|
Roby Helm
MERIDIAN, Miss. (August 28) - Justin McRee of Woodstock, AL captured the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series victory that got away four months ago by winning night one of the Summer Shootout on Friday night at Whynot Motorsports Park driving the Century Carriers, Inc. Trak-Star. McRee took the lead on lap 10, and led the rest of the way in the 40-lap event.
McRee had four months to think about losing the May 2 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series race at Whynot Motorsports Park. He was leading the race with six laps to go when a broken suspension part snatched a sure win from his grasp.
"Now this is what was supposed to happen back in May," McRee said as he climbed from his race car in Victory Lane. "This feels a lot better than breaking a shock with six laps to go. I can't tell you much of what happened in the last six laps tonight because I was talking to God asking Him to get us to the checkered flag."
Six car-lengths separated McRee from the second-place finisher Todd Morrow of East Ridge, TN in the T.J. Hunt Trucking Mastersbilt. Chris McElhenney of Lake, MS finished third in the G&M Trucking GRT, and Jim McDuffie of Meridian, MS drove the H.E. Mosley, Inc. Trak-Star home to a fourth-place finish.
McRee was the McLeod Construction Fast Qualifier by out-timing the 48-car field with a lap around the 3/8-mile clay oval in 13.692 seconds, and started the race from the pole position. Scott Knowles of Lanett, AL started second, and led the first ten laps of the race running the outside groove, while McRee stuck to the bottom of the race track.
"I knew Scott Knowles would be tough to beat because he came out of the box like a rocket at the start of the race on the outside," McRee said. "I stayed on the bottom hoping it would get better as the race went on, and it did."
Knowles ended up fifth in the All-Star Graphics Warrior to grab the Race Car Engineering Fifth-Place Award. Jason Hiett of Lincoln, AL took the sixth spot in the Green Valley Speedway GRT, and Bub McCool of Vicksburg, MS finished seventh in the Usry Architects Trak-Star.
Point leader Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS was eighth in the 78 Towing and Recovery Victory Circle to take the Race Car Engineering Eighth-Place Award. Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA finished ninth in the Turner Excavating DWB and earned the Maximum Signs Ninth-Place Award.
Larry Boutwell of Baker, FL took a Provisional, started the McLeod Construction Rocket from the 23rd spot, and finished tenth to earn the GM Performance Parts Hard Charger of the Race Award. Boutwell moved around two-time NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National Champion David Gentry of Lewisburg, TN into the second spot in the National points chase.
Cooley now holds a 72-point lead over Boutwell. Gentry, who finished 14th in the race, is just two points behind Boutwell. Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, GA is still fourth in the standings, but a crash on lap 20 ended his evening with an 18th-place finish in the Barto Enterprises Warrior. That earned Rainey the Dominator Race Products Hard Charger of the Race Award.
Chase Washington of Houlka, MS finished 12th in the Jerry Inmon Race Cars GRT to take the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Race Award. Washington also took over the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year point lead from Ben McCreary of Baldwyn, MS. McCreary failed to make the main event, coming up one spot short in his B-Main race driving the Waddle Trucking Mastersbilt.
Knowles took the lead at the start of the race from his outside front row starting spot coming off the second turn, but a caution flag came out when Gathan Burns of Piedmont, AL spun in turn one. Knowles was able to make the outside move work again on the restart to take the lead followed by McRee, Morrow, McElhenney, and Paul Walters of Valley, AL in the Gary Davis Construction GRT.
The second caution flag of the race was unfurled on lap four when Randall Beckwith of Kilmichael, MS hit the first turn wall in the Hi Grade Farm Supply Rocket. Wiley Williams of Stonewall, MS in the Tuxedo Auto GRT and Cliff Williams of Star, MS in the Ware Construction Trak-Star were battling for the sixth spot on the restart when they tangled in turn four.
That brought out the third caution flag of the race, and when the field went back to green flag action, Mike Boland of Cuba, MS worked his way up through the top ten to drive The Strength Center Trak-Star around Wiley Williams for the fifth spot in lap ten.
The high-riding race leader Knowles began to encounter lapped traffic by lap ten, and McRee, using the bottom groove of the track began to close in. McRee made what would be the winning pass for the lead on lap 11, and never looked back.
Morrow got around Knowles for the second spot on lap 14, and was able to catch McRee with a caution flag on lap 16 after Shannon Lee of Lumberton, MS hit the front stretch wall. McRee led Morrow, McElhenney, Knowles, Boland, Hiett, Wiley Williams, Walters, McDuffie, and Turner down for the restart.
On the restart, Knowles went to the outside and drove by McElhenney for the third spot, but lap 17 saw McElhenney retake the position, and Hiett passed Boland for the fifth spot. Rainey brought out the yellow flag for the fifth and final time after he hit the first turn wall.
The second half of the race went clean and green, as Knowles and McCool went to the outside and started making up ground. Knowles got by McElhenney for the third spot, but he didn't stay there long, as McElhenney returned the favor on lap 24. Boland pulled to the pits on lap 24 to retire for the evening.
McDuffie showed some muscle in the second half of the race, coming from ninth on the lap 20 restart to fourth by lap 29. McRee had to work some lapped traffic in the closing laps of the race, which enabled Morrow to move in, but not close enough to challenge for the victory.
In preliminary action, the four ten-laps heat races were won by Morrow, Boland, Wiley Williams, and Randy Boyd of Marion, MS in the Meridian Coca Cola Trak-Star. McCool and Burns won the two 12-lap B-Main races.
The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour returns to Whynot Motorsports Park on Saturday night for night two of the Summer Shootout with a $2,500-to-win 50-lap main event.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 16 AT WHYNOT MOTORSPORTS PARK IN MERIDIAN, MS ON 8/28/09:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 1 25 Justin McRee Woodstock, AL 40 $2,100
2. 5 T16 Todd Morrow East Ridge, TN 40 $1,000
3. 4 28 Chris McElhenney Lake, MS 40 $700
4. 11 760 Jim McDuffie Meridian, MS 40 $550
5. 2 66k Scott Knowles Lanett, AL 40 $500
6. 9 1 Jason Hiett Lincoln, AL 40 $425
7. 17 27 Bub McCool Vicksburg, MS 40 $375
8. 20 33c Eric Cooley Fulton, MS 40 $350
9. 12 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 40 $325
10. 23 58 Larry Boutwell Baker, FL 40 $400
11. 15 5 Klint Byers Carrollton, MS 40 $275
12. 13 38 Chase Washington (R) Houlka, MS 40 $250
13. 8 118 Randy Boyd Marion, MS 39 $225
14. 22 56 David Gentry Lewisburg, TN 39 $200
15. 3 P19 Paul Walters Valley, AL 25 $175
16. 6 222 Mike Boland Cuba, AL 22 $150
17. 7 4w Wiley Williams Stonewall, MS 19 $140
18. 24 87 Derrick Rainey Powder Springs, GA 19 $125
19. 21 47 Shannon Lee Lumberton, MS 14 $125
20. 19 18 Chris Jimerson Gilbertown, AL 11 $125
21. 16 95 Wesley Greene Winona, MS 5 $125
22. 10 4 Cliff Williams Star, MS 4 $125
23. 14 84 Randall Beckwith Kilmichael, MS 4 $125
24. 18 19x Gathan Burns Piedmont, AL 0 $125
ENTRIES: 48
McLEOD CONSTRUCTION FAST QUALIFIER: McRee, 13.692 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: Boutwell and Rainey
LEAD CHANGES: 1
LAP LEADERS: Knowles, 1-10; McRee, 11-40
LAPS LED: McRee, 30; Knowles, 10
SUNOCO RACE FUELS ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Washington
GM PERFORMANCE PARTS HARD CHARGER: Boutwell (started 23rd and finished 10th)
DOMINATOR RACE PRODUCTS HARD LUCK AWARD: Rainey
RACE CAR ENGINEERING FIFTH-PLACE AWARD: Knowles
RACE CAR ENGINEERING EIGHTH-PLACE AWARD: Cooley
MAXIMUM SIGNS NINTH-PLACE AWARD: Turner
CAUTIONS: 5
TIME OF THE RACE: 42 Minutes and 35.323 Seconds
|
