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Roby Helm
GULFPORT, Miss. (October 17) - Mike Boland of Cuba, AL scored his third NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Touring victory of the season on Saturday night by winning the Topless Fall Nationals 50 at South Mississippi Speedway. Boland took the lead from Larry Boutwell of Baker, FL on lap 21, survived a tangle with a lapped car under caution, and took the win by six car lengths in The Strength Center Trak-Star.
Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS was crowned the 2009 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion, and will receive a $20,000 check at the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS Awards Banquet on December 9 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Tampa, FL. The 18-year-old driver became the youngest National Champion in dirt late model history.
"This has been a dream come true for our whole team," Cooley said. "We have all learned a lot running this series by racing with a lot of talented experienced drivers, and going to a lot of different types of tracks. We have learned how to make adjustments on these cars and adapting to different track conditions on the fly."
The $2,500 win moved Boland from 13th in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National point standings to ninth-place. Boland will pick up a check for $1,500 at the series' Awards Banquet. Boland tied Justin McRee of Woodstock, AL for the ninth spot, but the tie-breaker was the number of wins. Boland had three and McRee had two.
Boland challenged Boutwell first by running the high side of the quarter-mile dirt oval, running side-by-side until a lap 20 caution flag slowed the field. Everyone, including Boutwell, thought Boland would go back upstairs for the restart, but when the green flag came out, Boland dove for the bottom of the track, got inside Boutwell, and made the pass for the lead coming off the fourth turn.
After Boland took the lead, the caution flag came out on lap 34, and the race leader dodged a big bullet as the field slowed. The lapped car of J.D. Pass of Brandon, MS spun in turn four right in front of Boland, who hit the side of the Resitol Hats Trak-Star. Boland's car suffered damage in the front end, pushing up the nose piece of the car.
"With the nose piece pointing up in the air, my car developed a big push after the restart," Boland said. "I switched to three-wheel brakes, and that helped the car get through the corners. The track was real racy tonight, a lot better than last night, as we could run high or low. I wanted to cover the bottom, and if Boutwell was going to beat me, he would have had to do it on the outside."
Boutwell finished second in the McLeod Construction Rocket and was the McLeod Construction Fast Qualifier with a lap in 15.537 seconds. Boutwell finished second in the series point standings, and will pick up a check for $7,000 at the series Awards Banquet.
Cooley capped off his title run with a third-place showing in the 78 Towing and Recovery Victory Circle. Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN took the fourth spot in the Miller Brothers Coal Warrior.
Joseph Joiner of Milton, FL was fifth in the Joiner Racing GRT and the 15-year-old driver took the Race Car Engineering Fifth-Place Award. Shannon Lee of Lumberton, MS finished sixth in the Billy Riels Racing Trak-Star, and Ricky Idom of Hattiesburg, MS was seventh in the Ricky's Performance Parts DWB.
Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, GA started 15th and finished eighth in the Hays Family Racing/Barto Enterprises Warrior to take the GM Performance Parts Hard Charger of the Race Award, and the Race Car Engineering Eighth-Place Award. Rainey took the fourth spot in the National point standings, and earned $4,500 out of the $50,000 point fund.
Chase Washington of Houlka, MS finished ninth in the Jerry Inmon Race Cars GRT to earn the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Race Award, and the Maximum Signs Ninth-Place Award. Washington finished sixth in the National point standings, worth $3,000 at the Awards Banquet. Friday night winner Michael Blount of Sumrall, MS rounded out the top ten in the Lamar Auto Salvage Trak-Star.
Ben McCreary of Baldwyn, MS took the 2009 Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year Award driving the Waddle Trucking Mastersbilt, and will pick up a $5,000 check at the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS Awards Banquet. McCreary also finished fifth in the season point standings that will bring his post-season awards total to $8,500.
Boutwell took the lead at the drop of the green flag at the start of the race from the pole position followed by Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA in the Turner Excavating DWB, Cooley, Boland, and Joiner. Cooley, Boland and Joiner had a tight battle going on for the third spot, while Boutwell and Turner pulled away.
Joiner and Boland passed Cooley on lap three to take over the third and fourth spots respectively. Boutwell began to encounter the cars on the tail of the lead lap by the sixth lap, but the caution flag came out on lap seven when Cliff Williams of Star, MS in the Ware Construction Trak-Star got into the back of Johnson in turn three causing him to spin.
The caution was charged to Williams, and Johnson restarted in the sixth spot behind Boutwell, Turner, Joiner, Boland, and Cooley. Boland dusted off the outside groove on the restart, and passed Joiner for the third spot coming off the fourth turn after the restart. Boland again took the outside on a lap 15 restart to pass Turner for the second spot.
Boland chased down Boutwell on lap 16, went to the outside, and the top two cars raced side-by-side for three laps until a caution flag came out on lap 20 for a turn four spin by Noah Daspit in the Billy Riels Racing GRT. On the restart, Boland fooled everyone by going to the inside, and raced Boutwell for the lead side-by-side until taking the lead coming off the fourth turn.
At the halfway point of the 50-lap race, Boland led Boutwell, Turner, Joiner, Cooley, Johnson, Lee, Idom, Blount and Washington. Cooley went to the outside to pass Joiner for the fourth spot after a lap 26 restart.
Turner spun out of the third spot on lap 34 in turn two to bring out the caution flag, which earned Turner the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award. Turner came back to finish 12th, and finished third in the National Point standings, worth $5,000 out of the series point fund.
It was during this caution period that Pass spun in turn four and collected Boland. When the field lined up for the restart, Boland led Boutwell, Cooley, Joiner, Johnson, Lee, Idom, Washington, Blount, and Rainey. After the field went back to green flag action, Johnson got by Joiner for the fourth spot on lap 40.
In the last ten laps of the race, Boland was able to keep Boutwell behind him, and took the checkered flag with a six car-length advantage to collect his third win of the season. In preliminary action, the two ten-lap heat races were won by Joiner and Williams. Jeremy Idom of Hattiesburg, MS won the 12-lap B-Main race driving the Talley Painting DWB.
With the 2009 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National points season completed, the series will now begin a run of non-points races beginning with the $10,000-to-win Red Top Auto Auctions Dega 100 Presented By Hoosier Tire this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 23 AT SOUTH MISSISSIPPI SPEEDWAY IN GULFPORT, MS ON 10/17/09:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 4 222 Mike Boland Cuba, AL 50 $2,500
2. 1 58 Larry Boutwell Baker, FL 50 $1,350
3. 3 33c Eric Cooley Fulton, MS 50 $850
4. 8 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 50 $700
5. 5 10j Joseph Joiner Milton, FL 50 $650
6. 7 47 Shannon Lee Lumberton, MS 50 $550
7. 11 21 Ricky Idom Hattiesburg, MS 50 $500
8. 15 87 Derrick Rainey Powder Springs, GA 50 $550
9. 13 38 Chase Washington (R) Houlka, MS 50 $400
10. 12 121 Michael Blount Sumrall, MS 50 $375
11. 14 77 Michael Santangelo St. Rose, LA 50 $350
12. 2 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 50 $300
13. 9 47d Noah Daspit Kiln, MS 50 $280
14. 17 13 Jeremy Idom Hattiesburg, MS 50 $260
15. 18 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS 50 $250
16. 22 00n Allen Netherland Angie, LA 50 $240
17. 19 R7 Rodney Barber Saucier, MS 46 $220
18. 16 21m Ben McCreary (R) Baldwyn, MS 45 $200
19. 20 18 Chase Edge LaFayette, AL 40 $200
20. 24 00 J.D. Pass Brandon, MS 39 $200
21. 10 25 Justin McRee Woodstock, AL 23 $200
22. 23 15 Bradley Blaylock Winona, MS 18 $200
23. 21 22 Jamey Smith Purvis, MS 10 $200
24. 6 4 Cliff Williams Star, MS 10 $200
ENTRIES: 27
McLEOD CONSTRUCTION FAST QUALIFIER: Boutwell, 15.537 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: None
LEAD CHANGES: 1
LAP LEADERS: Boutwell, 1-20; Boland, 21-50
LAPS LED: Boland, 30; Boutwell, 20
SUNOCO RACE FUELS ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Washington
GM PERFORMANCE PARTS HARD CHARGER: Rainey (started 15th and finished 8th)
DOMINATOR RACE PRODUCTS HARD LUCK AWARD: Turner
RACE CAR ENGINEERING FIFTH-PLACE AWARD: Joiner
RACE CAR ENGINEERING EIGHTH-PLACE AWARD: Rainey
MAXIMUM SIGNS NINTH-PLACE AWARD: Washington
CAUTIONS: 10
TIME OF THE RACE: 54 Minutes and 25.208 Seconds
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