Photo Credit: Speed51.com

Photo Credit: Speed51.com

Scotty Ellis appeared to be on his way to the biggest win of his career, but a late restart resulted in Kyle Grissom visiting a Southern Super Series presented by Sunoco victory lane for the second straight race.

As the field came up through the gear box on a restart with nine laps to go in the FourStar Freightliner 125 presented by PFC Brakes at Crisp Motorsports Park (GA), Ellis missed a shift and Grissom shot to the lead from the bottom lane. After that it was clear sailing for Grissom over the final nine circuits of the Cordele, Georgia speedway.

Grissom started on the front row and led early before Ellis took over for much of the event, but it was the final nine laps that mattered most. And it was the final nine laps that Grissom led.

“I just kind of laid back in the middle and then we started catching cautions,” Grissom said. “Luckily, we got that last restart and were able to get by Scotty. We were able to get out front and stretch our legs, hit my marks and come home with a win.”

The win is Grissom’s second in seven days as he took home the checkers in last week’s Southern Super Series race at Mobile International Speedway in Alabama. The two wins, paired with Grissom’s fifth place run at Five Flags Speedway in Penscacola last Friday, allowed him to pocket the Tri-State Bonus Bucks $1,000 prize.

The win also puts the rest of the series on notice that Grissom will be the car to by beat in the latter half of the 2016 Southern Super Series Presented by Sunoco season.

“Any time you can win two in a row in this Southern Super Series, it says something,” Grissom said. “These guys are the best in the business at racing Super Late Models and we have been able to win two in a row on two completely different race tracks. We are looking forward to going to Montgomery.”

The other side of the story wasn’t nearly as nice for veteran Scotty Ellis.

Ellis has campaigned throughout the South for years searching for that elusive big Super Late Model win. After Saturday, he is left thinking what might have been.

“I’m feeling a lot right now,” Ellis said. “It’s frustrating. I don’t get to race a lot, but we have been getting better. We were a little tight on restarts and it took about 10 laps for us to get going. But in the end, I’m the one to blame, because I missed the restart.”

Zane Smith rounded out the podium in third, with Chandler Smith coming home fourth and Kenzie Ruston fifth.

Round seven of the Southern Super Series will take place at the Montgomery Motor Speedway in Alabama on June 18.

Southern Super Series Press Release.  Photo Credit: Speed51.com

FourStar Freightliner 125 presented by PFC Brakes

Crisp Motorsports Park, Cordele, Georgia

Unofficial Results

  1. 31 – Kyle Grissom
  2. 83 – Scotty Ellis
  3. 77 – Zane Smith
  4. 26 – Chandler Smith
  5. 98 – Kenzie Ruston
  6. 2w – Donnie Wilson
  7. 47 – Chris Fontaine
  8. 14 – Chris Davidson
  9. 12 – Harrison Burton
  10. 15 – Ron Young
  11. 22 – Jordan McCallum
  12. 79 – Kyle Bryant
  13. 97 – Cole Anderson
  14. 4 – Kyle McCallum
  15. 32 – Stuart Dutton