CARTERSVILLE, GA – The five-driver “Bow Tie Brigade” will be headed to Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS this weekend with Super Late Model race cars powered by the $7,000 Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine. They will give race fans and competitors a preview of the economical future of dirt late model racing.
Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN, Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA, David Earl Gentry of Murfreesboro, TN, Chase Edge of Lafayette, AL and David Jackson of Winchester, TN will compete in the $15,000-to-win 9th Annual Southern Belle Cotton Pickin’ 100 on the 3/8-mile black ice clay oval at Magnolia Motor Speedway this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.
They will be competing with the $7,000 all-aluminum Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine that is built and sealed at the Chevrolet factory to prevent any expensive modifications. The engine is based off the stock production LS Corvette Engine and has been modified by Chevrolet Performance for dirt late model competition.
Johnson, a National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame inductee has won many races with this engine, including one recently at Boyds Speedway in Ringgold, GA, and Gentry also has a win this season at Winchester Speedway in Winchester, TN. The $7,000 Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine has been competitive and has outrun specially-built all-aluminum engines costing four times more.
Four of the five drivers in the Bow Tie Brigade have ties to the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series that uses the Chevrolet Performance 604 and 602 Crate Engines as the exclusive powerplant. The Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine is the next phase of the Chevrolet Performance Short Track Engine Program.
Crate Racin’ USA, the sanctioning body of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series, will add a new Super Late Model Series under its umbrella for the 2013 season, and the Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine will power all of the dirt late models in the new series. Crate Racin’ USA will announce details about the new series soon.
Johnson is the all-time career winner with the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series with 14 victories. Johnson has been the driver for the Chevrolet Performance CT 525 R&D Program and has made headlines since 2010 with 17 wins, 41 top five finishes, and 46 top ten finishes after 54 starts in major dirt late model national events using the Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine.
In addition to wins, Johnson also raced trouble-free over two seasons of competition with the Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine. The only work Johnson has had to perform on the engine is to change the oil.
Three of the top four drivers in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series point standings will be taking their Chevrolet Performance 604 Crate Engines out of their dirt late models, and dropping in their Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engines to compete in the super late model division for the Cotton Pickin’ 100 at Magnolia Motor Speedway this weekend.
Turner is the current NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series point leader, holding a 16-point lead over Gentry going into the final race of the season, the $10,000-to-win 8th Annual Chevrolet Performance World Championship Race on November 29-December 1 at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, FL.
Known as the “Ironman” of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series, Turner is the only driver that has competed in all 145 series events that have been held since the series’ inception in 2005.
Gentry is a two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Champion and is second on the all-time series career win list with 12 victories. In addition to taking a win in his first race with the Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine a few weeks ago at Winchester Speedway, his car was also equipped with the $135 Bilstein Spec Shocks.
The $135 Bilstein Spec Shocks will be the shock used on all of the race cars in the 2013 Crate Racin’ USA Super Late Model Series. Gentry will once again use the $7,000 Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine/$135 Bilstein Spec Shock package at the Cotton Pickin’ 100 against competitors running engines and shocks that cost thousands of dollars more.
Gentry has used the $135 Bilstein Spec Shocks all season long with the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Tour. He is second in the point standings with three wins, 11 top five finishes, 14 top ten finishes, and two fast time awards in 21 starts.
Edge is currently fourth in the current NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series point standings with one win this season. Edge was the 2012 VP Racing Fuels Rookie of the Year with the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS, and he was also the 2010 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series East Region Champion.
The Southern Union College Sophomore Edge will be making his super late model debut this weekend at the Cotton Pickin’ 100 at Magnolia Motor Speedway using the Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine.
The Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine is readily available for purchase and free next day delivery anywhere in the Southeast from NeSmith Chevrolet in Claxton, GA. The Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine costs $6,995 and a race-ready “turnkey” kit can be added for an additional $2,259. The only other accessories needed are a carburetor, fuel pump, power steering pump and headers. To place an order, call Tim Bland at NeSmith Chevrolet at 1-877-497-3624.
There are ten different $135 Bilstein Spec Shocks that come in the package. Bilstein Shocks Southeastern Motorsports Sales Representative Jim Hiland said the factory is ready to send out the first run of the $135 Bilstein Spec Shocks this week that will be available through Crate Racin’ USA and its assigned distributors.
Magnolia Motor Speedway is located west of Columbus, MS at 495 U.S. Highway 45 South, Columbus, MS 39701, just south of U.S. Highway 82. For more information call 662-328-0376, or visit the track web site at www.magnoliadirt.com.
For more information 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.