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Roby Helm
WINONA, Miss. (May 8) - Chris Ragan of Ramer, TN won the Mid-State Nationals 50 presented by Kirk Auto Group on Saturday night for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour at Central Mississippi Speedway driving the Southeastern Ag Transport Trak-Star. Ragan led on two different occasions, and took the lead for good on lap 31 from Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS.
Ragan made it a "clean sweep" after also being the fast qualifier with a lap around the ¼-mile clay oval in 14.798 seconds. Ragan led the first 24 laps of the race before being passed by Cooley, who led the next six laps.
Larry Harrod of Plains, GA finished second in the Harrod Logging Scorpion, almost one second behind Ragan at the checkered flag, and was the VP Racing Fuels Rookie of the Race. Cooley, the defending NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion, settled for third in the 78 Towing and Recovery Victory Circle.
Cooley was collected by a lapped car while leading the race in turn two on lap 30. Cooley was able to continue and restart as the leader, but the front end of his race car suffered enough damage to cause him to lose the lead to Ragan.
A third-place finish for Cooley enabled him to extend his NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National Tour point lead to 52 points over Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA. Turner was involved in a lap 14 multi-car pile-up on the front straightaway, and ended up finishing 19th in the Turner Excavating DWB. Turner was the recipient of the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award.
Justin McRee of Cuba, AL took the fourth spot in the Century Dedicated, Inc. Trak-Star, coming from the back of the pack after an early-race pit stop. Wesley Greene of Winona, MS grabbed the Race Car Engineering Fifth-Place Award in the Transport Service Center Trak-Star after starting 15th and improving ten spots to earn the GM Performance Parts Hard Charger of the Race Award.
Jay Burchfield of Columbus, MS claimed the KRC Sixth-Place Award in the Burchfield's Body Shop Mastersbilt, and Chris McElhenney of Lake, MS picked up the Joe Gibbs Driven Oil Seventh-Place Award in the G&M Trucking Trak-Star after recovering from an early race spin. Michael Blount of Sumrall, MS was the Race Car Engineering Eighth-Place Award winner in the Lamar Auto Salvage Trak-Star.
Defending NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Track Champion Randall Beckwith of Kilmichael, MS took the Maximum Signs and Graphics Ninth-Place Award in the Beckwith Forestry Rocket, and Kevin Henderson of Cottondale, AL was the KRC Tenth-Place Award winner in the Century Dedicated, Inc. Trak-Star.
Jason Michau of Kilmichael, MS claimed the Mike's Custom Tanks 11th-Place Award in the Michau Logging Warrior, and VP Racing Fuels Rookie of the Year point leader Charlie Henderson of Cottondale, AL won the Shorty's Shock Service 12th-Place Award in the Century Dedicated, Inc. Mastersbilt.
Ragan took the lead at the drop of the green flag followed by Harrod, Turner, McElhenney and Charlie Henderson. Cooley and Johnny Stokes of Columbus, MS in the TJC Mortgage/Maximum Signs and Graphics Mastersbilt passed Charlie Henderson for the fifth and sixth spots respectively on lap eight. Ragan had reached lapped traffic by lap ten.
Cooley went to the outside around the lapped traffic, and moved up to the third spot on lap 12, just before the first caution flag came out on lap 14 when a lapped car suddenly slowed in front of Turner causing a multi-car pile-up on the front straightaway.
Turner drove under the lapped B&M Salvage Rocket of Marcus Minga of Shannon, MS, and Stokes drove under Turner. Charlie Henderson and Blount were also collected in the accident that brought out the red flag. The cars Turner and Stokes were towed to the pit area, while Minga, Charlie Henderson, and Blount were able to continue. Turner returned to the track later in the race several laps down after making repairs.
On the restart, McElhenney spun in turn four while running fourth, and the field lined up again for another double-file restart with Ragan leading Harrod, Cooley, Charlie Henderson, Kyle Berry of Portageville, MO in the Black Mountain GRT, Shannon Lee of Lumberton, MS in the Billy Riels Racing GRT, Blount, Burchfield, Michau, and Greene.
Cooley got by Harrod for the second spot on the restart, and Berry got by Charlie Henderson for the fourth spot. Lee stalled in turn two on lap 16 with an ignition problem to bring out the caution flag. Ragan led Cooley, Harrod, Berry, Burchfield, Greene, Shay Knight of Ethelsville, MS in the Dunn's Autos Mastersbilt, Michau, and Kevin Henderson down for the restart.
Two drivers were making big moves after the field went green, as Greene moved into the top five by lap 17, and McRee raced from 11th to sixth by lap 18. Michau spun in turn four while running tenth on lap 21 to bring out the fourth caution flag of the race.
After the restart, Cooley began to put pressure on Ragan to make a challenge for the lead. Cooley was able to get underneath Ragan on lap 25 to take the lead coming off the fourth turn. Harrod also got inside Ragan in turn two on lap 27 to take over the second spot.
While Cooley was able to begin pulling away from Ragan, he began to encounter lapped traffic. As Cooley rolled into turn two, the lapped North Central MS Logging Mastersbilt of Mike Campbell of Grenada, MS spin right in front of the race leader. Cooley had nowhere to go and t-boned Campbell's car.
Campbell was charged with the caution flag and Cooley was able to restart as the leader despite front end damage to his race car. Ragan came back to life on the restart, as he went to the outside groove and passed Harrod for the second spot. Kevin Henderson spun in turn four on lap 31 to bring out the caution flag.
When the field went back to green flag action, Ragan once again climbed the banking to run the outside groove, and powered around Cooley to take the lead coming off the fourth turn on lap 31. The next few laps saw Ragan open up a several car-length lead while Cooley and Harrod battled side-by-side for the second position, and Greene and McRee raced for the fourth spot.
Harrod took over the second spot from Cooley on lap 40, and was able to close in on Ragan after the ninth and final caution flag of the race came out on lap 43 when Charlie Henderson spun in turn two. Ragan pulled away at the drop of the green flag, and Harrod was not able to mount a challenge for the lead in the final eight laps of the race.
The next three events for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series will be on Memorial Day Weekend with a 40-lap $2,000-to-win race on May 28 at Penton Raceway in Penton, AL, a 50-lap $2,500-to-win race on May 29 at East Alabama Motor Speedway in Phenix City, AL, and a 40-lap $2,000-to-win race on May 30 at New Senoia Raceway in Senoia, GA.
The two races at Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, MS that were originally scheduled for May 14 and May 15 have been postponed due to scheduling conflicts, and rescheduled for June 25 and June 26.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 8 AT CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI SPEEDWAY IN WINONA, MS ON 5/8/10:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 1 c16 Chris Ragan Ramer, TN 50 $2,500
2. 2 27 Larry Harrod (R) Plains, GA 50 $1,250
3. 8 33c Eric Cooley Fulton, MS 50 $950
4. 13 25 Justin McRee Cuba, AL 50 $700
5. 15 95 Wesley Greene Winona, MS 50 $750
6. 7 25b Jay Burchfield (R) Columbus, MS 50 $550
7. 6 28 Chris McElhenney Lake, MS 50 $500
8. 11 121 Michael Blount (R) Sumrall, MS 50 $450
9. 19 84 Randall Beckwith Kilmichael, MS 50 $400
10. 18 4 Kevin Henderson Cottondale, AL 50 $375
11. 14 88j Jason Michau Kilmichael, MS 50 $350
12. 4 88 Charlie Henderson (R) Cottondale, AL 50 $300
13. 22 7 Eric Carr Bruce, MS 49 $280
14. 20 T9 Troy Dixon (R) Temple, GA 49 $260
15. 16 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS 49 $250
16. 9 00 Kyle Berry Portageville, MO 42 $240
17. 12 3 Shay Knight Ethelsville, MS 35 $220
18. 21 22 Mike Campbell Grenada, MS 31 $200
19. 3 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 30 $200
20. 5 47 Shannon Lee (R) Lumberton, MS 15 $200
21. 10 1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS 13 $200
22. 23 D7 Jerry Inmon Bruce, MS 8 $200
23. 17 327 Jamie Tollison Kosciusko, MS 7 $200
ENTRIES: 23
FAST QUALIFIER: Ragan, 14.798 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: None
LEAD CHANGES: 2
LAP LEADERS: Ragan, 1-24; Cooley, 25-30; Ragan, 31-50
LAPS LED: Ragan, 44; Cooley, 6
VP RACING FUELS ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Harrod
GM PERFORMANCE PARTS HARD CHARGER: Greene (started 15th and finished 5th)
DOMINATOR RACE PRODUCTS HARD LUCK AWARD: Turner
RACE CAR ENGINEERING FIFTH-PLACE AWARD: Greene
KRC SIXTH-PLACE AWARD: Burchfield
JOE GIBBS DRIVEN OIL SEVENTH-PLACE AWARD: McElhenney
RACE CAR ENGINEERING EIGHTH-PLACE AWARD: Blount
MAXIMUM SIGNS AND GRAPHICS NINTH-PLACE AWARD: Beckwith
KRC TENTH-PLACE AWARD: K. Henderson
MIKE'S CUSTOM TANKS 11TH-PLACE AWARD: Michau
SHORTY'S SHOCK SERVICE 12TH-PLACE AWARD: C. Henderson
CAUTIONS: 9 (One Red Flag)
MARGIN OF VICTORY: .992 Seconds
TIME OF THE RACE: 1 Hour, 17 Minutes and 55.240 Seconds
QUALIFYING:
POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS LAP 1 LAP 2 TIME
1 c16 Chris Ragan Ramer, TN Trak Star 14.993 14.798 14.798
2 27 Larry Harrod - R Plains, GA Scorpion 14.988 14.874 14.874
3 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA DWB 14.940 14.931 14.931
4 88 Charlie Henderson - R Cottondale, AL Mastersbilt 14.955 14.951 14.951
5 47 Shannon Lee - R Lumberton, MS GRT 15.242 15.053 15.053
6 28 Chris McElhenney Lake, MS Trak Star 15.492 15.112 15.112
7 25b Jay Burchfield - R Columbus, MS Mastersbilt 15.312 15.150 15.150
8 1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS Mastersbilt 15.266 15.178 15.178
9 327j Jamie Tollison Kosciusko, MS Trak Star 15.339 15.212 15.212
10 33c Eric Cooley Fulton, MS Victory Circle 15.225 15.270 15.225
11 121 Michael Blount - R Sumrall, MS Trak Star 15.302 15.428 15.302
12 3 Shay Knight Ethelsville, MS Mastersbilt 15.477 15.307 15.307
13 25 Justin McRee Cuba, AL Trak Star 15.309 15.562 15.309
14 7 Eric Carr Bruce, MS Mastersbilt 15.517 15.320 15.320
15 95 Wesley Greene Winona, MS Trak Star 15.440 15.387 15.387
16 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS Rocket 15.389 15.661 15.389
17 00 Kyle Berry Portageville, MO GRT 15.501 15.506 15.501
18 4 Kevin Henderson Cottondale, AL Trak Star 15.565 16.157 15.565
19 84 Randall Beckwith Kilmichael, MS Rocket 15.567 15.594 15.567
20 88J Jason Michau Kilmichael, MS Warrior 15.576 15.901 15.576
21 22 Mike Campbell Grenada, MS Mastersbilt 16.230 15.722 15.722
22 T9 Troy Dixon - R Temple, GA Mastersbilt 15.884 16.089 15.884
23 D7 Jerry Inmon Bruce, MS Larry Shaw NT NT NT
HEAT RACES (10 Laps):
1ST HEAT: 1. Burchfield (R); 2. Berry; 3. Blount (R); 4. McRee; 5. Greene; 6. Tollison; 7. Beckwith; 8. Campbell; 9. Inmon DNS.
2ND HEAT: 1. Cooley; 2. Stokes; 3. Knight; 4. Michau; 5. Minga; 6. K. Henderson; 7. Dixon (R); 8. Carr.
NeSMITH CHEVROLET DIRT LATE MODEL SERIES NATIONAL SERIES NATIONAL POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 5/8/10:
1. 33c Eric Cooley - 730
2. 10 Matthew Turner - 678
3. 25 Justin McRee - 636
4. 88 Charlie Henderson (R) - 608
5. 47 Shannon Lee (R) - 576
6. 28 Chris McElhenney - 562
7. 19 Marcus Minga - 542
8. 27 Larry Harrod (R) - 530
9. 121 Michael Blount (R) - 488
10. 25b Jay Burchfield (R) - 448
11. 1 Johnny Stokes - 408
12. 72 Frank Wilson (R) - 326
13. c16 Chris Ragan - 316
14. 116 Randy Weaver - 296
15. B69 Bryan Bernhardt - 282
16. 18 Ronny Lee Hollingsworth - 280
17. 22 William Thomas - 272
18. 33 Jeff Mathews - 268
19. 73 Evan Ellis (R) - 266
20. 2h Shane Hitt - 256
R - Denotes VP Racing Fuels Rookie of the Year Candidate
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