MERIDIAN, MS – Tim Busha of Boaz, AL took the win in a wild finish of the Nelson Hall Chevrolet 50 for the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series on Saturdaynight at Whynot Motorsports Park driving the Kilpatrick Racing GRT. Lap 49 saw two lead changes, contact, and the top three positions change hands before the checkered flag fell.
Busha led the first 48 laps of the race, holding off the inside challenges of point leader William Thomas of Phenix City, AL in the Alexander’s Industrial Service GRT, who was looking for his third straight Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series win. After field took the two laps to signal, business picked up at the front of the pack.
Thomas got alongside Busha as they came off the second turn, and going down the backstretch, Thomas took the lead. National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN is closing fast from the third spot in the Tommy Pope Construction Warrior as they entered turn three.
As the lead trio exited turn four, Thomas left just enough of the inside groove open for Busha to dive under Thomas. Busha hit a utility tire that marks the inside of the racing surface, and that impact sent him careening into Thomas. After the contact, Busha drove under Thomas to retake the lead as the white flag was in the air.
By the time Thomas regained control, Johnson got under him for the second spot in turn one. Busha came around to take the checkered flag and win the $3,000 top prize with a .389 second margin of victory over Johnson, with Thomas salvaging the third spot.
“I gave William plenty of room on the inside when he passed me for the lead off turn two, but when I tried to go underneath him in turn four, I got so far to bottom to keep from hitting him, I hit the tire,” Busha said. “That knocked me into him, and I hate that it happened. I think William knows me well enough to know that I don’t race like that and it wasn’t intentional.”
Thomas was obviously upset about losing the race, but at the same time was poised enough to see the big picture after the third of ten races in the 2013 Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series season.
“All I know is I got hit coming off the fourth turn,” Thomas said. “I’m just glad we were able to hang on and come out of here with a third-place finish because we’re in this to win the Championship. We’ll go on to the next one and try to win it.”
Thomas left Whynot Motorsports Park still with the point lead and a ten point advantage over Johnson. The win moved Busha up to the third spot in the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series standings, four points behind Johnson.
Brent Barrett of Cleveland, MS finished fourth in the Custom Spraying, Inc. GRT and Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA took the fifth spot in the J.T. Kerr Racing Equipment Special. Ted Lackey of Munford, AL started 16th in the Advanced Lazer and Machine Special and finished sixth, while Frank Wilson of Milton, FL was seventh in the Wilson Lumber Trak-Star.
Tim Dees drove the Dees Motorsports GRT to an eighth-place finish and Jamey Boland of Cuba, AL came from the 19th starting spot to finish ninth in the Boland Performance Trak-Star for a nice recovery after a crash in time trials. Steve Kirk of Munford, AL rounded out the top ten in the Advanced Lazer and Machine Special.
Busha officially led all 50 laps and made it a clean sweep of the event, as he out-timed the 19-car field with a lap around the 3/8-mile clay oval in 13.876 seconds during time trials. The two eight-lap B-Main Races were won by Johnson and Justin McRee of Cottondale, AL in the Gas Monkey Garage Special.
Busha took the lead from the pole position at the start of the race followed by Barrett, Thomas, Johnson and Adam Martin of Talladega, AL in the Seals Insurance Special. Thomas got by Barrett for the second spot on lap two, and Turner raced into the fifth spot on lap three.
The first of seven caution flags came out on lap five when Brad Smith of Winston-Salem, NC spun the Velocita Special in turn four. Busha had Thomas, Barrett, Johnson, Turner, Martin, McRee, Chase Edge of Lafayette, AL, Wilson and Dees doubled up behind him for the restart. On the restart, Edge spun the Edge’s Gas Company Special in turn two to bring the caution flag back out.
On the next restart, Turner slowed coming off the second turn, and dropped back to the eighth spot, as Martin, McRee and Wilson moved up to the fifth, sixth, and seventh spots respectively. The caution light flashed on for a third time on lap nine when Marty Hardy of Biloxi, MS spun the Hardy and Associates GRT in turn two.
The next restart saw Johnson get by Barrett for the third spot coming off the second turn, and Martin dropped Barrett back to fifth coming off the fourth turn. Martin’s hold on the fourth spot was short-lived, as he brought out the fourth yellow flag on lap 11 when he spun in turn four.
Busha led Thomas, Johnson, Barrett, McRee, Wilson, Billy Thomas of Phenix City, AL, Lackey, Turner and Smith back to the green flag. Smith spun out of the tenth spot on the restart for the fifth caution of the race. When the field went back to green flag action, Turner was up on the wheel moving up through the field.
Turner got by Lackey and Thomas to move up to the seventh spot by the end of the 12th lap. On lap 14, Turner got by McRee for the fifth spot. McRee had moved up to run the cushion on the high side of the track, and that opened the door on lap 17 for National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee Billy Thomas in the Alexander’s Industrial Service Special to pass him for the sixth position.
Lackey was on the move, as he passed McRee for seventh on lap 18, and then got around Billy Thomas for sixth on lap 22. Busha remained out front, but had William Thomas right with him as they began to lap the cars on the tail of the lead lap by the 23rd tour. Martin slowed off the pace on lap 24 to bring out the sixth caution flag of the race.
Busha led William Thomas, Johnson, Barrett, Turner, Lackey, Billy Thomas, McRee, Wilson and Dees down for the restart. As the field came off the second turn when green flag came back out, Billy Thomas and McRee tangled down the backstretch, and McRee’s car flipped twice and landed on its wheels to bring out the red flag. Both drivers were O.K., but done for the night.
When the field went back to green, the action was at the front of the pack, as Thomas kept sticking the nose of his race car to the inside of Busha going into the corners, but the leader had enough momentum to keep the point coming off the turns. Thomas was able to pull alongside Busha on lap 25, but Busha was up to the challenge, as he pulled out to a one car-length lead on lap 27.
Johnson was trying different grooves to try and catch Busha and Thomas. Johnson got up on the cushion on lap 30, but after a couple of laps, moved back down to the inside. Busha led the field into lapped traffic on lap 40, as Thomas once began his assault for the lead looking inside Busha.
With five laps to go, Busha and Thomas were once again side-by-side, with Johnson closing fast from the third spot. With less than two laps to go, Thomas passed Busha for the lead going down the backstretch, but Thomas’s ride at the head of the field was short-lived with the turn four contact, that paved the way for Busha’s victory.
The Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series, America’s first Factory Backed and Factory Built dirt late model series, will now move to Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS on Sunday night for the $3,000-to-win Carl Hogan Automotive 50, Round 4 of the 2013 season.
For more information about the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series visit the series web site at www.525superseries.com, or visit the series on Facebook at Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 3 AT WHYNOT MOTORSPORTS PARK IN MERIDIAN, MS ON 9/7/13:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER
1. 1 15 Tim Busha
2. 7 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 50 $1,500
3. 2 A19 William Thomas
4. 3 110 Brent Barrett Cleveland, MS 50 $850
5. 9 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 50 $750
6. 16 B17 Ted Lackey
7. 13 72 Frank Wilson Milton, FL 50 $650
8. 10 11 Tim Dees
9. 19 232 Jamey Boland Cuba, AL
10. 18 42 Steve Kirk
11. 6 18 Chase Edge Lafayette, AL 48 $475
12. 15 88d Mark Dowdy Waterloo, AL 44 $450
13. 12 22 Billy Thomas Phenix City, AL 23 $425
14. 8 00 Justin McRee Cottondale, AL 23 $400
15. 5 47m Adam Martin Talladega, AL 22 $375
16. 4 14k Brad Smith Winston-Salem, NC 10 $350
17. 14 6 Marty Hardy Biloxi, MS 10 $325
18. 11 222 Carlton Freeman Eastaboga, AL 7 $300
19. 17 47 Ross Martin Talladega, AL 0 DNS
ENTRIES: 18
FAST QUALIFIER: Busha, 13.876 Seconds
LEAD CHANGES: None
LAPS LED: Busha, 1-50
CAUTIONS: 7 (1 Red)
MARGIN OF VICTORY: .389 Seconds
TIME OF THE RACE: 38 Minutes and 17.209 Seconds
QUALIFYING (Top 6 Transfer To Main Event):
| POS | CAR # | DRIVER | HOMETOWN | CHASSIS | LAP 1 | LAP 2 | TIME |
|
1 |
15 | Tim Busha | Boaz, AL | GRT |
14.026 |
13.876 |
13.876 |
|
2 |
A19 | William Thomas | Phenix City, AL | GRT |
13.889 |
14.096 |
13.889 |
|
3 |
110 | Brent Barrett | Cleveland, MS | GRT |
14.070 |
13.996 |
13.996 |
|
4 |
14k | Brad Smith | Winston-Salem, NC | Lazer |
14.193 |
14.029 |
14.029 |
|
5 |
47m | Adam Martin | Talladega, AL | Barry Wright |
14.134 |
14.054 |
14.054 |
|
6 |
18 | Chase Edge | Lafayette, AL | Mastersbilt |
14.171 |
14.157 |
14.157 |
|
7 |
10 | Matthew Turner | Dawsonville, GA | DWB |
14.221 |
14.282 |
14.221 |
|
8 |
00 | Justin McRee | Cottondale, AL | HRRC |
14.227 |
14.342 |
14.227 |
|
9 |
5 | Ronnie Johnson | Chattanooga, TN | Warrior |
14.348 |
14.253 |
14.253 |
|
10 |
B17 | Ted Lackey | Munford, AL | HRRC |
14.409 |
14.257 |
14.257 |
|
11 |
222 | Carlton Freeman | Eastaboga, AL | GRT |
14.455 |
14.486 |
14.455 |
|
12 |
22 | Billy Thomas | Phenix City, AL | Barry Wright |
14.481 |
14.602 |
14.481 |
|
13 |
47 | Ross Martin | Talladega, AL | GRT |
14.642 |
14.575 |
14.575 |
|
14 |
6 | Marty Hardy | Biloxi, MS | GRT |
14.858 |
14.633 |
14.633 |
|
15 |
88d | Mark Dowdy | Waterloo, AL | Killer |
14.647 |
NT |
14.647 |
|
16 |
11 | Tim Dees | Meridian, MS | GRT |
14.710 |
14.743 |
14.710 |
|
17 |
72 | Frank Wilson | Milton, FL | Trak-Star |
15.316 |
15.216 |
15.216 |
|
18 |
42 | Steve Kirk | Munford, AL | HRRC |
16.463 |
17.012 |
16.463 |
|
19 |
232 | Jamey Boland | Cuba, AL | Trak-Star | NT | NT | NT |
B-MAINS (8 Laps):
1ST B-MAIN: 1. Johnson; 2. Turner; 3. Freeman; 4. Wilson; 5. Dowdy; 6. R. Martin; 7. Boland DNS.
2ND B-MAIN: 1. McRee; 2. Dees; 3. B. Thomas; 4. Hardy; 5. Lackey; 6. Kirk.
CHEVROLET PERFORMANCE SUPER LATE MODEL SERIES POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 9/7/13:
1. A19 William Thomas – 294
2. 5 Ronnie Johnson – 284
3. 15 Tim Busha – 280
4. 18 Chase Edge – 266
5. 110 Brent Barrett – 262
5. 10 Matthew Turner – 262
7. 72 Frank Wilson – 244
8. 47m Adam Martin – 228
9. 14k Brad Smith – 222
10. 222 Carlton Freeman – 212
11. 47 Ross Martin – 194
12. 33 David Brannon – 176
13. 19 Jeremy Britton – 140
14. 00 Richie Stephens – 126
15. 88d Mark Dowdy – 106
16. B17 Ted Lackey – 88
17. 1 Johnny Stokes – 84
17. 11 Tim Dees – 84
19. 232 Jamey Boland – 82
20. 42 Steve Kirk – 80
Chevrolet Performance Parts is the Title Sponsor of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series. Hoosier Racing Tire is the Official Tire Sponsor of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series. Hedman Hedders is the Official Hedder of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series and the Hedman Husler Award sponsor. Bilstein Shocks is the Official Spec Shock of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series. Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series Contingency Sponsors for 2013 are Modern Images, Mike Custom Tanks, AR Bodies, Velocita Racewear, and KRC Power Steering.