|
Mary Jane Cardwell
POOLER, Ga. (March 14) - Mother Nature did her best to squelch the National Late Model Series' return to Oglethorpe Speedway Park, but she was not successful as a good crowd gathered for racing. St. Patrick and his leprechauns were abundant for this return and hiding at every turn
Qualifying went quickly and set the field for this evening's racing. Jason Fitzgerald set an early mark in the low 19s and only Steve Jones and Darrell Padgett were able to surpass his mark. The Optima Trailers' Fastest Qualifier title for the evening went to Steve Jones and on the pole he sat.
As the green flag dropped, Darrell Padgett took an immediate lead, fending off Jones and others through the first caution and the first 14 laps of the 50 lap feature. However, lapped traffic trapped Padgett and gave Collins the hole he needed to take the lead. Hard as he tried, Padgett was not able to retake the lead from Collins as the remainder of the field vied for positions.
Mid race, Steve Jones and Jason Fitzgerald, tired of running side by side/nose to tail, made a move to pass each other for good. Unfortunately for these two, getting together in Turn 1 left them both at the back of the field and Jones leaking what appeared to be fuel. Their solid 3rd and 4th place runs left and made room for local driver Branden Yawn and Bo Allen to take those spots.
Other local favorites - Garrett Shurling, III and Robbie Cowart - faired well in this trip to Oglethorpe, finishing 6th and 9th. Cale Simons also had a good night, finishing fifth. But it was Johnny Collins taking another win in the Series in 2009 in his John Collins owned, Barry Wright/Southern Style combination, sponsored by Fickling Construction, AR&R Trucking and Southern Style Engines.
Watch the website for a possible additional race to be scheduled between now and the race scheduled for Golden Isles Speedway at the end of April.
POS DRIVER POINTS
1 JOHNNY COLLINS 100
2 DARRELL PADGETT 99
3 BRANDEN YAWN 98
4 BO ALLEN 97
5 CALE SIMONS 96
6 GARRETT SHURLING 95
7 JORDY NIPPER 94
8 MITCH FULFORD 93
9 ROBBIE COWART 92
10 BRANDON CAMERON 91
11 CHAZ HASKINS 90
12 HENRY CARTER 89
13 BRAD COMER 88
14 JOHN GREENE 87
15 JASON FITZGERALD 86
16 ERIC REGISTER 85
17 BOBBY OGLESBY 84
18 DONNIE BAZEMORE 83
19 KYLE BRIDGES 82
20 ROBERT DIEKEMPER 81
21 TOMMY BURROWS 80
22 PATRICK WILLIAMS 79
23 JIM MANKA 78
24 STEVE JONES 77
25 MARK DAVIS 76
26 J.R. MOSELEY 75
|
