St. Petersburg, FL driver Dwayne Dempsey made his first visit to the Cordele, GA Motor Speedway a winning one as he thoroughly dominated the second event of the new United Promoter's Modified (UPM) Tour Saturday evening.
Although predicted bad weather kept some competitors at home, 22 Open Wheel Modifieds made the trek two hours north of the FL/GA border for the racing action.
Dempsey wasted little time in showing the rest of the competitors he meant business by setting quick time. He then picked a seven for the re-draw, but drew number one, and that found the field starting straight-up from time trials with Dempsey on the pole. The red flag was displayed just after the start when Rick Hall's engine exploded causing quite a scramble that sent several cars to the pits for minor repairs.
Once the track was cleared, Dempsey set sail and led the entire 50-lap distance, slowed only by caution flags for minor problems. The brother duo from Tampa, John and Jeremy Gerstner, were both strong but John had a tire go down while Jeremy suffered from a loose plug wire.
J.F. McClellan kept Dempsey in his sights the entire distance but was never able to mount a significant challenge while Gary Southard came from seventh at the start to grab third. Patrick Williams was fourth with Mike Johnson turning in a good run for fifth. Mike Bennett came from 11th up to sixth while the winner of the inaugural UPM race at Citrus County Speedway, Rob Partelo, was seventh.
Larry Martin, John Foerg, and Mike Wilson completed the top ten. Dempsey takes a five point lead over both McClellan and Partelo into the next UPM tour race March 28th at Ocala Speedway.
For more information on the United Promoters Modified Tour, visit the new website at www.upmtour.com.
OFFICIAL FINISH - UPM MODIFIED TOUR RACE #2 - CORDELE MOTOR SPEEDWAY.
1) Dwayne Dempsey, St. Petersburg #6 2) J.F. McClellan, Starke #01 3) Gary Southard, Bronson #39 4) Patrick Williams, Archer #57 5) Mike Johnson, Tallahassee #19 6) Mike Bennett, High Springs #14 7) Rob Partelo, Tampa #93 8) Larry Martin, Gainesville #07 9) John Foerg, Clermont #1 10) Mike Wilson, Dade City #79 11) John Gerstner, Tampa #77 12) Chris Fadling, St. Leo #29 13) Jeremy Gerstner, Tampa #70 14) Philip Kessler, Brooksville #28 15) Greg Nordstrom, Orange Park #06 16) Monty Morgan, Monticello #46 17) Buddy Kessler, Brooksville #28X 18) Jared Allison, Cocoa #18 19) Greg Slone, Lake City #98 20) Randy Herrick, Monticello #34 21) Rick Hall, Tampa #15 DNS John Kahl, Orange Springs #23
