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Roby Helm
MERIDIAN, Miss. (June 26) - Justin McRee of Tuscaloosa, AL rode the high line to his first NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Touring victory of the season on Friday night to open the Coca-Cola Nationals in the Dasani Water 40 at Whynot Motorsports Park driving the Century Dedicated, Inc. Trak-Star.
McRee led a total of 21 laps in an exciting side-by-side duel with Mike Boland of Cuba, AL in The Strength Center Trak-Star. Boland made strong challenges for the point on both the inside and outside grooves, and even led one lap, but McRee got to the checkered flag first, while Boland had to settle for second-place.
Before the field when green on a lap 19 restart, Boland was riding in the second spot with "J-Mac" in third behind the race leader Cliff Williams of Star, MS in the Ware Construction Trak-Star. Boland got to choose the inside or the outside for the double-file restasrt. Boland chose the inside, which put McRee on the outside.
When the green flag came out, McRee passed both Boland and Williams to take the lead. The only thing that brought McRee off the cushion was to move under lapped traffic.
"I lifted my visor up during a caution flag and took a good look at the high side of the track," McRee said. "I saw enough moisture in the clay up there, and the way it worked out, I restarted on the outside, and we were fast up there when the green flag came back out to take the lead."
Larry Murphy of Meridian, MS finished third in the Bo Haarala Autoplex GRT, and 2008 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion Chip Brindle of Chatsworth, GA was fourth in the Bryson Motorsports Mastersbilt. Ronnie Lee Hollingsworth of Northport, AL drove the 78 Towing and Recovery Victory Circle to a fifth-place finish and the Race Car Engineering Fifth-Place Award.
Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA took the KRC Sixth-Place Award in the Turner Excavating DWB, and the defending NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion and current point leader Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS in the 78 Towing and Recovery Victory Circle picked up the Joe Gibbs Driven Oil Seventh-Place Award.
The 2008 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series West Region Champion Jim McDuffie of Meridian, MS started 18th and finished eighth in the H.E. Mosley, Inc. Trak-Star to earn the GM Performance Parts Hard Charger Award and the Race Car Engineering Eighth-Place Award. Johnny Stokes of Columbus, MS was ninth in the TJC Mortgage/Maximum Signs and Graphics Mastersbilt and won the Maximum Signs and Graphics Ninth-Place Award.
Shep Lucas of McKenzie, AL picked up the KRC Tenth-Place Award in the Lucas Farms Trak-Star, and Wesley Green of Winona, MS took the Mike's Custom Tanks 11th-Place Award. Micheal Blount of Sumrall, MS grabbed the Shorty's Shock Service 12th-Place Award in the Lamar Auto Salvage Trak-Star, and was the VP Racing Fuels Rookie of the Race.
Larry Harrod of Plains, GA took the lead at the drop of the green flag to start the race from his outside front row starting spot in the Harrod Logging Scorpion followed by Williams, Boland, McRee and Murphy. Williams kept looking inside Harrod in the opening laps, as the lead duo began to pull away from Boland.
Harrod and Williams began to encounter the cars on the tail of the lead lap by lap 12, and Boland started to reel them in. Hollingsworth passed Murphy for the fifth spot on lap 17. Boland made it a three-car battle for the lead by lap 18, as Harrod tried to put Shannon Lee of Lumberton, MS a lap down.
As Harrod came off the second turn on lap 19, he got into the right-rear of Lee's Billy Riels Racing GRT with his left front. The two cars locked up and they both spun into the back stretch wall. Harrod was forced to the pit area and was done for the night. That earned Harrod the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award.
Williams enheirated the lead followed by Boland, McRee, Hollingsworth, Murphy, Brindle, Turner, Cooley, Randy Boyd of Marion, MS in the Coca-Cola of Meridian Trak-Star, and Stokes. Boland chose the inside for the restart behind Williams, while McRee pulled to the outside of Boland. McRee got busy when the green light fired back up.
McRee drove around the outside of Boland to take the second spot in turn one, and kept his momentum going to pass Williams for the lead coming off the fourth turn. Murphy was on the move, and raced his way up to the third spot on lap 19.
The caution flag came back out on lap 20 , when Wiley Williams of Stonewall, MS in the Robin Jones Logging GRT and Chris Noah of Boaz, AL in the Coosa Heating and Air GRT tangled in turn two. During the caution period, race leader Cliff Williams had a tire go down, and he gave up the second spot to pit. He did not return for the restart.
That moved Murphy back up to the second spot behind McRee followed by Boland, Hollingsworth, Brindle, Turner, Boyd, Stokes and Chris Ragan of Ramer, TN in the Southeastern Ag Trasnsport Trak-Star. Boland threw a slider on Murphy on the restart coming off the fourth turn to retake the second spot.
McRee reached lapped traffic on lap 28 with a two car-length lead over Boland, who quickly made up the deficite by lap 31, as he put presure on McRee for the lead using the bottom of the race track. Boland led lap 32, but McRee got back by for the point on lap 33 and Boland then went to the ouside.
Boland was back down on the inside hub of the track on lap 34, but a debris caution slowed the pack on lap 34 while track officials removed a piece of metal from turn three. McRee led Boland, Murphy, Brindle, Hollingsworth, Turner, Ragan, Stokes, Cooley, and Lucas down for the restart. Brindle and Hollingsworth raced side-by-side for the fourth spot.
Ragan gave up the seventh spot on lap 35 when he stalled in turn three to bring out the fourth and final caution flag of the race. When the field went back to green flag action, Boland could get close to McRee to challenge for the lead, but McRee stayed in front and took a .319 second lead under the checkered flag.
In preliminary action, Cliff Williams out-timed the 38-car field with a lap around the 3/8-mile clay oval in 13.837 seconds to earn the pole position for the main event. The three ten-lap heat races were won by Turner, Brindle and Lucas. Doug Sanchagrin of Florence, MS won the 12-lap B-Main race in the Sanchagrin Racing GRT.
The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series returns to Whynot Motorsports Park on Saturday night for the $2,500-to-win Coca-Cola Classic 50.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 10 AT WHYNOT MOTORSPORTS PARK IN MERIDIAN, MS ON 6/25/10:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 6 25 Justin McRee Tuscaloosa, AL 40 $2,000
2. 4 222 Mike Boland Cuba, AL 40 $1,000
3. 3 27m Larry Murphy Meridian, MS 40 $700
4. 8 21b Chip Brindle Chatsworth, GA ..................... 40 $550
5. 5 33h Ronny Hollingsworth Northport, AL 40 $500
6. 7 77 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 40 $425
7. 12 33c Eric Cooley Fulton, MS ...... 40 $475
8. 18 760 Jim McDuffie Meridian, MS 40 $450
9. 13 1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS 40 $325
10. 9 57 Shep Lucas McKenzie, AL 40 $300
11. 11 95 Wesley Greene Winona, MS 40 $275
12. 14 121 Michael Blount (R) Sumrall, MS 40 $250
13. 15 28 Chris McElhenney Lake, MS 40 $225
14. 21 73 Evan Ellis (R) Plantersville, MS 40 $200
15. 23 88 Charlie Henderson (R) Cottondale, AL 40 $175
16. 10 118 Randy Boyd Marion, MS 40 $150
17. 20 4w Wiley Williams Stonewall, MS 40 $140
18. 19 34 Doug Sanchagrin Florence, MS 39 $125
19. 24 47 Shannon Lee (R) Lumberton, MS 39 $125
20. 16 C16 Chris Ragan Ramer, TN 34 $125
21. 17 48 Tody Ratcliff Meridian, MS 32 $125
22. 1 4 Cliff Williams Star, MS 20 $125
23. 22 14 Chris Noah Boaz, AL 19 $125
24. 2 27 Larry Harrod (R) Plains, GA 18 $125
ENTRIES: 38
FAST QUALIFIER: C. Williams, 13.837 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: C. Henderson and Lee
LEAD CHANGES: 3
LAP LEADERS: Harrod, 1-18; McRee, 19-31; Boland, 32; McRee, 33-40
LAPS LED: McRee, 21; Harrod, 18; Boland, 1
VP RACING FUELS ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Blount
GM PERFORMANCE HARD CHARGER: McDuffie (started 18th and finished 8th)
DOMINATOR RACE PRODUCTS HARD LUCK AWARD: Harrod
RACE CAR ENGINEERING FIFTH-PLACE AWARD: Hollingsworth
KRC SIXTH-PLACE AWARD: Turner
JOE GIBBS DRIVEN OIL SEVENTH-PLACE AWARD: Cooley
RACE CAR ENGINEERING EIGHTH-PLACE AWARD: McDuffie
MAXIMUM SIGNS AND GRAPHICS NINTH-PLACE AWARD: Stokes
KRC TENTH-PLACE AWARD: Lucas
MIKE'S CUSTOM TANKS 11TH-PLACE AWARD: Greene
SHORTY'S SHOCK SERVICE 12TH-PLACE AWARD: Blount
CAUTIONS: 4
MARGIN OF VICTORY: .319 Seconds
TIME OF THE RACE: 29 Minutes and 58.304 Seconds
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