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Robert Walden
BULLS GAP, Tenn. (July 10) - The largest crowd of the season packed the stands Saturday at Volunteer Speedway for Fan Appreciation Night sponsored by East Tennessee Masonry of Kingsport along with Putt-Putt Golf of Kingsport and Bristol, and with on-track activities allowing fans the opportunity to go down on the front straightaway and into the infield pits to meet drivers' before the night's racing action got started, all fans came away with smiles on their faces and all kinds of "goodies" courtesy of the drivers/race teams. Wayne Estes from Bristol Motor Speedway was present with the pace car and he gave away BMS merchandise and also race tickets to the upcoming August NASCAR Sprint Cup Series IRWIN Tools Night Race 500, NASCAR Nationwide Series Food City 250, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Whelen Modified events.
Jeff Maupin of Greeneville captured his third Super Late Model feature win of the season, while Kingsport's Keith Helton recorded his first-ever Fastrak Racing Series-sanctioned Pro (Crate) Late Model victory, with Dustin Shaver of Morristown winning his third Hobby Stock feature.
Mark Douglas toured the high banks at 12.455-seconds (115.620 mph) to earn the pole position for the Super Late Model main event, with Maupin second-quickest to nail down the outside front-row starting spot for the 30-lap feature.
Maupin, the 2008 Super Late Model track champion, jumped into the lead over Douglas racing off turn two on the opening lap and never looked back, even though in the early going he was pressured by Douglas for the point. But once Douglas dropped out of the race after breaking the rear j-bar on his car, it was clear sailing out front for Maupin, as he drove the Creative Concrete/Tolliver Heating & Cooling/Keizer Aluminum Wheels Inc./Allstar Performance/Ohlins/K&N Filters/PRC Radiators/Redhorse Performance/Dart Blocks/O'Reilly Auto Parts/Simpson/Primetime Designs - "Get Wrapped!" Race Car Body Wraps/American Race Tire South/GRT Race Cars/Vic Hill Racing Engines/No. 0 Chevrolet Impala, to his third victory and in the process greatly extended his divisional points lead over his closest challengers.
Finishing behind Maupin, were John Tweed, Robby Moses, Douglas and Mike Smith.
Action was fast-and-furious in the 25-lap Pro (Crate) Late Model feature, with plenty of excitement. And it all began on the first attempt to get the race started as pole-sitter Jensen Ford tangled with outside front-row starter Jerry Broyles. With the duo accelerating coming off the fourth turn as the green flag waved, at the flagstand Ford got up against Broyles and came across the nose (front-end) of Broyles into the outer wall to quickly bring caution out. Ford's mount received no significant damage and he returned to his pole starting spot for another attempt to begin the race.
The second try to start the race saw Ford and Broyles race side-by-side down the front straightaway into the first turn. Ford and Broyles traded paint, with Ford sliding up in front of Broyles between (turns) one and two. As they raced off the corner both drivers were wanting to win the race on the first lap apparently, racing hard and not giving each other any ground … especially following the altercation on the first attempt to go green.
Broyles looked to the inside of Ford trying to get back around and contact was made … thus resulting in a wild crash on the backstretch with Broyles flipping, and collecting the cars of Dale Ball, Tim Byrd, Jackie Hughes, and Ricky Moore, with all sustaining damage. The red flag immediately waved and emergency and track personnel were quickly on the scene, and to cheers from the crowd all drivers involved were able to climb from their badly damaged cars.
With the race finally under green, Helton, driving the Putt-Putt Golf of Kingsport and Bristol/Estes Construction/C.J. Rayburn Race Cars/No. 5 Chevrolet Impala, grabbed the lead over Todd Brooks and it quickly appeared the race would be Helton's "to lose." Making just the seventh Pro (Crate) Late Model start of his rookie season after winning several races around the East Tennessee region over the past five seasons competing in the Front Wheel Drive division, Helton ran a mistake-free race and would not be denied his first-ever visit to victory lane as he held off Brooks, Forrest Trent, Eddie Morris and Brent Hensley for the win.
Jesse Helton, the 2007 Hobby Stock track champion, served notice to his fellow competitors during qualifying that he would be a force to be reckoned with come feature time after setting fast-time at 15.725-seconds (91-574 mph). But his joyous moment proved to be short-lived once his car developed fuel pump problems back in the pits during pre-race preparations and he wasn't able to race.
Shaver and Dale Reed led the stellar field of 22 Hobby Stocks to the green flag, with Shaver getting the lead over Shannon Emery, Reed, Jamie Whitt and Chuck Johnson. Whitt, the current divisional points leader, brought the caution out on lap 2 with a spin and he had to tag on at the rear of the field going back green.
While Shaver had his hands full with Emery up front battling for the lead, behind the front-running duo the action was heated among several drivers - including Blake Kelley, Dennis Metcalf, Robbie Woods, Bobby Reed and Roger Hunter. Emery, the 2001 Volunteer Speedway Sportsman division champion and also a former Open Wheel Modified competitor, was looking under Shaver racing off the corners on every lap, only to see Shaver continually slam the door shut on his advances, saw his hopes of victory end just two laps from the finish when the radiator hose busted loose on his car.
Shaver, driving the Tuff-Enuff 4-Wheel Drive Center/Krystal Mills Bros./Lane Sales Power Equipment/Audio Concepts/Morristown Towing & Automotive/Mike Bunch Investments/Westmorland Graphics/No. 7 Monte Carlo, held off Dale Reed for his second consecutive feature win, with Metcalf, Whitt and Woods completing the top five finishers.
There will be no racing at Volunteer Speedway next Saturday, July 17. The next racing program scheduled will be on Friday, July 23 when the Ray Cook-promoted Southern Nationals Series visits for a $5,300-to-win Super Late Model special event, with racing also in the Fastrak Racing Series-sanctioned Pro Late Model and Hobby Stock divisions. For Volunteer Speedway information, call the track (phone recording) at (423) 235-5020 or visit the Web site at www.VolunteerSpeedway.com
SUPER LATE MODEL (30 laps)
1) Jeff Maupin #0; 2) John Tweed #1T; 3) Robby Moses #7; 4) Mark Douglas #52D; 5) Mike Smith #4; 6) Dempsey Harold Jr. #9 - Did Not Start: Tracy Wolfe #12
PRO LATE MODEL (25 laps)
1) Keith Helton #5; 2) Todd Brooks #T1; 3) Forrest Trent #4Q; 4) Eddie Morris #14m; 5) Brent Hensley #70; 6) Jensen Ford #83; 7) Richard Adkins #73; 8) Jackie Hughes #27; 9) Dale Ball #2; 10) Jerry Broyles #72; 11) Tim Byrd #24; 12) Ricky Moore #75
HOBBY STOCK (20 laps)
1) Dustin Shaver #7; 2) Dale Reed #52; 3) Dennis Metcalf #55; 4) Jamie Whitt #1; 5) Robbie Woods #2; 6) Bobby Reed #54; 7) Roger Hunter #7-11; 8) Blake Kelley #K5; 9) Eddie Adams #9; 10) Jesse Wilder #79; 11) Chris Long #75; 12) Shannon Emery #m2; 13) Charlie Bates #27; 14) Patrick Flannery #38; 15) Danny Helton #88; 16) D.J. Litzinger #7D; 17) Chuck Johnson #17; 18) Bud Kelly #B21; 19) Chuck Killian #96; 20) Terry Dean #47; 21) Dustin Heinz #57; 22) Landon Williams #44 - Did Not Start: Jesse Helton #28; Jon Cook #0z
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