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Roby Helm
PENTON, Ala. (June 11) - Anthony Burroughs of Sheffield, AL drove the ALT Transportation Mastersbilt to the win on Friday night in the 50-lap main event for the NeSmith Super Dirt Car Series at Penton Raceway. Burroughs held off a late-race charge from William Thomas of Phenix City, AL in the J.W. Miller Land and Timber Scorpion in heavy lapped traffic.
"I knew William was there, but those lapped cars just wouldn't get out of the way, but we got by them and got the win," Burroughs said. "The NeSmith Super Dirt Car Series is a good series because it is an economical series that allows a choice of less expensive engines to compete on a level playing field, and that was shown here tonight."
Burroughs made it a clean sweep, as he was also the fast qualifier with a lap around the 3/8-mile high-banked clay oval in 14.180 seconds with a Spec Engine under the hood of his race car. The competitiveness among the different engines allowed in the NeSmith Super Dirt Car Series that Burroughs spoke of was clear in the top four finishers.
Thomas took the second spot with an all-steel engine under of the hood of his race car. Scott Knowles of Lanett, AL drove the PW Performance Warrior powered by a GM Performance 604 Crate Engine to a third-place finish. Terrance Nowell of Phenix City, AL finished fourth in the Clarence's Truck Repair GRT powered by an Open engine.
Dillon Crim of Eastaboga, AL took the fifth spot in the Southern Pipe and Supply TSR powered by an Open Engine. Ryan King of Anniston, AL was sixth in the True Bond Masonry TSR powered by 604 GM Performance Crate Engine. Craig Scott of Newnan, GA drove the Base Fuel GRT to a seventh-place finish and was the third fastest qualifier with a GM Performance 604 Crate Engine.
Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA finished eighth in the Turner Excavating DWB powered by a GM Performance CT525 Spec Engine. Turner was the second fastest qualifier, and challenged Burroughs early in the race before a steering problem caused him to make a series of pit stops.
Virgil Taylor of Clanton, AL took the ninth spot in the ALT Transportation GRT powered by a Spec Engine, and Duane Treadwell of LaGrange, GA rounded out the top ten in the Global Logistics Rocket powered by an all-steel engine.
Burroughs and Turner raced side-by-side for opening lap of the race with Burroughs taking the lead coming off the fourth turn. Turner kept looking to inside to challenge for the point, as Nowell had the third spot followed by Thomas and Taylor.
By lap five, Knowles had charged from his seventh starting spot to pass Taylor for the fifth spot. Knowles worked inside Nowell on lap six to take the fourth position. Up front, Burroughs had pulled out to a half-straightaway lead over Turner by lap 10. Turner began to have steering problems on lap 11, as Thomas and Knowles moved by to take the second and third spots respectively.
Burroughs had extended his lead to a full straightaway by lap 12, but Thomas began to close the gap on each lap. By lap 20, Thomas had made up half the distance, but Burrough's lead was erased on lap 22 when Taylor spun in turn two and collected Crim.
With Thomas on Burrough's back bumper for the restart, a side-by-side battle for the lead ensued when the green flag came back out. That hotly contested challenge for the lead was cooled off on lap 25 when Turner stopped on the track while running fourth. When the field went back to green flag action, Burroughs turned up the wick and had a half-straightaway lead by lap 30.
Burroughs caught a pair of lapped cars battling side-by-side for position on lap 40, and had trouble finding a clear route around them. Thomas was on the charge and pulled up on the leader's back bumper with five laps to go. Burroughs found a way around the lapped cars on lap 48, and with Thomas still caught behind them, pulled away to take the win.
The NeSmith Super Dirt Car Series now moves to Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL for a 50-lap $2,500-to-win race on Saturday night.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF NeSMITH SUPER DIRT CAR SERIES RACE AT PENTON RACEWAY IN PENTON, AL ON 6/11/10:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN $ WON
1. 1 121 Anthony Burroughs Sheffield, AL $2,000
2. 6 22 William Thomas Phenix City, AL $1,000
3. 7 66k Scott Knowles Lanett, AL $800
4. 4 55 Terrance Nowell Phenix City, AL $600
5. 9 7c Dillon Crim Eastaboga, AL $500
6. 10 55k Ryan King Anniston, AL $450
7. 3 0 Craig Scott Newnan, GA $400
8. 2 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA $350
9. 5 44 Virgil Taylor Clanton, AL $300
10. 13 55t Duane Treadwell LaGrange, GA $250
11. 14 7x Chris Arnett Opelika, AL $200
12. 8 52 Marc Gooden Lafayette, AL $190
13. 11 18 Matt Dooley Fayetteville, GA $180
14. 15 7 Roger Arnett Opelika, AL $170
15. 12 28 Josh Atkins Talladega, AL DNS
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