Chris Kratzer of Haysville, KS drove the #55 Wichita Tire and Alignment Special to his second straight NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Late Model win of the season on Friday night at Salina Speedway in Salina, KS.  (Salina Speedway Photo)

Chris Kratzer of Haysville, KS drove the #55 Wichita Tire and Alignment Special to his second straight NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Late Model win of the season on Friday night at Salina Speedway in Salina, KS. (Salina Speedway Photo)

CARTERSVILLE, GA – A busy NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 7 schedule of events saw several drivers take big wins and put them in title contention. Shannon Lee of Lumberton, MS continues to lead the point standings, but how strong is his point lead? Beginning this week, we will put the point standings in perspective by looking at Weekly Point Averages.

Lee remains the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series point leader, having accumulated 337 points after two wins, seven top five finishes and ten top ten finishes in ten races over seven weeks of competition. Lee drove the Billy Riels Racing Special to a ninth-place finish on Saturday night at LA 36 Speedway in Lacombe, LA.

Scott Ladner of Lumberton, MS, who is Lee’s teammate in the L&L Performance Trak-Star has moved up to second in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 318 points. Ladner finished fourth on Saturday night at LA 36 Speedway and now has three top five finishes and nine top ten finishes in nine races over seven weeks of competition.

Hunter Lewis of Moss Point, MS has moved up to the third spot in the standings with 306 points after three top five finishes and five top ten finishes in seven races over seven weeks of NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series competition. Lewis drove the T. Lewis Construction Rocket to a 13th-place finish on Friday night to score 41 points at Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, MS.

Tootie Arnold of Meadeville, MS did not compete in Week 7 action and dropped to fourth in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 280 points. Arnold has two wins, four top five finishes, and seven top ten finishes in seven races over six weeks of competition driving the Miss-Lou Mobile Home Movers Trak-Star.

Robbie Starnes of Baytown, TX is fifth in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 277 points after two wins, six top five finishes and eight top ten finishes in eight races over six weeks. Starnes finishes seventh on Friday night at Whynot Motorsports Park in the Lone Star Hydro Maintenance Special.

Doug Sanchagrin of Florence, MS moved up to the sixth spot in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 275 points after a fourth-place finish on Friday night at Whynot Motorsports Park driving the Permanent Exterior Solutions Special. In seven races over six weeks, Sanchagrin has four top five finishes and six top ten finishes.

Nick Gaines of Pearl River, LA drove the Great American Cookies of Slidell Special to a fifth-place finish on Saturday night at LA 36 Speedway. Gaines is seventh in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 257 points after one top five finish and four top ten finishes in six races over six weeks.

Cody Smith of Holt, FL is the man with the hot hand in NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series competition. In five races over five weeks, Smith has four wins in the Smith’s Performance Rocket and the race he didn’t win, he ran second. Smith is eighth in the standings with 249 points after win number four on Saturday night at LA 36 Speedway.

Mike Boland of Cuba, AL drove the Boland Performance Trak-Star to his third NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series win of the season on Friday night at Whynot Motorsports Park. That puts “Iron Mike” in the ninth spot of the standings with 239 points after three wins, five top five finishes and six top ten finishes in six races over five weeks of competition.

Bobby Jordan of McCarley, MS rounds out the top ten in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 235 points after five top five finishes and six top ten finishes in seven races over five weeks. Jordan finished third on Saturday night at Greenville Speedway in Greenville, MS driving the Big Nasty Motorsports Special.

So, that’s the top ten of the point standings after the first seven weeks of NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series competition. With the best 14 weekly finishes counting as a driver’s season total, we can use the Weekly Point Average, or WPA, to determine who is hot and who is not among the top 20 in the point standings that have run five or more weeks.

With four wins and one second in five races, Cody Smith lead the top ten of the WPA list at 49.8 out of a possible 50. Point leader Lee is second with a WPA of 48.14. Boland is third with a WPA of 47.8 and Jordan is fourth with a WPA of 47.

Bryant Marsh of Corinth, MS is fifth on the WPA list at 46.9. The 16-year-old Sunoco Young Guns Challenge Series point leader is 11th in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 234 points. Marsh drove the Modern Woodmen Trak-Star to his second win of the season on Saturday night at North Mississippi Motor Park Speedway in Corinth, MS.

Arnold has the sixth highest WPA at 46.67 among the Top 20 drivers in the point standings with five or more week of competition. Starnes is seventh on the WPA list at 46.17 and Sanchagrin is eighth with a WPA of 45.83. Ladner has the ninth highest WPA at 45.43, and Monte Skinner of Saraland, AL rounds out the top ten with a WPA of 44.6. Skinner is 12th in the standings with 223 points.

In other NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 7 action, Chris Kratzer of Haysville, KS drove the Wichita Tire and Alignment Special to his second straight win of the season on Friday night at Salina Speedway in Salina, KS. Kyle Bronson of Brandon, FL won the second of two $1,000-to-win races on Friday night at Whynot Motorsports Park driving the Brandon Ford Special.

The 2015 Sunoco Young Guns Challenge Series Champion, 14-year-old Cruz Skinner of Oxford, AL, drove the Skinner’s Body Shop CVR to his second win of the season on Saturday night at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL. Mike Palasini Jr. of Leland, MS won his second straight NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series race of the season on Saturday night at Greenville Speedway driving the MP Trucking Special.

Veteran Howard Willis of Dayton, TX picked up his first NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series win of the season on Saturday night at Battleground Race Park in Highlands, TX driving the 41 Shocks Special.

Boland and Marsh combined to bring four-time NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Chassis Manufactures Challenge Champion Trak-Star Race Cars built by Boland Performance of Cuba, AL leading win total of to 11. Rocket Chassis of Shinnston, WV is second after Smith gave them their fifth win of the season.

Skinner gave CVR Race Cars of Lenoir City, TN their third win of the season and the third spot in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Chassis points. Four-time Champion GRT Race Cars of Greenbrier, AR is fourth with one win. Warrior Race Cars built by Goddard Performance of Knoxville, TN is still looking for their first win of the 2016 season.

For more information and rules 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. You can follow us on Twitter @NeSmithRacing.

NeSMITH CHEVROLET WEEKLY RACING SERIES POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 5/7/16:

POS CAR # DRIVER PTS RACES WINS TOP 5 TOP 10
1 47 Shannon Lee 337 10 2 7 10
2 49 Scott Ladner 318 9 3 9
3 7 Hunter Lewis 306 7 3 5
4 2T Tootie Arnold 280 7 2 4 7
5 77 Robbie Starnes 277 8 2 6 8
6 34 Doug Sanchagrin 275 7 4 6
7 5 Nick Gaines 257 6 1 4
8 3 Cody Smith 249 5 4 5 5
9 222 Mike Boland 239 6 3 5 6
10 J8 Bobby Jordan 235 7 5 6
11 1 Bryant Marsh – Y 234 5 2 3 4
12 00m Monte Skinner 223 7 4 5
13 232 Jamey Boland 220 7 3 4
14 4 Michael Arnold 219 7 2 4 4
15 F97 Red Farmer 219 5 1 5
16 71 Dustin Knighten 217 5 1 4
17 10 Tyler Burgess 212 6 3
18 11 Cruz Skinner 198 4 2 4 4
19 33 Scott Dedwylder 196 4 1 4 4
20 09 Daniel Bridgmon 194 4 1 4 4

NeSMITH CHEVROLET WEEKLY RACING SERIES WEEK 7 RESULTS:

May 6:

SALINA SPEEDWAY – SALINA, KS:
1. 55 Chris Kratzer
2. 7d Dusty Leonard
3. 92s Daniel Smith
4. 92 Delbert Smith
5. 104 Adam Popp
6. 1m Tyler Stucky
7. 70t Terry Malm
8. 12g Ryan Grit
9. 70 Bill Grit
10. D6 Rob Day

WHYNOT MOTORSPORTS PARK – MERIDIAN, MS:
1st Feature:
1. 222 Mike Boland
2. 14 Casey Haney
3. 09 Daniel Bridgmon
4. 147 Hunter Carroll
5. 20 Kevin Sitton
6. 57 Josh Adkins
7. 77 Robbie Starnes
8. 760 Jim McDuffie
9. 25 Justin McRee
10. 73 Evan Ellis
11. 01 Nick Thrash
12. 29 Buddy George
13. 232 Jamey Boland
14. G4 Shelby Sheedy
15. 3 Tony Shelton
16. 27 Larry Murphy
17. J8 Bobby Jordan
18. 19 Marcus Minga
19. 28j Joey Hiatt
20. 12 Stephen Brantley
21. 104 Brandon Brzozowski
22. 37 Randy Harmon
23. 66 Blake Spencer
24. 48 Tody Ratcliff
25. 1T Terry Mosley

2nd Feature:
1. 40 Kyle Bronson
2. 5 Mark Whitener
3. 33 Scott Dedwylder
4. 34 Doug Sanchagrin
5. 22 Jimmy Thomas
6. 38 Chase Washington
7. 2 Tyler Burgess
8. 57 Shep Lucas
9. 73 Ashley Newman
10. 118 Randy Boyd
11. 114 Michael Santangelo
12. 00m Monte Skinner
13. 7 Hunter Lewis
14. 11 Tim Dees
15. 121 Michael Blount
16. 21 Jamie Pickard
17. 1m Kevin Maher
18. 50 Joey Credidio
19. 73h Larry Havens
20. 4w Wiley Williams
21. 34 Matt Marrs
22. 6 Marty Hardy
23. K9 Steven Bryan
24. 1 Johnny Stokes

May 7:

NORTH MISSISSIPPI MOTOR PARK SPEEDWAY – CORINTH, MS:
1. 1 Bryant Marsh – Y
2. 91 Billy Tedford
3. F44 Heath Johnson
4. 58 Brandon Shaw
5. 3 Todd Robinson
6. 43 Kurt Radojcsics
7. 12 Joe Reaves
8. 16 Terrell Harris
9. 100 Doug Heavener
10. 55 Ben Morrow
11. 10 Steven Jones
12. D4 Donnie Moore

TALLADEGA SHORT TRACK – EASTABOGA, AL:
1. 11 Cruz Skinner
2. 22 Austin Franklin
3. 67 Kyle Clifton
4. 17 Billy Franklin
5. 2 Hayden Franklin
6. 14jr Victor Turner Jr.
7. 71 Dustin Knighten
8. 4 Brad Whittle
9. 13 David Pettus
10. F97 Red Farmer
11. 6 Brandon Hood
12. 19 Chase Cotton
13. 2 Thomas Langley
14. 10 Andrew Bailey
15. 42 Steve Kirk
16. 12 Todd McBurnett
17. 21 Joe Noojin

GREENVILLE SPEEDWAY – GREENVILLE, MS:
1. 8 Mike Palasini Jr.
2. 77 Greg Fore
3. J8 Bobby Jordan
4. 84 Randall Beckwith
5. 46 Kenny Carpenter
6. D8 Christopher Showah
7. C4 Cole Burns
8. J1 Jay Downs
9. 44 Peyton Wilkerson – Y
10. 5 Richard Fedrick
11. 88 Howard Irby Jr.
12. 21 Jason Roberts
13. 30 Justin Paxton DNS

BATTLEGROUND RACE PARK – HIGHLANDS, TX:
1. 23 Howard Willis
2. 56jr Colton Horner – Y
3. 88 Steve Hamilton
4. 32 Ricky Begnaud
5. 117 Todd Jouett
6. 33 Jose Moran
7. 99 Nathan Revia
8. 84 Mike Davenport
9. 21 Josh Brock

LA 36 SPEEDWAY – LACOMBE, LA:
1. 3 Cody Smith
2. 521 Mickey Trosclair
3. 99 Justin Bowman
4. 49 Scott Ladner
5. 5 Nick Gaines
6. 771 Kevin Martin
7. 4 Scott Land
8. C15 Corey Herberger
9. 47 Shannon Lee

Y – Denotes Sunoco Young Guns Challenge Series Driver
NeSmith Chevrolet, Buick, GMC of Claxton, GA is the Title Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models. NeSmith Chevrolet, Buick, GMC is the nation’s number one GM Powertrain and Performance Dealer six years running, with free delivery anywhere in the Southeast. Chevrolet Performance Parts is an Official Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models. Hoosier Racing Tire is the Official Tire Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models. RockAuto.com is an Official Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models. Beyea Headers is the NeSmith Late Model Hard Charger Sponsor. Sunoco Race Fuels is the Official Race Fuel of the NeSmith Late Models. Panama City Cycles is the Official ATV Provider of the NeSmith Late Models. AR Bodies is an Associate Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models. NeSmith Late Model Contingency Sponsors for 2016 are CrateInsider.Com, Integra Racing Shocks, Image Screen Printing, and Gresham Race Parts. 201 Chassis Sponsors are Trak-Star Race Cars, Warrior Race Cars, Rocket Chassis, GRT Race Cars, and CVR Race Cars.

Chris Kratzer of Haysville, KS drove the #55 Wichita Tire and Alignment Special to his second straight NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Late Model win of the season on Friday night at Salina Speedway in Salina, KS.  (Salina Speedway Photo)

Chris Kratzer of Haysville, KS drove the #55 Wichita Tire and Alignment Special to his second straight NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Late Model win of the season on Friday night at Salina Speedway in Salina, KS. (Salina Speedway Photo)