RINGGOLD, GA – Riley Hickman of Cleveland, TN drove the Hickman Manufacturing Special to his first-ever NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series win Friday night at Boyd’s Speedway. Hickman dominated the event by setting fast time in qualifying and then led all 40 laps to claim the $2,000 top prize.
Throughout the race Hickman was able to knife through lapped traffic and keep a half straightaway lead over the second-place finisher Todd Morrow of East Ridge, TN in the A-Plus Collision Center GRT.
Dennis Franklin of Chesnee, SC dusted off the high groove on the tight ¼-mile clay oval to make his way up to the third spot at finish in the AES Racing Special. National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN finished fourth in the NeSmith Chevrolet Special.
Scott Dedwylder of Vossburg, MS took the fifth spot in the Jerry Inmon Racing Special, and Chris Wilson of Crossville, TN was sixth in the Dale’s Auto Sales GRT. The defending NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Champion Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA drove the J.T. Kerr Racing Equipment Stinger to a seventh-place finish.
Last year’s race winner, Jeff Smith of Chatsworth, GA turned in an eighth-place effort in this year’s race driving the Bilstein Racing Shocks Warrior, and point leader Ronny Lee Hollingsworth of Northport, AL was ninth in the Sparks Racing Special.
Johnny Stokes of Columbus, MS rounded out the top ten in the Bassett Hound Motorsports GRT. Stokes started 22nd and was the Hedman Husler of the Race Award winner. Mack McCarter of Gatlinburg, TN finished 12th and was the Rookie of the Race.
Johnson was able to gain some ground on Hollingsworth in the battle for the $20,000 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series 2013 Championship. Leaving Boyd’s Speedway, “Right Foot Ronny Lee” has a 12-point lead over “The Chattanooga Flash.”
In preliminary action, Hickman out-qualified the 25-car field with a lap in 14.838 seconds. The two ten-lap Heat Races were won by Hollingsworth and two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Champion David Earl Gentry of Murfreesboro, TN in the Eads Farms/Hardy & Associates Warrior.
Hickman took the lead at the drop of the green flag, but even with his domination of the race, there was plenty good racing in his wake. Morrow came from his third starting spot and was able to get under the outside front row starter Dedwylder coming off the second turn on the first lap to grab the second spot. Wilson settled into the fourth position with Johnson in fifth.
The first of three caution flags came out on lap six when Ken Monahan of Lakeland, FL in the KLM CVR and David Duplissey of Chattanooga, TN in the National Boiler Service Warrior tangled in turn one. Kyle Bronson of Brandon, FL in the Brandon Ford Warrior was ticketed with the caution flag, and went to the pack of the pack for the “Dixie-Style” double-file restart.
Hickman had Morrow, Dedwylder, Wilson, Johnson, Smith, Franklin, Rick Hixson of Soddy Daisy, TN, Justin McRee of Cottondale, AL, and Turner doubled up behind him for the restart. When green flag came back out, Johnson got by Wilson for the fourth spot, and Franklin got by both Smith and Wilson to move up to fifth.
By lap 13, Hickman was lapping the cars on the tail end of the lead lap, and had a half-straightaway lead over Morrow. Wilson got by Franklin on lap 17 to reclaim the fifth spot. At the halfway point it was Hickman, Morrow, Dedwylder, Johnson, Wilson, Franklin, Smith, Hixson, McRee, and Turner in the top ten.
Hixson brought out the second caution flag on lap 23 when his A1 Towing Special slowed in turn four while he was running eighth. With most of the field running the bottom groove of the track on the restart, Franklin stepped to the high side and passed Wilson for fifth on lap 24. Three laps later, Franklin sailed around the outside of Johnson on the front straightaway to take fourth.
Duplissey spun in turn two on lap 28 to bring out the third yellow flag of the race. During the caution period, McRee dropped out of the seventh spot and took the High Roller Race Cars Special to the pit area. This misfortune earned “J-Mac” the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award.
The top ten for the restart was Hickman leading Morrow, Dedwylder, Franklin, Johnson, Wilson, Turner, Hollingsworth, Smith, and Shan Smith of Dade City, FL in the Outlaw Race Parts TNT.
When the green bulb was relit, Franklin once again got rolling on the outside. On lap 29, Franklin drove around Dedwylder to take the third spot. Johnson then closed in on Dedwylder to battle for fourth, taking the position with an inside move on lap 32.
With five laps to go, Hickman began working lapped traffic with a half-straightaway lead over Morrow. Hickman was able to maintain the advantage to take the win with a 2.196 second advantage over Morrow.
The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series now moves to 411 Motor Speedway in Seymour, TN on Saturday night for the $4,000-to-win 2ndAnnual J.T. Kerr Memorial 40, Round 10 of the 2013 season. The race honors the memory of the late J.T. Kerr, a legendary East Tennessee Hall of Fame driver and motorsports businessman.
For more information about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series visit the series all-new 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.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 9 AT BOYD’S SPEEDWAY IN RINGGOLD, GA ON 5/31/13:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER
1. 1 R1 Riley Hickman Cleveland, TN 40 $2,000
2. 3 8 Todd Morrow East Ridge, TN 40 $1,000
3. 10 2 Dennis Franklin Chesnee, SC 40 $700
4. 6 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 40 $550
5. 2 38 Scott Dedwylder Vossburg, MS 40 $500
6. 4 10w Chris Wilson Crossville, TN 40 $425
7. 9 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 40 $375
8. 5 17s Jeff Smith
9. 11 18 Ronny Hollingsworth Northport, AL 40 $325
10. 22 1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS 40 $400
11. 20 17ss Shan Smith
12. 14 51 Mack McCarter (R) Gatlinburg, TN 40 $250
13. 16 18e Chase Edge LaFayette, AL 40 $225
14. 24 47 Shannon Lee Lumberton, MS 39 $200
15. 13 18d Tait Davenport Benton, KY 39 $175
16. 25 40b Kyle Bronson (R) Brandon, FL 39 $150
17. 18 110 Brent Barrett (R) Cleveland, MS 38 $140
18. 15 19 Josh Adkins (R) Talladega, AL 38 $125
19. 23 D2 David Duplissey Chattanooga, TN 38 $125
20. 21 121 Michael Blount Sumrall, MS 38 $125
21. 8 25 Justin McRee Cottondale, AL 27 $125
22. 7 A1 Rick Hixson Soddy Daisy, TN 22 $125
23. 12 56 David Earl Gentry Murfreesboro, TN 11 $125
24. 19 38t Danny Turner Ringgold, GA 7 $125
25. 17 311 Ken Monahan (R) Lakeland, FL 5 $125
ENTRIES: 25
FAST QUALIFIER: Hickman, 14.838 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: None
LEAD CHANGES: None
LAPS LED: Hickman, 1-40
HEDMAN HUSLER OF THE RACE: Stokes (started 22nd and finished 10th)
ROOKIE OF THE RACE: McCarter
DOMINATOR RACE PRODUCTS HARD LUCK AWARD: McRee
PRC LAST PLACE AWARD: Monahan
STEALTH RACING CARBURETORS 7TH-PLACE AWARD: M. Turner
VELOCITA RACE WEAR 8TH-PLACE AWARD: J. Smith
MODERN IMAGES 9TH-PLACE AWARD: Hollingsworth
AR BODIES 10TH-PLACE AWARD: Stokes
MIKE’S CUSTOM TANKS 11TH-PLACE AWARD: S. Smith
SHORTY’S SHOCK SERVICE 12TH-PLACE AWARD: McCarter
SCHOENFELD HEADERS 13TH-PLACE AWARD: Edge
J.T. RACING EQUIPMENT 14TH-PLACE AWARD: Lee
KINSER AIR FILTERS 15TH-PLACE AWARD: Davenport
CAUTIONS: 3
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 2.196 Seconds
TIME OF THE RACE: 26 Minutes
QUALIFYING (2 Laps – Top 10 Transfer To Main Event):
| POS | CAR # | DRIVER | HOMETOWN | CHASSIS | LAP 1 | LAP 2 | TIME |
|
1 |
R1 | Riley Hickman | Cleveland, TN | Mastersbilt |
14.838 |
14.962 |
14.838 |
|
2 |
38 | Scott Dedwylder | Vossburg, MS | Barry Wright |
14.938 |
14.997 |
14.938 |
|
3 |
8a | Todd Morrow | East Ridge, TN | GRT |
15.364 |
15.124 |
15.124 |
|
4 |
10w | Chris Wilson | Crossville, TN | GRT |
15.138 |
15.204 |
15.138 |
|
5 |
17s | Jeff Smith | Chatsworth, GA | Warrior |
15.179 |
15.210 |
15.179 |
|
6 |
5 | Ronnie Johnson | Chattanooga, TN | Mastersbilt |
15.206 |
15.298 |
15.206 |
|
7 |
A1 | Rick Hixson | Soddy Daisy, TN | Mastersbilt |
15.276 |
15.278 |
15.276 |
|
8 |
25 | Justin McRee | Cottondale, AL | HRRC |
15.299 |
15.305 |
15.299 |
|
9 |
10 | Matthew Turner | Dawsonville, GA | Stinger |
15.301 |
15.318 |
15.301 |
|
10 |
2 | Dennis Franklin | Chesnee, SC | Barry Wright |
15.342 |
15.331 |
15.331 |
|
11 |
18d | Tait Davenport | Benton, KY | Longhorn |
15.335 |
15.367 |
15.335 |
|
12 |
18e | Chase Edge | LaFayette, AL | Mastersbilt |
15.336 |
15.429 |
15.336 |
|
13 |
311 | Kenneth Monahan – R | Lakeland, FL | CVR |
15.493 |
15.356 |
15.356 |
|
14 |
56 | David Earl Gentry | Murfreesboro, TN | Warrior |
15.435 |
15.569 |
15.435 |
|
15 |
18 | Ronny Hollingsworth | Northport, AL | Barry Wright |
15.459 |
15.573 |
15.459 |
|
16 |
51 | Mack McCarter | Gatlinburg, TN | CVR |
15.486 |
15.746 |
15.486 |
|
17 |
19 | Josh Adkins – R | Talladega, AL | Barry Wright |
15.495 |
15.599 |
15.495 |
|
18 |
110 | Brent Barrett | Cleveland, MS | GRT |
15.495 |
15.784 |
15.495 |
|
19 |
40b | Kyle Bronson – R | Brandon, FL | Warrior |
15.537 |
15.751 |
15.537 |
|
20 |
17ss | Shan Smith | Dade City, FL | TNT |
15.665 |
15.545 |
15.545 |
|
21 |
D2 | David Duplissey | Chattanooga, TN | Warrior |
15.559 |
15.618 |
15.559 |
|
22 |
47 | Shannon Lee | Lumberton, MS | GRT |
15.636 |
15.655 |
15.636 |
|
23 |
38t | Danny Turner | Ringgold, GA | Rayburn |
15.639 |
15.718 |
15.639 |
|
24 |
1 | Johnny Stokes | Columbus, MS | GRT |
15.719 |
15.778 |
15.719 |
|
25 |
121 | Michael Blount | Sumrall, MS | GRT |
15.772 |
15.784 |
15.772 |
HEAT RACES (10 Laps – All Cars Transfer To Main Event):
1ST HEAT: 1. Hollingsworth; 2. Davenport; 3. Adkins (R); 4. Monahan (R); 5. D. Turner; 6. Blount; 7. Duplissey; 8. Bronson (R);
2ND HEAT: 1. Gentry; 2. McCarter (R); 3. Edge; 4. Barrett (R); 5. S. Smith; 6. Stokes; 7. Lee.
NeSMITH CHEVROLET DIRT LATE MODEL SERIES POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 5/31/13:
1. 18 Ronny Lee Hollingsworth – 658
2. 5 Ronnie Johnson – 646
3. 40b Kyle Bronson (R) – 618
4. 25 Justin McRee – 556
5. 18d Tait Davenport – 544
5. 17ss Shan Smith – 544
7. 56 David Earl Gentry – 518
8. 47 Shannon Lee – 508
9. 51 Mack McCarter (R) – 486
10. 1 Johnny Stokes – 482
11. 110 Brent Barrett (R) – 446
12. 19 Josh Adkins (R) – 424
13. 121 Michael Blount – 396
14. 10 Matthew Turner – 390
15. 117 Jake Teague (R) – 382
16. 38 Scott Dedwylder – 378
17. 1s Jeremy Shaw (R) – 350
18. 18e Chase Edge – 312
19. 21m Cody Martin (R) – 282
20. 49 Jonathan Davenport – 278
R – Demotes Rookie of the Year Candidate
NeSmith Chevrolet, Buick, GMC of Claxton, GA is the Title Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. 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 Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. Hoosier Racing Tire is the Official Tire Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. Hedman Hedders is the Official Hedder of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series and the Hedman Husler Award sponsor. Bilstein Shocks is the Official Spec Shock of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. Old Man’s Garage is the sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Old Man’s Garage Weekly Racing Series. RockAuto.com is an Official Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. Racecar Engineering is the Official Parts Supplier of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. Renegade Race and Performance Fuels are a series Associate Sponsor and fuel supplier. NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Contingency Sponsors for 2013 are Dominator Race Products, Stealth Racing Carburetors, Modern Images, Mike Custom Tanks, Shorty’s Shock Service, Schoenfeld Headers, J.T. Kerr Racing Equipment, Kinser Air Filters, AR Bodies, Velocita Racewear, and Performance Rod & Custom. 2013 Chassis Sponsors are Trak-Star Race Cars, Warrior Race Cars, Rocket Chassis, GRT Race Cars, TNT Race Cars, Stinger Race Cars, and CVR Race Cars.