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Robert Walden
RURAL RETREAT, Va. (July 13) - The O'Reilly Southern Nationals Series, which features 10 events spread over 13 nights at tracks around the Southeast, kicked off its fifth season Monday night at Wythe Raceway.
Vic "The Thrill" Hill of Morristown, Tenn., who's been on a tear in 2009 dominating racing action around East Tennessee winning at Volunteer Speedway, Tazewell Speedway and Mountain Raceway Park, was clearly the class of the field as he grabbed the lead from his outside front-row starting position at the drop of the green flag and never looked back en route to capturing his first-ever Southern Nationals Series victory.
Don O'Neal of Martinsville, Ind., toured the monster half-mile at 17.197-seconds to earn the pole position for the 35-lap, $3,500-to-win main event. The fastest 10 qualifiers were locked into the starting lineup, with three B-mains filling starting berths 11-22, and the final two spots series provisionals based on last year's final point standings. Rick Rogers of Knoxville, Tenn., won American Race Tires B-main No. 1; with Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., rolling to victory in Hoosier Race Tires B-main No. 2; while Tim Dohm of Cross Lanes, W.Va., captured the win in VP Racing Fuels B-main No. 3.
O'Neal and Hill led the stellar 24-car field to the start, and as the green flag waved Hill powered into the lead over O'Neal, Brandon Kinzer, Dennis "Rambo" Franklin and Tommy Kerr. The event's first caution waved on lap 2 for a spin between turns one and two by Randle Chupp. The race would only go back green for two circuits before the yellow waved once again when Austin Dillon spun in turn two.
With Hill riding on the point for the restart trailed by O'Neal, Kinzer, Kerr and Franklin, Hill quickly began to distance himself from his closest challengers. While Hill was pulling away to a comfortable lead, the action behind him was fast and furious.
With O'Neal getting high racing off turn two on lap 5, both Kinzer and Kerr took advantage to move into second and third, respectively, in the running order, dropping O'Neal back to fourth. But Kerr was not content to ride in third, as he worked around Kinzer for the runner-up spot on lap 6 racing off turn two.
Rogers, making a strong run inside the top 10 following his win in first B-main, passed Jensen Ford for seventh-place on lap 7 between turns three and four when Ford slid up the track to open the door. Just outside the top-five, Chris Combs, Rogers, Ford, Kerry Jones, Davenport, Dohm and a tight pack were battling for real estate. Ford's fall backwards continued with Jones passing him for eighth on lap 13 as they raced off the fourth turn.
As the raced reached the mid-point, Hill was cruising with a little over a half-straightaway lead over Kerr, Kinzer, O'Neal and Franklin. After pressuring Franklin for several laps for the fifth spot, on lap 24 racing down the backstretch into the third turn, Combs passed Franklin to move into fifth-place.
Meanwhile, Hill, driving the Landair Transport Inc. / Pilot Travel Centers/Miller Brothers Coal Inc. / American Racing Tire South / VP Racing Fuels / Dan Estes Construction / Ohlins / Peterson Fluid Systems / Comp Cams / Edelbrock / CP Pistons / Gary Williams Fuel Systems / Lunati Cranks / CV Racing Products / Joe Gibbs Driven Performance Synthetic Racing Oil /Jesel/Manley/Simpson / Vic Hill Racing Engines / Fastlane Signs & Graphics / Real Wheels / Team GRT Race Cars/No. 1 Chevrolet Impala SS, had pulled out to over a full-straightaway cushion over Kerr and Kinzer, when the final caution erased his huge advantage after Tony Knowles dropped fluid on the track on lap 28.
Hill had a rearview mirror full of Kerr, Kinzer, O'Neal and Combs circling the oval ready to go back green. Would anyone be able to mount a charge on Hill? Hill made sure he wouldn't be challenged, as he once again strolled away from his challengers. While Hill was headed towards a flag-to-flag romp to victory, on lap 32 Kinzer got around Kerr for second.
At the checkers Hill was followed by Kinzer, Kerr, O'Neal and Combs. Completing the top 10 finishers were Franklin, Jones, Dillon (who worked his way back inside the top 10 following his early-race spin), Jeff Smith and Rogers.
"Our car was very good tonight, we were hooked up and haulin' around this place," said Hill after victory lane ceremonies. "With the big, long straightaways here at Wythe Raceway, you can really roll around here. This is only the third time I've ever run here, and the previous occasions we had good runs going but got sidelined before the end of the race. It's really good to win one of these O'Reilly Southern Nationals Series events. I'd like to thank Ray Cook for putting this deal on.
"One thing about racing at a track this size, you never really know how big of an advantage you have over guys you're racing with. So you'd just better go as hard as you can. Our car was strong, and we just kept getting better as the race went on. From what my crew just got through telling me, we were really turning fast laps (times) even over the final five laps. I want to thank all my sponsors, my crew chief Shawn Gage and other guys who work on the car both during the week back at the shop and at the track on race nights -- Bud Orr, Joey Orr, Jess Tweed; plus all the guys who work in the engine shop (Vic Hill Racing Engines). I won't be running all the Southern Nationals Series shows, but I'll probably hit all the Tennessee races."
WYTHE RACEWAY -- O'REILLY SOUTHERN NATIONALS SERIES
Finishing Position, Starting Position In Parentheses, Driver, Car No., Hometown, Money Earned
1. (2) Vic Hill #1-Morristown, TN $3,500
2. (3) Brandon Kinzer #18-Allen, KY $2,000
3. (7) Tommy Kerr #4T-Maryville, TN $1,200
4. (1) Don O'Neal #71-Martinsville, IN $800
5. (9) Chris Combs #47-Isom, KY $600
6. (5) Dennis Franklin #97-Gaffney, SC $580
7. (8) Kerry Jones #6-Bristol, TN $570
8. (4) Austin Dillon #3-Lewisville, NC $560
9. (17) Jeff Smith #18m-Dallas, NC $550
10. (11) Rick Rogers #44-Knoxville, TN $540
11. (15) Jeff Cooke #99-Spartanburg, SC $530
12. (13) Tim Dohm #17T-Cross Lanes, WV $520
13. (6) Jensen Ford #83-Piney Flats, TN $510
14. (12) Jonathan Davenport #49-Blairsville, GA $500
15. (21) Jared Landers #777-Batesville, AR $495
16. (22) Gar Dickson #60-Flintstone, GA $490
17. (23) Shon Flanary #98-Church Hill, TN $485
18. (24) Daniel Baggerly #16-Rural Retreat, VA $480
19. (18) Chris Wilson #17-Louissa, KY $475
20. (19) Tony Knowles #26-Tyrone, GA $470
21. (10) Bobby Mays #25-Jonesborough, TN $465
22. (20) Dane Dacus #54-Lakeland, TN $460
23. (16) Randle Chupp #114-Troutman, NC $455
24. (14) Anthony White #2x-Clinton, TN $450
Qualifying (Top 10 Locked In)
1. Don O'Neal -17:197
2. Vic Hill - 17:380
3. Brandon Kinzer -17:490
4. Austin Dillon -17:624
5. Dennis Franklin -17:629
6. Jensen Ford -17:636
7. Tommy Kerr -17:637
8. Kerry Jones -17:663
9. Chris Combs -17:737
10. Bobby Mays -17:782
American Racer Tires B-Main #1 (Top Four Advance): Rick Rogers, Anthony White, Jeff Smith, Dane Dacus, Larry Blankenship, Chris Ferguson, Shawn Beasley, Daniel Baggerly, Brian Nuttall Jr.
Hoosier Racing Tires B-Main #2 (Top Four Advance): Jonathan Davenport, Jeff Cooke, Chris Wilson, Jared Landers, Chad Ogle, Shon Flanary, Jeff Madden, Randy Harmon
VP Racing Fuels B-Main #3 (Top Four Advance): Tim Dohm, Randle Chupp, Tony Knowles, Gar Dickson, Jeff Neubert, Travis Greer, Anthony Hill, Daniel Moss
- Car Count: 35 Entries From 8 States
- Lap Leaders: Vic Hill (1-35)
- Cautions: 3 (Lap 2, 4, 28)
- Time of Race: 20 Minutes 50 Seconds
- Integra Shocks Fast Qualifier ($50): Don O'Neal 17.197
- PPM Racing Products Hard Charger of the Race ($50): Jeff Smith (17th to 9th)
- Barry Wright Race Cars Highest Finisher ($100): Jonathan Davenport
- Rocket Chassis Highest Finisher ($100): Tommy Kerr
- GRT Race Cars Highest Finisher ($100): Vic Hill
- SHY Racing Suspensions 7th-place Award ($70): Kerry Jones
- DBR Performance Starters Middleman Award ($75): Tim Dohm
- GW Performance Highest Finisher ($50): Vic Hill
- Integra Shocks Highest Finisher ($50): Jeff Smith
- American Racer Tires Highest Finisher (2 Tires): Vic Hill
- Wilwood Engineering Tough Brake Award ($50): Larry Blankenship
- Provisionals (From 2008 Points): Shon Flanary, Daniel Baggerly
2009 POINT STANDINGS
1. Vic Hill 200
2. Brandon Kinzer 196
3. Tommy Kerr 194
4. Don O'Neal 192
5. Chris Combs 190
6. Dennis Franklin 188
7. Kerry Jones 186
8. Austin Dillon 184
9. Jeff Smith 182
10. Rick Rogers 180
11. Jeff Cooke 178
12. Tim Dohm 176
13. Jenson Ford 174
14. Jonathan Davenport 172
15. Jared Landers ® 170
16. Gar Dickson 168
17. Shon Flanary 166
18. Daniel Baggerly 164
19. Chris Wilson 162
20. Tony Knowles 160
2009 SCHEDULE
Monday, July 13 - Wythe Raceway, Rural Retreat, VA (Vic Hill)
Tuesday, July 14 - Carolina Speedway, Gastonia, NC
Thursday, July 16 - Hartwell Speedway, Hartwell, GA
Friday, July 17 - Swainsboro Raceway, Swainsboro, GA
Saturday, July 18 - Screven Motor Speedway, Sylvania, GA
Monday, July 20 - Fort Payne Motor Speedway, Fort Payne, AL
Tuesday, July 21 - Crossville Raceway, Crossville, TN
Thursday, July 23 - Cleveland Speedway, Cleveland, TN
Friday, July 24 - Volunteer Speedway, Bulls Gap, TN
Saturday, July 25 - Tazewell Speedway, Tazewell, TN
For more information on the O'Reilly Southern Nationals Series, please visit the series website at www.SouthernNationalsSeries.com
The O'Reilly Southern Nationals Series is brought to fans across the Southeast by many important sponsors and partners, including O'Reilly Auto Parts, Red Man Tobacco Products, American Racer Tires, Barry Wright Race Cars, Carolina Performance, DBR Performance Starters, Delph Communications, Fibertech Roofs by JB Performance, Graphic Impressions, GRT Race Cars, GW Performance, Hoosier Racing Tires, Integra Racing Shocks, MasterSbilt Race Cars, Ohlins Shocks, PPM Performance Products, Rocket Chassis, Schaeffer's Oil, SHY Racing Suspensions, Star Graphix, VP Racing Fuels, Wiles Driveshafts, and Wilwood Engineering
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