NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series News Release:  Contact – ROBY HELM – (865) 207-4157

May 23, 2015

J-MAC HANGS ON FOR WHYNOT NeSMITH LATE MODEL WIN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

                MERIDIAN, MS – Justin McRee of Woodstock, AL overcame brake issues to capture a close win Saturday night in the Salute To The Navy 40 for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Touring Division at Whynot Motorsports Park in the High Roller Race Cars Special.  McRee also set himself up to set a new record in the series career win category.

                If McRee can win another NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series race this season, he would become the first driver in series history to post multiple wins for four straight seasons.  Saturday night’s win for McRee was his 12th NeSmith Late Model career win to move him into a three-way tie for second on the all-time win list with David Earl Gentry and William Thomas.

                McRee seemed to lose the lead on lap 35 when Mike Boland of Cuba, AL driving the Boland Performance Trak-Star, got underneath him in turn two, and then McRee spun.  But as the lead was being exchanged, Randy Boyd of Marion, MS stalled the Coca-Cola of Meridian Trak-Star on the high side of turn two and was ticketed with the caution  flag.

                Officials put McRee back in the lead for the restart, and Boland in second.  McRee pulled away from Boland on the restart, and seemed to have the race in the bag, but he suddenly slowed in turn four, as Boland had a full head of steam coming off the corner.  McRee took the win by just a matter of inches, while Boland had to settle for second-place.

                “I knew we had a good race car tonight, as we went back to our 2012 set-ups and the car came to life once again,” McRee said.  “We’ve given some races away here in the past, and I thought we were going to do it again tonight on a couple of occasions.  We were having some brake issues that was really bogging down the engine coming off the corners.”

                Fast Qualifier and two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series West Region Champion Jim McDuffie of Meridian, MS finished third in the Checkerboard Restaurant Trak-Star, and two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS was fourth in the Bryson Motorsports/Cooley Transportation Special.

                The 2012 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Champion Chase Washington of Houlka, MS started 21st in the Montgomery Farms Special and finished fifth to earn the Beyea Headers Hard Charger of the Race Award.  Evan Ellis of Plantersville, MS took the sixth spot in the Ellis Welding Special.

                Two-time and defending NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN stayed on top of the point standings with a seventh-place finish in the NeSmith Chevrolet Special.  Johnson now holds a 66-point lead over Chase Edge of LaFayette, AL.  Edge finished 24th and last in the race driving a car he borrowed from Cody Martin after damaging his primary car in a B-Main race.

                Michael Blount of Sumrall, MS finished eighth in the Lamar Auto Salvage Special that also honored the memory of fallen Hattiesburg Police Department Officers Deen and Tate, who lost their lives in the line of duty last week.

                Tim Dees of Meridian, MS was ninth in the Dees Motorsports Trak-Star and Ryan King of Seymour, TN rounded out the Top 10 driving the Brian King Roofing Stinger and was the Cruise With The Champions Rookie of the Race.

                In preliminary action, McDuffie out-qualified the 32-car field with a lap around Whynot Motorsports Park in 13.152 seconds.  The two 12-lap B-Main Races were won by Chris O’Connor of Cantonment, FL in the Advanced Construction and Development Special, and Dees.

                McDuffie took the lead at the drop of the Green Flag of Night 1 of the Salute To The Armed Forces Nationals followed by Boyd, McRee, Casey Haney of Meridian, MS in the Davidson Hauling Special and Brent Barrett of Cleveland, MS in the Custom Spraying Inc. Special.  On lap three, Haney pulled out of the race and McRee passed Boyd for the second spot.

                McRee dusted off the top shelf of Whynot Motorsports Park and stepped to the outside to battle with the inside running McDuffie side-by-side for the lead by lap 11.  Matt Henderson of Loudon, TN brought out the first of two caution flags on lap 16 when he spun the Rebel Diesel Rocket down the front straightaway.

                The top ten runners for the Dixie Style Double-File restart had McDuffie leading, with McRee, Boyd, Barrett, Ellis, Mike Boland, Blount, Doug Sanchagrin of Florence, MS in the Permanent Exterior Solutions Special, King and Jamey Boland of Cuba, AL in the Boland Performance Trak-Star doubled up behind the leader. 

After running successfully on the outside prior to the caution flag, McRee surprised many by choosing inside for the restart.  But then again, maybe McRee knew what was coming!  And it came quickly, as Mike Boland dove for his customary Whynot Motorsports Park groove right on the bottom of the track and went from sixth to fourth by the time the field reached turn two!

With Boland on his way to the front of the pack taking the short way around, McRee knew it was go time!  McRee reeled in McDuffie on lap 23, got a run on him going down the backstretch, and took the lead in turn three.  Boland in the meantime, had moved up to third, then made quick work of McDuffie for second on lap 24 and set his sights on McRee.

McRee began to encounter lapped traffic by lap 27 and Boland began to close the gap to make a serious challenge for the lead.  Boland charged inside McRee going into turn one on lap 35 and drove under McRee coming off the second turn.  McRee’s brake issue caused his car to turn left and he did a quick spin.

While all of that action of going on at the bottom of the track, Boyd stalled on the high side of turn two to bring out the caution flag, just as McRee started his spun..  Boyd was ticketed with the caution flag, which put McRee back in the lead for the restart, and Boland in second, as the running reverts back to the last completed lap before the caution came out.

McRee began to pull away from Boland when the green flag came out for the six lap dash to the finish.,  McRee took a four car-length advantage down the back stretch on the final lap, but he began to slow dramatically in turn four, with Boland closing fast in the bottom groove of the race track.  Boland pulled alongside McRee at the flagstand, but it was McRee with a .064 second margin of victory.

Night two of the 4th Annual Salute To The Armed Forces Nationals for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series will be the $2,000-to-win Salute To The Air Force 40 on Sunday night at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS.  Racing is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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.

OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 9 AT WHYNOT MOTORSPORTS PARK IN MERIDIAN, MS ON 5/23/15:

POS        STRT     CAR #    DRIVER                               HOMETOWN                     LAPS     $ WON 
1.             3              25           Justin McRee                       Woodstock, AL                   40           $2,000
2.             9              222         Mike Boland                        Cuba, AL                              40           $1,000
3.             1              760         Jim McDuffie                      Meridian, MS                      40           $800
4.             17           33b         Eric Cooley                         Fulton, MS                           40           $550
5.             21           1m          Chase Washington             Houlka, MS                          40           $500
6.             7              73           Evan Ellis                            Plantersville, MS                40           $425
7.             14           5              Ronnie Johnson                  Chattanooga, TN                40           $500
8.             8              121         Michael Blount                   Sumrall, MS                        40           $350
9.             12           11           Tim Dees                              Meridian, MS                      40           $325
10.          10           30           Ryan King (R)                     Seymour, TN                       40           $425
11.          19           1              Bryant Marsh (Y)               Corinth, MS                         40           $275
12.          13           232         Jamey Boland                     Cuba, AL                              40           $250
13.          18           00           Monte Skinner                    Saraland, AL                       40           $225
14.          5              110         Brent Barrett                      Cleveland, MS                     40           $200
15.          6              34           Doug Sanchagrin               Florence, MS                       40           $175
16.          15           27           Larry Murphy                    Meridian, MS                      39           $150
17.          11           03           Chris O’Connor                  Cantonment, FL                 39           $140
18.          22           19           Marcus Minga                    Shannon, MS                       38           $125
19.          2              118         Randy Boyd                         Marion, MS                         33           $125
20.          16           4              Michael Arnold                  Hattiesburg, MS                 30           $125
21.          24           H2          Matt Henderson                  Loudon, MS                         28           $125
22.          20           01           Nick Thrash                         Meridian, MS                      7              $125
23.          4              14           Casey Haney                       Meridian, MS                      2              $125
24.          23           21m        Chase Edge                          LaFayette, AL                     1              $125

ENTRIES:  32
FAST QUALIFIER:  McDuffie, 13.152 Seconds
PROVISIONALS:  Edge and Henderson
LEAD CHANGES:  1
LAP LEADERS:  McDuffie, 1-22; McRee, 23-40
LAPS LED:  McDuffie, 22; McRee, 18
CRUISE WITH THE CHAMPIONS ROOKIE OF THE RACE:  King
BEYEA HEADERS HARD CHARGER AWARD:  Washington (started 21st and finished 5th)
SUNOCO RACE FUELS YOUNG GUN OF THE RACE AWARD:  Marsh
INTEGRA SHOCKS FIFTH-PLACE AWARD:  Washington
CRATE INSIDER.COM SIXTH-PLACE AWARD:  Ellis
IMAGE SCREEN PRINTING NINTH-PLACE AWARD:  Dees
CAUTIONS:  2
MARGIN OF VICTORY:  .064 Seconds
TIME OF THE RACE:  15 Minutes and 36.532 Seconds
NEXT RACE:  May 24, Magnolia Motor Speedway, Columbus, MS, 40-laps, $2,000-to-win

QUALIFYING (Top 10 Transfer To Main Event):

B-MAINS (12 Laps – Top 6 Transfer To Main Event):

                1ST B-MAIN:  1. O’Connor; 2. J. Boland; 3. Murphy; 4. Cooley; 5. Marsh (Y); 6. Washington; 7. Crane (R); 8. Williams; 9. Oberkramer; 10. Scarbrough; 11. Oswalt.

                2ND B-MAIN:  1. Dees; 2. Johnson; 3. Arnold; 4. Skinner; 5. Thrash; 6. Minga; 7. Henderson (R); 8. Martin (R); 9. Clifton; 10. Edge; 11. Banes (Y).

NeSMITH CHEVROLET DIRT LATE MODEL SERIES POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 5/23/15:

1. 5 Ronnie Johnson – 764
2. 18 Chase Edge – 698
3. 30 Ryan King (R) – 658
4. H2 Matt Henderson (R) – 594
5. 10 Ryan Crane (R) – 566
6. 21m Cody Martin (R) – 526
7. 14 Cale Conley – 482
8. 87 Walker Arthur – 464
9. 14c Tyler Clem (R/Y) – 438
10. 25 Justin McRee – 402
11. 19 William Thomas – 348
12. 5d Rodgerick Dykes – 320
13. 1 Johnny Stokes – 304
14. 19 Marcus Minga – 294
15. 55 Montana Dudley – 280
16. 33b Eric Cooley – 280
17. 58 Mark Whitener – 268
18. 4 Jeremy Faircloth – 264
19. 3 Chesley Dixon – 256
20. 111 Max Blair - 246

R – Denotes Cruise With The Champions Rookie of the Year Candidate

Y – Denotes Sunoco Young Guns Challenge Series Candidate

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.  Racecar Engineering is the Official Parts Supplier 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 2015 are CrateInsider.Com and Image Screen Printing.  2015 Chassis Sponsors are Trak-Star Race Cars, Warrior Race Cars, Rocket Chassis, GRT Race Cars, TNT Race Cars, and CVR Race Cars. 

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