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Roby Helm
COLUMBUS, Miss. (August 1) - Johnny Stokes of Columbus, MS drove the TJC Mortgage/Maximum Signs and Graphics to his first career NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series victory Sunday night at Magnolia Motor Speedway in the 40-lap main event that was one of the most exciting, and hottest races in series history.
Race fans that braved triple digit temperatures were treated to three and four wide racing, as single file nose-to-tail competition was nowhere to be found on the 3/8-mile clay surface known as "Black Ice." But that did nothing to chill the race time temperature of 102 degrees with a heat index of 118 degrees.
It was difficult for those that witnessed the event to keep up with all of the action that was as hot as the temperature. While the leaders raced three-wide, there was four-wide racing, and even seven-wide racing at one point, throughout the field.
Stokes held off the defending NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National Champion and current point leader Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS driving the 78 Towing and Recovery Victory Circle by .196 seconds in a side-by-side finish.
Stokes took the lead on lap 28 after early race leader Justin McRee of Tuscaloosa, AL lost a driveshaft under his Century Dedicated, Inc. Trak-Star. "J-Mac" had a big lead before his misfortune, and was the only driver on the track not battling wheel-to-wheel for position. McRee was the obvious Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award recipient.
Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA ran up front all night long, and led for three laps early in the race driving the Turner Excavating DWB, before having to settle for third at the checkered flag. Stokes, Cooley and Turner spent most of the race battling three wide for second, and then for the lead after McRee dropped out.
Stokes ran the high side late in the race with Turner in the middle, and Cooley taking the short way around on the bottom of the track. Stokes and Cooley broke free of Turner with two laps to go, and Cooley began to try and set Stokes up for the "slide job" where he would dive to the bottom of the track and then slide up in front of Stokes.
Cooley made an unsuccessful try on lap 39, but he got a better run going down the backstretch on lap 40. Cooley dove to the inside, and appeared to have Stokes cleared coming off the fourth turn to the checkered flag. Stokes, however, had a lot of momentum coming off the high side of turn four, and stayed alongside Cooley down the front stretch.
Cooley had to slow his momentum just enough to keep from running into Stokes on his right, and that's all Stokes needed to inch ahead at the start-finish line and take the win by less than a half a car-length.
"I'm about dead after three straight nights of racing, and traveling back and forth from Greenville to work on the track here," an exhausted Stokes said after climbing out of his race car in Victory Lane. Stokes raced on Friday and Saturday nights in NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National Touring action at Greenville Speedway in Greenville, MS, 150 miles from "The Mag."
The back-and-forth travel had to do with Stokes' duties as the Magnolia Motor Speedway promoter and preparing the racing surface. "Dr. Dirt" prepared a race track that everyone liked, both those driving on it, and those watching from the grandstands.
Jamie Tollison of Kosciusko, MS took the fourth spot in the Tollison's Auto Repair Trak-Star, and first heat race winner Jeremy Shaw of Millport, AL was fifth in the Shaw Racing Trak-Star. The 2008 NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National Champion Chip Brindle of Chatsworth, GA drove the Bryson Motorsports Pro 1 by Brindle to a sixth-place finish.
Brindle was the fast qualifier with a lap in 15.864 seconds to earn the pole position for the main, while Cooley was the second quick qualifier, and started on the outside of the front row.
Second 12-lap heat race winner Chris Ragan of Ramer, TN was seventh in the Southeastern Ag Transport Trak-Star, and Shannon Lee of Lumberton, MS started 17th and finish eighth in the Billy Riels Racing DWB to earn the GM Performance Parts Hard Charger Award.
Lee was also the VP Racing Fuels Rookie of the Race. Shay Knight of Ethelsville, MS finished ninth in the Dunn's Autos Mastersbilt, and Rodney Wing of Meridian, MS rounded out the top ten in the G&M Trucking GRT.
The three and four-wide racing began at the drop of the green flag, as McRee and Turner came from the third and fourth starting spots respectively to take the lead and second positions respectively on lap one with Brindle, Cooley, and Wing following.
Turner got to the inside of McRee on lap two to take the lead, but McRee sailed back around the outside of Turner on lap five to take the point. Stokes raced his way from the seventh starting spot to move up to third by lap six. Stokes got to the inside of Turner on lap nine to take over the second spot.
The first of four caution flags came out on lap ten when Kevin Henderson of Cottondale, AL cut down a left rear tire on the Century Dedicated, Inc. Trak-Star. McRee led Stokes, Turner, Cooley, Tollison, Wing, Brindle, Knight, Shaw, and Marcus Minga of Shannon, MS in the B&M Salvage Rocket down for the restart. Stokes chose the inside for the "Delaware-Style" double file restart.
When the field went green, Cooley got under Turner for the third spot, but once Turner got wound up on the outside, he blew past Cooley to retake the position on lap 14, and drove around the outside of Stokes on lap 19 to take over the second spot. Stokes was up to the challenge, and he got back around Turner for second on lap 20.
McRee began to open up a lead over Stokes, Turner and Cooley, as they battled for the second spot. Just as the leader began to lap the cars on the tail of the lead lap, McRee's teammate Charlie Henderson of Cottondale, AL spun his Century Dedicated, Inc. Mastersbilt in turn four on lap 24, right in front of McRee, who just missed a big crash.
The third caution flag came out on the restart when Minga spun in turn four, collecting the cars of Charlie Henderson, Chris McElhenney of Lake, MS in the G&M Trucking Trak-Star and Michael Blount of Sumrall, MS in the Lamar Auto Salvage Trak-Star. McRee led Stokes, Turner, Cooley, Shaw, Tollison, Wing, Knight and Ragan down for the restart.
This time, Stokes chose the outside for the double-file restart, and the three wide battle for second was on. McRee pulled away in the lead, but Stokes now powered on up high on the track with Turner in the middle groove, and Cooley made it a three-way dance by running on the bottom.
The three-wide battle for the second spot, suddenly became the battle for the lead on lap 27 when McRee slowed in turn three with the broken driveshaft to bring out the fourth and final caution flag. Now Stokes was out in front by himself for the double-file restart with 13 laps to go, and Turner chose the outside.
Behind the front trio, the action was also hot and heavy among the next seven drivers, who at one point before the caution flag came out were racing seven wide. Shaw lined up fourth followed by Knight, Brindle, Lee, Wing, Tollison, and Ragan. When green bulb flashed on, everybody from front to back in the field busted out three and four-wide.
Cooley got by Turner for the second spot, but that was just at the start finish line where cars are scored electronically on each lap. Stokes on the outside, Turner in the middle, and Cooley on the bottom swapped positions several times on each lap. With three laps to go, it was down to Stokes and Cooley to decide who was going to collect the $2,000 top prize.
On lap 49, Cooley had a run on Stokes going down the backstretch, but his momentum was slowed by a lapped car. Cooley reloaded for another shot on Stokes during the final lap of the race. He threw the slider on the leader in turns one and two, and it failed. Cooley still got another run on Stokes going down the backstretch.
As the lead duo entered turn three, Cooley dove under Stokes, passed him, and was about to attempt to slide up in front of him coming off the fourth turn. Stokes had enough head of steam coming off the high side of turn four to stay alongside Cooley as he slid up the race track, with Stokes just edging Cooley at the checkered flag.
Turner was entrenched in the third spot, but behind the leaders, the battle for fourth was just as intense as the battle for the lead. Tollison rallied from ninth to fourth in the closing laps of the race, followed by Shaw, Brindle, Ragan, Lee, Knight and Wing.
The next event for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour will be the Annual Labor Day Weekend Special at Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, MS with a two-day event on September 3-4 highlighted with a $5,000-to-win 75-lap main event. The series will return to Magnolia Motor Speedway on September 5 during the three-day holiday weekend, racing 40 laps for $2,000-to-win.
For more information about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series visit the series web site at www.nesmithracing.com, or visit the series on Facebook at NeSmith Racing. Becoming a fan of the NeSmith Racing Facebook page will make you eligible for special prizes that will be given away each month.
OFFICIAL FINISH OF ROUND 18 AT MAGNOLIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY IN COLUMBUS, MS ON 8/1/10:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 7 1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS 40 $2,000
2. 2 33c Eric Cooley Fulton, MS 40 $1,100
3. 4 77 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 40 $700
4. 6 327 Jamie Tollison Kosciusko, MS 40 $550
5. 11 1s Jeremy Shaw Millport, AL 40 $500
6. 1 38c Chip Brindle Chatsworth, GA 40 $425
7. 12 C16 Chris Ragan Ramer, TN 40 $375
8. 17 47 Shannon Lee (R) Lumberton, MS 40 $450
9. 13 3 Shay Knight Ethelsville, MS 40 $325
10. 5 28w Rodney Wing Meridian, MS 40 $300
11. 19 1h Jason Hiett Lincoln, AL 40 $275
12. 9 27 Larry Harrod (R) Plains, GA 40 $250
13. 14 25b Jay Burchfield (R) Columbus, MS 40 $225
14. 16 73 Evan Ellis (R) Plantersville, MS 40 $200
15. 15 55 Terrance Nowell Phenix City, AL 40 $175
16. 10 18 Chase Edge Lafayette, AL 40 $150
17. 20 24 Mark Tice (R) Avon, MS 40 $140
18. 24 28 Chris McElhenney Lake, MS 40 $125
19. 8 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS 40 $125
20. 18 4 Kevin Henderson Cottondale, AL 40 $125
21. 20 121 Michael Blount (R) Sumrall, MS 35 $125
22. 3 25 Justin McRee Tuscaloosa, AL 27 $125
23. 23 88 Charlie Henderson (R) Cottondale, AL 27 $125
24. 21 16 Tim Staples Pell City, AL 1 $125
ENTRIES: 28
FAST QUALIFIER: Brindle, 15.864 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: Henderson and McElhenney
LEAD CHANGES: 3
LAP LEADERS: McRee, 1; Turner, 2-4; McRee, 5-27; Stokes, 28-40
LAPS LED: McRee, 24; Stokes, 13; Turner, 3
VP RACING FUELS ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Lee
GM PERFORMANCE PARTS HARD CHARGER: Lee (started 17th and finished 8th)
DOMINATOR RACE PRODUCTS HARD LUCK AWARD: McRee
RACE CAR ENGINEERING 5TH-PLACE AWARD: Shaw
KRC 6TH-PLACE AWARD: Brindle
JOE GIBBS DRIVEN 7TH-PLACE AWARD: Ragan
RACE CAR ENGINEERING 8TH-PLACE AWARD: Lee
MAXIMUM SIGNS AND GRAPHICS 9TH-PLACE AWARD: Knight
KRC 10TH-PLACE AWARD: Wing
MIKE'S CUSTOM TANKS 11TH-PLACE AWARD: Hiett
SHORTY'S SHOCK SERVICE 12TH-PLACE AWARD: Harrod
CAUTIONS: 4
MARGIN OF VICTORY: .196 Seconds
TIME OF THE RACE: 30 Minutes and 42.048 Seconds
HEAT RACES (12 Laps - Top 6 Transfer To Main Event):
1ST HEAT: 1. Shaw; 2. Knight; 3. Nowell; 4. Lee (R); 5. Hiett; 6. Staples; 7. King; 8. McElhenney; 9. Lawson.
2ND HEAT: 1. Ragan; 2. Burchfield (R); 3. Ellis (R); 4. K. Henderson; 5. Blount (R); 6. Tice (R); 7. McCool; 8. C. Henderson (R); 9. Keeton DNS.
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