B&M Salvage Mastersbilt with a ninth-place effort and the Maximum Signs Ninth-Place Award. Michael Santangelo of St. Rose, LA rounded out the top ten in the Harahan Paint and Body Trak-Star.
Cooley still leads the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National point standings, but Gentry trimmed two more points off Cooley's lead. Ten points now separate Cooley and Gentry, with Boutwell in the third spot and Rainey in fourth. Turner moved up one spot into the fifth position in the National points chase.
Rainey took the McLeod Construction Fast Qualifier Award for the second straight night with a lap around the 3/8-mile clay oval in 16.805 seconds to earn the pole position for the Jackson 50. Rainey took the lead in turn one, but left the inside open for outside front row starter Boland in turn three. Boland drove under Rainey coming off the fourth turn to lead lap one.
Rainey stayed up high and got a run on Boland going down the backstretch on lap two and took the lead in turn three. Boland again stayed on the bottom of the track, and powered under Rainey to take the lead for good coming off the fourth turn on lap two.
Boland's teammate Williams followed suit, went to the bottom of the track, and passed Rainey for second on lap four coming off the fourth turn. On lap nine, Boland came up on the Resitol Hats Trak-Star driven by J.D. Pass of Brandon, MS. Pass spun in turn two right in front of Boland. Just when it appeared contact was imminent, Boland made a hard right, and just missed disaster.
On the restart, Boland led Williams, Rainey, Chase Washington of Houlka, MS, Boutwell, Cooley, and Gentry down for the restart. Washington spun his Jerry Inmon Race Cars GRT in turn four and triggered a multi-car pile up where Gentry suffered the broken shock. Washington restarted at the back of the pack and finished the race in the 12th spot to take the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Race Award.
The double-file restart worked to Rainey's advantage, as he drove around the outside of Williams to retake the second spot. Williams returned the favor on lap 15 when he drove under Rainey to move back up to second coming off the fourth turn, and brought Cooley with him up into the third spot, dropping Rainey back to fourth.
Pass and Ben McCreary of Baldwyn, MS were involved in their second incidents of the night to bring out the caution flag on lap 19. McCreary was also involved in the lap nine tangle while running in the top ten, and ended up breaking a front suspension piece on his Waddle Trucking Mastersbilt to end his evening, and taking the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award.
Boland led Williams, Cooley, Rainey, Boutwell, Gentry, and Turner down for the restart. Rainey went to the outside cushion on the restart and bolted up from fourth to second. By the halfway point of the race, Boland held a half-straightaway lead over Rainey, Cooley, Williams, Boutwell and Gentry.
Gentry began his run to the front of the pack on lap 28 when he got by Boutwell for the fifth spot, and then passed Williams for fourth on lap 30. A caution flag for a turn four spin by Santangelo on lap 35 bunched up the field for the 15 lap dash to the finish.
While Boland pulled away on the restart, Gentry got around Cooley for the third spot on lap 37, and then moved up to second getting by Rainey on lap 39. By the time Gentry got up to second, Boland had checked out to a full straightaway lead.
With five laps to go Cooley got by Rainey for third, bringing Williams with him up to fourth. Boland had a straightaway lead on Gentry, and Gentry had a full straightaway advantage over Cooley when the checkered flag fell.
Turner and Gentry won the two eight-lap heat races in preliminary action. The next event for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour will be on Sunday night at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS with a 40-lap $2,000-to-win main event.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 12 AT JACKSON MOTOR SPEEDWAY IN JACKSON, MS ON 6/13/09:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 2 222 Mike Boland Cuba, AL 50 $2,500
2. 8 2 David Gentry Lewisburg, TN 50 $1,250
3. 9 33c Eric Cooley Fulton, MS 50 $850
4. 3 4 Cliff Williams Star, MS 50 $700
5. 1 87 Derrick Rainey Powder Springs, GA 50 $750
6. 5 58 Larry Boutwell Baker, FL 50 $550
7. 17 71 Jarrette Gunn Brandon, MS 50 $600
8. 7 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 50 $450
9. 12 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS 50 $400
10. 14 77 Michael Santangelo St. Rose, LA 50 $375
11. 11 4r David Worrell Byrum, MS 49 $350
12. 4 38 Chase Washington (R) Houlka, MS 49 $300
13. 19 121 Michael Blount Sumrall, MS 48 $280
14. 20 33 Sid Scarbrough Florence, MS 46 $260
15. 21 8 Zack Owens Kosciusko, MS 45 $250
16. 6 21 Ben McCreary (R) Baldwyn, MS 27 $240
17. 23 00c J.D. Pass Brandon, MS 18 $220
18. 10 711 Jimmy Cliburn Star, MS 17 $200
19. 22 14 Chance Inman Bruce, MS 17 $200
20. 16 18 Chris Jimerson Gilbertown, AL 11 $200
21. 13 73 Evan Ellis Plantsville, MS 8 $200
22. 15 00 Ronny Hollingsworth Northport, AL 8 $200
23. 18 9 Mike Haralson Braxton, MS 8 $200
ENTRIES: 23
McLEOD CONSTRUCTION FAST QUALIFIER: Rainey, 16.805 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: None
LEAD CHANGES: None
LAPS LED: Boland, 1-50
SUNOCO RACE FUELS ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Washington
GM PERFORMANCE PARTS HARD CHARGER: Gunn (started 17th and finished 7th)
DOMINATOR RACE PRODUCTS HARD LUCK AWARD: McCreary
RACE CAR ENGINEERING FIFTH-PLACE AWARD: Rainey
RACE CAR ENGINEERING EIGHTH-PLACE AWARD: Turner
MAXIMUM SIGNS NINTH-PLACE AWARD: Minga
CAUTIONS: 5
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 5.268 Seconds
TIME OF THE RACE: 48 Minutes and 35.534 Seconds
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