|
Roby Helm
MARYVILLE, Tenn. (August 15) - Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN in the Miller Brothers Coal Warrior was awarded the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series win on Saturday night at Mountain Raceway Park after the Rusty Wallace Toyota Bloomquist driven by apparent winner Shanon Buckingham of Morristown, TN was disqualified for unapproved fuel in post-race technical inspection.
The victory was Johnson's second of the season, and his series-leading tenth career win with the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. While Johnson was disappointed for Buckingham's misfortune, the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame inductee was still happy to accept the winner's trophy.
"I know Shanon and his crew worked just as hard as we did to race here tonight, and I'm sure he didn't intentionally have the wrong fuel in the car," Johnson said. "I know how he feels because I've lost a few like that in my career, but at the same time, I'll gladly take the big trophy. I want to thank the guys that came down from Knoxville to my shop and helped me get my crate engine in this car. I wouldn't have been here without their help."
Buckingham set fast time and led all 50 laps before going to the post-race technical inspection. Buckingham and his crew were very professional in accepting their post-race fate, and Buckingham took full responsibility for the fuel problem.
"I just forgot that the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series prohibits the use of the fuel we had in the car tonight," Buckingham said. "What's right is right, and what's wrong is wrong. The series was right in enforcing the fuel rule, and I was wrong for having the unapproved fuel in the race car."
It was a typical Ronnie Johnson night, as he was late getting to the track, missed his spot for qualifying, came out at the end of qualifying with a cold race car, took one lap, and posted the eighth-fastest time among the 29 entrants which locked him into the feature race. Johnson methodically worked his way through the pack from the eighth starting spot, and moved up to second on lap 30.
Ben McCreary of Baldwyn, MS had a good night, as he ended up with the second spot in the Waddle Trucking Mastersbilt and the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Race Award, the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year point lead, and the McLeod Construction Fast Qualifier Award with a lap around the 4/10-mile clay oval in 18.355 seconds.
Fifteen-year-old Hunter Best of Greenback, TN finished third in the Robin Myrick Realty Executives Warrior, and Todd Morrow of East Ridge, TN was fourth in the T.J. Hunt Trucking Mastersbilt. Point leader Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS took the fifth spot in the 78 Towing and Recovery Victory Circle and picked up the Race Car Engineering Fifth-Place Award.
Cooley extended his point lead over David Gentry of Lewisburg, TN to a 62-point advantage. Gentry was the first car to drop out of the race on lap seven and finished 23rd in the Dixon Plumbing/Eads Farms Mastersbilt. The 18-year-old Cooley has 1,262 points, and Gentry has 1,200 points.
P.J. Feistritzer of Danville, KY drove the Self Service Storage Rayburn to a sixth-place finish, and Steve Jones of Maryville, TN finished seventh in the Competition Racing Warrior. Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, GA started 16th in the Hays Family Racing/Barto Enterprises Warrior and finished eighth to earn the GM Performance Parts Hard Charger Award, and the Race Car Engineering Eighth-Place Award.
Brad Coffey of Maryville, TN was ninth in the Airport Motor Mile Towing Service Warrior and earned the Maximum Signs Ninth-Place Award. Jason Hiett of Lincoln, AL rounded out the top ten in the Green Valley Speedway GRT.
Buckingham took the lead at the drop of the green flag followed by McCreary, Feistritzer, Chase Washington of Houlka, MS in the Jerry Inmon Race Cars GRT, and Best. Buckingham pulled away and was closing in on the cars on the tail of the lead lap by lap 11. Jensen Ford of Piney Flats, TN brought out the first of two caution flags on lap 11 when he stalled the TNT Race Cars "house car" on the backstretch.
When the field went back to green flag action, Washington slid high in turn three while running fourth, and Best got by to take the spot. It didn't take Johnson long to race his way into the top five, and he got by Washington on lap 13. One lap later, Johnson drove by Best for the fourth position on the front stretch.
Johnson moved up to challenge Feistritzer for third on lap 17, and took the position just before the halfway mark of the 50-lap race. When the field saw the crossed flags signal on lap 25, Buckingham held a full straightaway lead over McCreary, followed by Johnson, Feistritzer, Best, Jones, Morrow, Michael Arnold of Hattiesburg, MS in the Billy Riels Racing GRT, Cooley and Rainey.
After falling out of the top ten, Washington slowed on the race track to bring out the second and final caution flag on lap 30. Washington finished 18th, but his misfortune cost him the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year point lead. That earned the 19-year-old driver the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award.
When the field went back to green flag action, Johnson stepped to the outside to challenge McCreary for the second spot, and made what would be the winning pass in turn three. In the remaining 21 laps, Johnson would chase down Buckingham and challenge for the lead in the closing laps while the lead pair were in lapped traffic.
Buckingham would get to the checkered flag first, but it was Johnson that would take the win after the post-race technical inspection.
National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame inductee Jeff Purvis was at Mountain Raceway Park on Saturday night to greet race fans and sign autographs. Purvis also toured the pit area before the race to say hello to many of the drivers he competed against in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour during the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
The next stop for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour will be at Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, MS for a pair of events on August 28 and 29. The August 28 show will be 40-laps and $2,000-to-win, and the August 29 race will be 50-laps and $2,500-to-win.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 15 AT MOUNTAIN RACEWAY PARK IN MARYVILLE, TN ON 8/15/09:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 8 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 50 $3,000
2. 2 21 Ben McCreary (R) Baldwyn, MS 50 $1,350
3. 4 007 Hunter Best Greenback, TN 50 $850
4. 10 T16 Todd Morrow East Ridge, TN 50 $700
5. 6 33c Eric Cooley Fulton, MS 50 $650
6. 3 88 P.J. Feistritzer Danville, KY 50 $550
7. 7 1 Steve Jones Maryville, TN 50 $500
8. 16 87 Derrick Rainey Powder Springs, GA 50 $550
9. 13 89 Brad Coffey Maryville, TN 50 $400
10. 11 1h Jason Hiett Lincoln, AL 50 $375
11. 17 B00 Josh Henry Newport, TN 50 $350
12. 15 99g Jacob Grizzle Blairsville, GA 50 $300
13. 6 47x Michael Arnold Hattiesburg, MS 50 $280
14. 20 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 50 $260
15. 21 16 Jeff Fields Aragon, GA 50 $250
16. 18 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS 50 $240
17. 19 58 Larry Boutwell Baker, FL 50 $220
18. 5 38 Chase Washington (R) Houlka, MS 49 $200
19. 23 11h Jimmy Hiett Oxford, AL 48 $200
20. 24 18 Seth Wimpey Blue Ridge, GA 48 $200
21. 22 47L Shannon Lee Lumberton, MS 11 $200
22. 9 83 Jensen Ford Piney Flats, TN 10 $200
23. 14 56 David Gentry Lewisburg, TN 7 $200
24. 1 50 Shanon Buckingham Morristown, TN 0 $0 - DQ/Fuel
ENTRIES: 29
McLEOD CONSTRUCTION FAST QUALIFIER: McCreary, 18.355
PROVISIONALS: None
LEAD CHANGES: 1
LAPS LEADERS: McCreary, 1-29; Johnson, 30-50
LAPS LED: McCreary, 29; Johnson, 21
SUNOCO RACE FUELS ROOKIE OF THE RACE: McCreary
GM PERFORMANCE PARTS HARD CHARGER: Rainey (started 16th and finished 8th)
DOMINATOR RACE PRODUCTS HARD LUCK AWARD: Washington
RACE CAR ENGINEERING 5TH-PLACE AWARD: Cooley
RACE CAR ENGINEERING 8TH-PLACE AWARD: Rainey
MAXIMUM SIGNS 9TH-PLACE AWARD: Coffey
CAUTIONS: 2
TIME OF THE RACE: 25 Minutes and 42.304 Seconds
|
