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Roby Helm
TAMPA, Fla. (February 18) - Devin Dixon of Apollo Beach, FL rode the high line to victory in the Night Hawk Towing Rocket on Thursday night in the 50-lap main event for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series at East Bay Raceway Park. Dixon used the outside groove to pass early race leader Doug Horton of Bruceton Mills, WV to take the lead on lap 44.
Horton was the apparent second-place finisher, but his Adams Used Auto Parts Warrior was disqualified after failing the post-race technical inspection with an unauthorized muffler.
Randy Weaver of Crossville, TN was moved up to the second spot in the Cardinal Paint and Body Custom, and Dixon's teammate Jeff Matthews of Dover, FL finished third in the Night Hawk Towing Warrior. The results of the top three finishers are pending further engine inspection after the three nights of racing concludes on Saturday night.
"The track kept changing throughout the race, and it seemed to come to us the longer the race went," Dixon said. "I've got to thank Jeff Matthews and his crew for giving me an opportunity to drive this car this week."
Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA had to take a provisional and start the race from the 23rd spot. Turner rallied the Turner Excavating DWB to a fourth-place finish and earned the GM Performance Parts Hard Charger of the Race Award. His finish also put him on top of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National point standings with 172 points.
Bryan Bernhardt of Clearwater, FL was the Race Car Engineering Fifth-Place Award winner in the B&B Precision Mowing Rocket, and David Pollen Jr. of Tampa, FL took the KRC Sixth-Place Award in the B&D Trucking Rocket.
Greg Robertson of Waynesboro, VA finished seventh in the Industrial Fabrications Rocket to earn the Joe Gibbs Driven Seventh-Place Award, and Shane Hitt of Buchannon, WV drove the Hitt Enterprises Rocket to the Race Car Engineering Eighth-Place Award.
Chris McElhenney of Lake, MS took the Maximum Signs and Graphics Ninth-Place Award in the G&M Trucking Trak-Star, and the defending NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National Champion Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS rounded out the top ten in the 78 Towing and Recovery Victory Circle to earn the KRC Tenth-Place Award.
Cooley moved up to the second spot in the National points chase with 170 points, and Bernhardt is third with 168 points. Larry Harrod of Plains, GA drove the Harrod Logging Scorpion to an 11th-place finish to earn the Rookie of the Race Award and the Mike's Custom Tanks 11th-Place Award.
Charlie Henderson of Cottondale, AL out-timed the 47 entrants with a lap around the 1/3-mile clay oval in 16.012 seconds in the Century Carriers, Inc. Mastersbilt to earn the pole position for the 50-lap $2,500-to-win main event. Henderson and Weaver brought the field down for the green flag, but the caution flag came out after Travis Varnadore of Dover, FL stopped the L. Miller & Associates Rayburn in turn two to necessitate a complete restart.
When the field came back for the green flag, Horton got to the inside to take the lead from Henderson, who got shuffled back to fifth behind Dixon, Weaver, and Matthews. Pollen and William Thomas of Phenix City, AL in the J.W. Miller Land and Timber Scorpion got by Henderson for the fifth and sixth spot respectively on lap four.
The second caution flag of the race came out on lap four when Thomas stalled in turn three. Horton led Dixon, Matthews, Weaver, and Pollen down for the double-file restart. When the green bulb was lit, Matthews powered around the outside of Dixon for the second spot coming off turn two, and then dove to the inside to throw a slider on Horton to take the lead.
Horton used the counter-move to the slide job with the cross over move in turn four to reclaim the point. As Matthews slid up in front of Horton, Horton then turned hard left and dove under Matthews.
Matthews came back on lap 14 and began to look inside of Horton to make another challenge for the lead. As the lead duo began to encounter lapped traffic on lap 15, Horton was able to put some distance between himself and Matthews. Justin McRee of Cuba, AL moved into the top five on lap 18 driving the Century Carriers, Inc. Trak-Star.
Phillip Cobb of Riverview, FL spun the Mathis Farms Barry Wright in turn two on lap 28 to bring out the fourth caution flag of the race. Horton led Matthews, Dixon, Weaver, McRee, Henderson, Bernhardt, Robertson, Pollen, and McElhenney down for the restart. McRee got by Weaver for the fourth spot on the restart.
Henderson spun in turn four on lap 39 to light up the caution lamp for the fifth time in the race. Dixon got by Matthews for the second spot on the restart, and McRee closed in to race Matthews side-by-side for the third position by lap 42. As they raced into turn one on lap 43, McRee spun, which earned him the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award.
The final caution flag of the race was unfurled, and that set up a wild eight lap dash to the checkered flag. Horton led Dixon, Matthews, Weaver, Bernhardt, Pollen, Robertson, Turner, Hitt, and Cooley down to the green flag.
Dixon took his car to the outside to battle Horton for the lead when the green flag came out. The lead pair raced side-by-side until Dixon took the lead in turn three on lap 44. Matthews, Weaver, and Turner raced three-wide in the final laps to contest what would be the runner up spot. Dixon pulled away from Horton, but a blanket finish for the third, fourth, and fifth would end up Weaver, Matthews and Turner.
In preliminary action, the two 15-lap Heat Races were won by Matthews and McRee. The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour returns to East Bay Raceway Park on Friday night for the second event of a triple-header with a 50-lap $2,500-to-win event.
PENDING RESULTS OF ROUND 2 AT EAST BAY RACEWAY PARK IN TAMPA, FL ON 2/18/10:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 5 33x Devin Dixon Apollo Beach, FL 50 $2,500
2. 2 116 Randy Weaver Crossville, TN 50 $1,250
3. 7 33 Jeff Matthews Dover, FL 50 $850
4. 23 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 50 $800
5. 11 B69 Bryan Bernhardt Clearwater, FL 50 $650
6. 9 88p David Pollen Jr. Tampa, FL 50 $550
7. 12 116r Greg Robertson Waynesboro, VA 50 $500
8. 19 2h Shane Hitt Buchannon, WV 50 $450
9. 8 28 Chris McElhenney Lake, MS 50 $400
10. 16 33c Eric Cooley Fulton, MS 50 $475
11. 18 27 Larry Harrod (R) Plains, GA 50 $350
12. 1 88 Charlie Henderson (R) Cottondale, AL 50 $300
13. 6 18h Ronny Hollingsworth Northport, AL 50 $280
14. 8 25 Justin McRee Cuba, AL 50 $260
15. 24 14 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS 50 $250
16. 17 72 Frank Wilson (R) Harold, FL 49 $240
17. 22 69 Chris Force Indiana, PA 49 $220
18. 14 47 Shannon Lee (R) Lumberton, MS 49 $200
19. 13 101 Keith Nosbisch Valrico, FL 41 $200
20. 15 32 Phillip Cobb Riverview, FL 29 $200
21. 21 141 Travis Varnadore Dover, FL 10 $200
22. 20 12 Jack Nosbisch Jr. Riverview, FL 6 $200
23. 4 22 William Thomas Phenix City, AL 5 $200
24. 3 11 Doug Horton Bruceton Mills, WV 50 DQ
ENTRIES: 47
FAST QUALIFIER: Henderson, 16.012 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: Turner and Minga
LEAD CHANGES: 1
LAP LEADERS: Horton, 1-43; Dixon, 44-50
ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Harrod
GM PERFORMANCE PARTS HARD CHARGER: Turner (started 23rd and finished 5th)
DOMINATOR RACE PRODUCTS HARD LUCK AWARD: McRee
RACE CAR ENGINEERING 5TH-PLACE AWARD: Turner
KRC 6TH-PLACE AWARD: Bernhardt
JOE GIBBS DRIVEN 7TH-PLACE AWARD: Pollen
RACE CAR ENGINEERING 8TH-PLACE AWARD: Robertson
MAXIMUM SIGNS AND GRAPHICS 9TH-PLACE AWARD: Hitt
KRC 10TH-PLACE AWARD: McElhenney
MIKE'S CUSTOM TANKS 11TH-PLACE AWARD: Cooley
CAUTIONS: 6
TIME OF THE RACE: 37 Minutes and 14.258 Seconds
HEAT RACES (15 Laps - Top 8 Transfer To Main Event):
1ST HEAT: 1. Matthews; 2. Pollen; 3. Bernhardt; 4. K. Nosbisch; 5. Cobb; 6. F. Wilson (R); 7. Hitt; 8. Varnadore; 9. Blount (R); 10. B. Force; 11. Hill; 12. Breuer; 13. Cooke; 14. Mosley; 15. Wiggins; 16. Minga; 17. Wadforth; 18. Burchfield (R); 19. Williams; 20. Godfrey; 21. Erskine.
2ND HEAT: 1. McRee; 2. McElhenney; 3. Robertson; 4. Lee (R); 5. Cooley; 6. Harrod; 7. J. Nosbisch; 8. C. Force; 9. Turner; 10. M. Miller; 11. Walters (R); 12. Tice (R); 13. Allen; 14. K. Wilson; 15. T. Dixon; 16. Keller; 17. Courson; 18. Watson; 19. Hines; 20. S. Miller.
QUALIFYING (Top 6 Transfer To Main Event):
POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS LAP 1 LAP 2 TIME
1 88 Charlie Henderson - R Cottondale, AL Mastersbilt 16.101 16.012 16.012
2 116 Randy Weaver Crossville, TN Custom 16.228 16.03 16.03
3 11 Doug Horton Bruceton Mills, WV Warrior 16.177 16.124 16.124
4 22 William Thomas Phenix City, AL Scorpion 16.176 16.17 16.17
5 33x Devin Dixon Apollo Beach, FL Rocket 16.285 16.348 16.285
6 18h Ronny Lee Hollingsworth Northport, AL Mastersbilt 16.307 16.296 16.296
7 88p David Pollen Jr. Tampa, FL Rocket 16.324 16.745 16.324
8 25 Justin McRee Cuba, AL Trak Star 16.367 16.329 16.329
9 101 Keith Nosbisch Valrico, FL Rocket 16.692 16.339 16.339
10 73 Jim Courson Riverview, FL Warrior 16.911 16.381 16.381
11 2h Shane Hitt Buchannon, WV Rocket 16.386 16.411 16.386
12 47 Shannon Lee - R Lumberton, MS GRT 16.62 16.424 16.424
13 33 Jeff Matthews Dover, FL Warrior 16.567 16.481 16.481
14 P19 Paul Walters - R Valley, AL Warrior 16.51 16.713 16.51
15 31 Brian Force Indiana, PA Rocket 16.551 16.533 16.533
16 33c Eric Cooley Fulton, MS Victory Circle 16.707 16.534 16.534
17 B69 Bryan Bernhardt Clearwater, FL Rocket 16.59 16.562 16.562
18 24 Mark Tice - R Avon, MS Trak Star 17.231 16.604 16.604
19 51 Terry Mosley Gilbertown, AL Mastersbilt 16.651 17 16.651
20 8s Steve Miller Tampa, FL Rocket 16.748 16.726 16.726
21 17c Steve Cooke Mount Airy, NC Barry Wright 17.145 16.733 16.733
22 27 Larry Harrod - R Plains, GA Scorpion 16.836 16.746 16.746
23 32c Phillip Cobb Riverview, FL Barry Wright 16.757 16.836 16.757
24 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA DWB 16.804 16.839 16.804
25 24w Dennis Williams Zephyrhills, FL TNT 17.298 16.813 16.813
26 28 Chris McElhenney Lake, MS Trak Star 16.818 16.943 16.818
27 72 Frank Wilson - R Harold, FL Goliath 17.015 16.822 16.822
28 7 Doug Watson Lithia, FL Rocket 16.824 17.414 16.824
29 21b Mitchell Godfrey Crawford, GA Mastersbilt 17.636 16.855 16.855
30 116r Greg Robertson Waynesboro, VA Rocket 16.875 17.151 16.875
31 141 Travis Varnadore Dover, FL Rayburn 16.876 17.745 16.876
32 49 Jeremy Hines Seymour, IN Mastersbilt 16.882 17.168 16.882
33 17b Dan Breuer Troutman, NC Barry Wright 16.891 17.088 16.891
34 8m Matt Miller Tampa, FL Rocket 16.952 17.271 16.952
35 121 Michael Blount - R Sumrall, MS Trak Star 17.534 16.954 16.954
36 12 Jack Nosbisch Jr. Riverview, FL Rocket 17.122 17.046 17.046
37 25b Jay Burchfield - R Columbus, MS Barry Wright 17.187 17.077 17.077
38 21 Mike Allen Oak Hill, WV Rocket 17.459 17.124 17.124
39 14m Marcus Minga Shannon, MS Rocket 17.174 17.404 17.174
40 1* John Keller Grand Island, FL Rocket 17.208 17.181 17.181
41 18 Rod Wiggins Swainsboro, GA Newman 17.332 17.196 17.196
42 32 Troy Dixon Temple, GA Mastersbilt 17.261 17.337 17.261
43 84 Matt Hill Georgetown, DE Warrior 17.549 17.281 17.281
44 *18 Kevin Wilson Stoneville, NC Wilson NT 17.322 17.322
45 75 Frankie Erskine Jr. Lutz, FL TNT 17.448 17.351 17.351
46 69 Chris Force Indiana, PA Rocket 18.139 17.358 17.358
47 40r Ron Wadforth Trenton, ON CAN Rocket 17.535 17.584 17.535
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