Friday night’s double points events at Five Flags Speedway started off with Super Stock points leader Chris Cotto crashing in the first turn of the first lap of the first heat race. At the other end of the evening’s racing card, Bomber division contender, James Kimbrough grabbed the lead on the last lap of the last feature event to claim the victory and points advantage.
Sandwiched in between was some heated racing with all the drivers vying for the extra points awarded for the 2006 point series. With one race left in the regular season for all classes except the Bombers, every extra point was being battled for. The popular Bombers have two more regular season events.
Shannon Jackson walked away from Friday’s Super Stock feature with a 49-point advantage after Cotto’s heat race mishap. The Pascagoula, MS driver won his sixth feature of the year after entering the evening one point in arrears of Cotto.
He looks like the favorite to claim the title after the Saturday, September 30th Season Championship Race. Jackson started on the pole for the 25-lap race and jumped into the lead before being passed by former track champ Jessie Reid. Cotto charged from his 14th starting position to 6th by the end of lap two in his backup machine.
Unfortunately for the Milton native, that was as far as he was able to advance. Jackson reclaimed the lead on the 11th lap and held off a stiff challenge from Gary Sutton for the win. Robert Royce maintained third place in the points, holding off Reid for the final podium position.
In the most exciting race of the night, James Kimbrough, who won’t be old enough to hold a driver’s license for a year, shredded through the pack after starting 12th to claim the Bomber victory over Michael Kitchen. On the 10th lap, Kimbrough made a bold move around David Holland and Pete Kitchen to challenge the leader.
Reeling in Michael Kitchen who had lead since the 5th lap, the speedy teenager took the lead in the second turn and held on for a ½ car-length victory. Third-place finisher and defending division titleholder, David Holland was disqualified after the race because he refused another competitor’s claim on his car.
This moved him from the top of the leader board to third behind Kimbrough and Pete Kitchen who was moved up to 3rd after the disqualification. The Bombers will run again on Saturday, September 30 and have their Season Championship Race on October 3.
FIVE FLAGS SPEEDWAY RESULTS -9/15/06
PRO LATE MODEL FEATURE (40 Laps)- 1. Steven Davis 2. Andy Pugh 3.Dale Little 4. Sammy McMullen 5. Keith Thorpe 6. Brandon Carlson 7. Mike Williamson 8. Scott Smotherman 9. Keith English 10. Eddie Craig Sr. 11. Shannon Jackson 12. Ron Joiner 13. Phillip Grisoffi 14.Junior Niedecken 15. Rene West SUPER STOCK HEAT #1 - 1. Robert Royce 2. Freddie Tanner 3. Mike Murphy 4. Tim Goldsby 5.Ronnie Joiner SUPER STOCK HEAT #2 - 1.Jessie Reid 2. Shannon Jackson 3. Brandon Harris 4. Gary Sutton 5. Earl Polk SUPER STOCK FEATURE (25 Laps) - 1. Shannon Jackson 2. Gary Sutton 3. Robert Royce 4. Jessie Reid 5. Mike Murphy 6. Chris Cotto 7. Mike Moore 8. Earl Polk 9. Joe Mahuron 10. Ronnie Joiner 11. Howard Langham 12. Freddie Tanner 13. Tim Goldsby 14. Brandon Harris 15. Steve Campbell SPORTSMEN HEAT #1 - 1.Billy Hoover 2. Bo Resmondo 3.Mike Austin 4. Charles English 5. Kenny Hatcher SPORTSMEN HEAT #2 - 1. Randy Thompson 2. David Poole 3. Gary Robinson 4. Jim Pokrant 5. Jeremy Tassin SPORTSMEN FEATURE (20 Laps) - 1. Billy Hoover 2. Randy Thompson 3. Mike Austin 4. Bo Resmondo 5. Gary Robinson 6. Jim Pokrant 7. David Poole 8. Jeremy Tassin 9. William Kitchen 10. Tina Davidson 11. Joey Fountain 12. Chris Palmer 13. Randall Grisaffi 14. Kenny Hatcher 15. Charles English 16. Thomas Faddis 17. Matt Miley BOMBER HEAT #1 - 1. Brad Bodree 2. Brannon Fowler 3. James Kimbrough 4. Wesley King 5. Tim McIntosh BOMBER HEAT #2 - 1. Mike Kitchen 2. Nathan Sapp 3. Tony Mandel 4. Joel Leslie Jr. 5. Shannon Warren BOMBER HEAT #3 - 1. Pete Kitchen 2. David Holland 3. Jonathan Day 4. Dayton Sidner 5. Danny Burns BOMBER FEATURE (15 Laps) - 1. James Kimbrough 2. Michael Kitchen 3. Pete Kitchen 4. Jonathan Day 5. Brannon Fowler 6. Dayton Sidner 7. Tony Mandel 8. Sam Mellema 9. Joel Lesley Jr. 10. Robert Kanning 11. Danny Burns 12. Shannon Warren 13. Lowell Mengel 14. Wesley King 15. Tim McIntosh 16. Ricky Teevan 17. Michael Johnson 18. Andy Duke 19. Nathan Sapp 20. Brad Bodree 21. Joe Lesley 22. Micah Leopard 23.David Holland DQ
