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Roby Helm
GULFPORT, Miss. (October 16) - Michael Blount of Sumrall, MS drove the Lamar Auto Salvage Trak-Star to an upset win on Friday night at South Mississippi Speedway in the Topless Fall Nationals 40 for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour. Blount started second, took the lead on lap one, and led all 40 laps to take the victory.
"I've won some big Modified races, but this is the biggest late model win of my career," Blount said. "This is a new Trak-Star chassis for us that we've only raced five times, and I've got to thank Mike Boland at Boland Performance for helping us out. The drivers in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series are top notch, and it feels good to win at this level."
In four previous NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National Touring events this season, Blount's best finish was 13th. With the exception of restarts after the four caution flags in the race, Blount was able to maintain a half straightaway lead over the second place finisher, Ben McCreary of Baldwyn, MS in the Waddle Trucking Mastersbilt.
McCreary was the McLeod Construction Fast Qualifier with a lap around South Mississippi Speedway in 15.918 seconds to earn the pole position for the main event. His runner-up finish gave him the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Race Award, and all but clinched McCreary the $5,000 Sunoco Race Fuel Rookie of the Year Award. All McCreary has to do is start Saturday night's race.
Ricky Idom of Hattiesburg, MS drove the Ricky's Performance Parts DWB to a third-place finish, and Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, GA finished fourth in the Hays Family Racing/Barto Enterprises Warrior.
NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National point leader Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS took the Race Car Engineering fifth spot in the 78 Towing and Recovery Victory Circle, and all but clinched the $20,000 National Championship. All Cooley has to do to claim the title is start the final points race of the season on Saturday night at South Mississippi Speedway.
Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN was sixth in the Miller Brothers Coal Warrior, and 15-year-old Joseph Joiner of Milton, FL finished seventh in the Joiner Racing GRT. Cliff Williams of Star, MS started 16th in the Ware Construction Trak-Star, and finished eighth to earn the GM Performance Parts Hard Charger Award plus the Race Car Engineering Eighth-Place Award.
Larry Boutwell of Baker, FL came back from an early race pit stop, and rallied to finish ninth in the McLeod Construction Rocket to earn the Maximum Signs Ninth-Place Award. Boutwell kept his slim championship hopes alive, but would need something catastrophic to befall Cooley in the Saturday night preliminary events for him to take the championship.
Boutwell can clinch his second straight NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National Championship Runner-Up spot by starting the main event at SMS on Saturday night. Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA rounded out the top ten in the Turner Excavating DWB, and will battle with Rainey on Saturday night for the third spot in the National point standings.
When the field went green at the start of the race, Blount was able to take the lead from McCreary coming off the second turn on lap one, with Idom, Rainey, and Chase Washington of Houlka, MS following in third through fifth respectively. Blount knew the key to winning the race would be the first turn of the first lap.
"I was watching the heat races and saw that the car that started on the outside of the front row could take the lead at the start of the race," Blount said. "I tried to keep Ben from moving up on me at the start. He raced me clean, I held my line, and that's what it took to take the lead."
The first caution flag came out on lap three when Justin McRee of Woodstock, AL in the Century Carriers, Inc. Trak-Star got into the back of Washington coming off the second turn, causing Washington to spin his Jerry Inmon Race Cars GRT.
In the ensuing scramble, Mike Boland of Cuba, AL spun off the outside of the backstretch, sending The Strength Center Trak-Star up on its left side. Boland was O.K., but was out for the evening. That earned Boland the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award.
Washington restarted in the fifth spot behind Blount, McCreary, Idom, and Rainey. Sixth through tenth respectively were Cooley, Johnson, Joiner, Noah Daspit of Kiln, MS in the Billy Riels Racing GRT, and Chase Edge of LaFayette, AL in the Gar's Cash Flow Mastersbilt.
Cooley got by Washington for the fifth spot on the restart, and Johnson passed Washington for the sixth position on lap seven. By lap nine, Blount had opened up a half straightaway lead on McCreary as he began to encounter lapped cars. The second caution flag came out on lap 14 when Chris O'Connor of Cantonment, FL spun the Coggin Land Service Warrior in turn two.
Marcus Minga of Shannon, MS stalled the B&M Salvage Mastersbilt on the backstretch on lap 18 to bring out the third caution flag. On the restart, Joiner got by Johnson for the seventh spot, but Johnson reclaimed the position on lap 19. Williams and Boutwell had also worked themselves into the top ten by the halfway mark in the eighth and ninth respectively.
Johnson was on the move, as he passed Washington for the sixth spot with an inside move coming off the second turn on 20. Something broke on Washington's race car on lap 22 as he spun in turn one out of the seventh spot to bring out the fourth and final caution flag.
When the field went to green, Blount once again pulled away from McCreary. Turner got underneath Daspit for the tenth spot coming off the second turn on lap 29. Blount once again had pulled out to a half straightaway lead by lap 35 when he began to get into lapped traffic. McCreary was unable to get close enough to challenge Blount for the lead in the last five laps.
In preliminary action, the two ten-lap heat races were won by Idom and Joiner. Boutwell won the 12-lap B-Main race. The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour will return to South Mississippi Speedway on Saturday night for a 50-lap $2,500-to-win event, the final points race of the 2009 season.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 22 AT SOUTH MISSISSIPPI SPEEDWAY IN GULFPORT, MS ON 10/16/09:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 2 121 Michael Blount Sumrall, MS 40 $2,000
2. 1 21m Ben McCreary (R) Baldwyn, MS 40 $1,100
3. 5 21 Ricky Idom Hattiesburg, MS 40 $700
4. 3 87 Derrick Rainey Powder Springs, GA 40 $550
5. 7 33c Eric Cooley Fulton, MS 40 $500
6. 8 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 40 $425
7. 6 10j Joseph Joiner Milton, FL 40 $375
8. 16 4 Cliff Williams Star, MS 40 $450
9. 17 58 Larry Boutwell Baker, FL 40 $325
10. 18 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 40 $300
11. 11 47d Noah Daspit Kiln, MS 40 $275
12. 9 25 Justin McRee Woodstock, AL 40 $250
13. 13 18 Chase Edge LaFayette, AL 40 $225
14. 20 77 Michael Santangelo St. Rose, LA 40 $200
15. 21 47 Shannon Lee Lumberton, MS 40 $175
16. 22 17 Chris O'Connor Cantonment, FL 39 $150
17. 12 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS 39 $140
18. 14 82 Jason Sanderford Pheba, MS 34 $125
19. 15 R7 Rodney Barber Saucier, MS 32 $125
20. 4 38 Chase Washington (R) Houlka, MS 22 $125
21. 19 13 Jeremy Idom Hattiesburg, MS 16 $125
22. 24 88 Charlie Henderson Cottondale, AL 14 $125
23. 23 22 Jamey Smith Purvis, MS 12 $125
24. 10 222 Mike Boland Cuba, AL 2 $125
ENTRIES: 28
McLEOD CONSTRUCTION FAST QUALIFIER: McCreary, 15.918 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: None
LEAD CHANGES: None
LAP LEADER: Blount, 1-40
SUNOCO RACE FUEL ROOKIE OF THE RACE: McCreary
GM PERFORMANCE HARD CHARGER: Williams (started 16th and finished 8th)
DOMINATOR RACE PRODUCTS HARD LUCK AWARD: Boland
RACE CAR ENGINEERING FIFTH-PLACE AWARD: Cooley
RACE CAR ENGINEERING EIGHTH-PLACE AWARD: Williams
MAXIMUM SIGNS NINTH-PLACE AWARD: Boutwell
CAUTIONS: 4 (1 Red Flag)
TIME OF THE RACE: 30 Minutes and 41.233 Seconds
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