July 22, 2015

NeSMITH CHEVROLET WEEKLY RACING SERIES WEEK 17 ROUND UP AND WEEK 18 PREVIEW

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

                CARTERSVILLE, GA – Michael Arnold of Hattiesburg, MS continues to lead the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series point standings after Week 17 competition and he now has a new challenger in the second spot, as Bobby Jordan of McCarley, MS has reached the 14 week mark of his season.  Several more drivers have the potential of reaching the 14 week mark in upcoming Week 18 competition.

                Greenville Speedway in Greenville, MS will open NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 18 competition this Friday night with a Week 15 Make Up Race.  Hattiesburg Speedway in Hattiesburg, MS and Salina Speedway in Salina, KS will also present Friday night race programs.

                Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, MS will highlight Saturday night NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 18 action with a $1,000-to-win race.  Southern Speedway in Milton, FL will host Round 10 of the NeSmith Panhandle Challenge Series, and Greenville Speedway will be back in action on Saturday night with its Week 18 event. 

Battleground Race Park in Highlands, TX, Camden Speedway in Camden, TN, and Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL will also be in action with NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 18 races on Saturday night.

Arnold drove The Strength Center Special to a second-place finish on Friday night at Hattiesburg Speedway to net on a 44.  Arnold’s best 14 week total is 690 points after 11 wins, 15 top five finishes and 17 top ten finishes in 21 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series races. 

Arnold will try to net on a 46 in Week 18 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series competition, and he is ten points away from a perfect season of 700 points.  Arnold also has the highest Weekly Point Average among the Top 20 in the point standings at 49.29 out of a possible 50.

Jordan turned in a pair of top three finishes on Saturday night at Greenville Speedway to reach the 14 week mark of his 2915 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series season and climb up to the second spot in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 621 points. 

Jordan finished second in a Week 8 Make Up Feature, and followed that up with a third-place effort in the Week 17 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series race driving the SMJ Race Parts Trak-Star.  Jordan has two wins, six top five finishes and nine top ten finishes in 17 races.  Jordan will now try to net on a 41 in Week 18 action.

Joseph Joiner of Milton, FL is third in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 604 points and he also leads the NeSmith Panhandle Challenge Series point standings.  Joiner finished third on Saturday night in the NeSmith Panhandle Challenge Series race at Flomaton Speedway in Flomaton, AL on Saturday night in the Three Trade Consultants Special. 

Joiner has one win, 11 top five finishes and 13 top ten finishes in 14 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series races over 13 weeks.  Joiner has one more week to earn full points and has the eighth highest WPA at 46.46.

The 2013 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Champion Noah Daspit of Kiln, MS drove the Billy Riels Racing Special to his fifth NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series win of the season on Friday night at Hattiesburg Speedway.  Daspit is fourth in the standings with 569 points after five wins, nine top five finishes and 13 top ten finishes in 14 races over 12 weeks.  Daspit has two more weeks to earn full points and he has the fourth highest WPA at 47.42.

Daspit’s teammate Shannon Lee is fifth in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 563 points after one win, 12 top five finishes and 14 top ten finishes in 14 races over 12 weeks.  Lee finished ninth on Friday night at Hattiesburg Speedway in the Billy Riels Racing Special.  Lee has two more weeks to earn full points and he has the fifth highest WPA among the Top 20 drivers in the points chase at 46.92.

Greg Fore of Greenville, MS picked up his second win of the season on Saturday night at Greenville Speedway driving the Washington Body Shop GRT, and he is sixth in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 561 points.  Fore has two wins, eight top five finishes and 12 top ten finishes in 14 races over 12 weeks.  Fore has two more weeks to earn full points and he has the sixth highest WPA at 46.75.

Mike Palasini Jr. of Leland, MS took the Week 8 Make Up Feature win on Saturday night at Greenville Speedway driving the MP Trucking Special.  The two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Championship Runner-Up is seventh in the standings with 560 points after five wins and 11 top five finishes in 13 races over 12 weeks.  Palasini has two more weeks to earn full points, and he has the seventh highest WPA at 46.67.

Cruz Skinner of Oxford, AL is eighth in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 531 points after five wins, ten top five finishes and 12 top ten finishes in 13 races over 12 weeks.  Skinner finished second on Saturday night at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL on Saturday night driving the Skinner’s Body Shop CVR, and the 13-year-old Sunoco Young Guns Challenge Series point leader for NeSmith Late Model drivers 18 years of age and younger has two more weeks to earn full points.

Sid Scarbrough of Florence, MS is ninth in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 479 points after three top five finishes and eight top ten finishes in 12 races over 11 weeks.  Scarbrough has three more weeks to earn full points and he finished fourth on Saturday night at Jackson Motor Speedway in Jackson, MS driving the Villa South Trak-Star.

Robbie Starnes of Livingston, TX drove the Lonestar Hydro and Maintenance Special to a second-place finish Saturday night in the Southern Crate Late Model Series race at Ark-La-Tex Speedway in Vivian, LA.  That moved Starnes into the tenth spot in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 476 points after three wins, nine top five finishes, and 11 top ten finishes in 11 races over ten weeks.

Starnes still has four weeks to earn full points and he has the second highest WPA among the Top 20 drivers in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series point standings at 47.60.  Starnes also leads the Southern Crate Late Model Series point standings. 

There are three other drivers with Top 10 WPA scores among the Top 20 drivers in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series point standings.  Adam Cummings of Odenville, AL is 15th in the points chase, but has the third highest WPA at 47.56. 

Sunoco Young Guns Challenge Series contender 17-year-old Cole Daffron of Pell City, AL has the ninth highest WPA at 46.  Three-time NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series West Region Champion Lucky Keeton of Collinsville, MS is 12th in the standings with the tenth highest WPA at 45.80.

In other NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 17 action, Jason Cliburn of Star, MS drove the Cliburn Tank Lines GRT to a pair of wins at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS on both Friday night and Saturday night.  Cliff Williams of Star, MS won the $1,000 top prize I-20 Challenge Series Race on Saturday night at Jackson Motor Speedway driving the Cliff Williams Plumbing GRT.

Kevin Sitton of Baytown, TX won the Southern Crate Late Model Series race on Saturday night at Ark-La-Tex Speedway in Vivian, LA driving the Mirage Construction Special.  Mark Clifton of Brewton, AL drove the Carboline Special to victory on Saturday night in the NeSmith Panhandle Challenge Series race at Flomaton Speedway in Flomaton, AL.  Adam Gauldin of Talladega, AL took the win on Saturday night at Talladega Short Track driving the Adam Gauldin Racing GRT.

Two Week 17 wins from Cliburn, and single wins from Fore, Williams, Gauldin has vaulted four-time NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Chassis Manufactures Challenge Champion GRT Race Cars of Greenbrier, AR into the point lead with 11 wins in the season.  Three-time NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Chassis Champion Trak-Star Race Cars built by Boland Performance of Cuba, AL is second with nine wins.

Rocket Chassis of Shinnston, WV is third with eight wins, and CVR Race Cars of Lenoir City, TN is fourth with five wins on the season.  Warrior Race Cars built by Goddard Performance of Knoxville, TN is still looking for their first win of the season.

Drivers in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series will compete against each other nationally using a points system that will count their best 14 weekly point totals over a 27-week season from March 23 through September 27.  The $20,000 National point fund will pay $10,000 to the National Champion and pay back to the Top 10 drivers in the final point standings.

NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series competitors have the option of two different economical Chevrolet Performance Circle Track Engines to compete with.  The aluminum-head 400 horsepower 604 engine costs $5,795 and the steel-head 350 horsepower Chevrolet Performance 602 Circle Track Engine with a 100-pound weight break costs $3,495.

Both of these Chevrolet Performance Racing Engines are in stock and available at NeSmith Chevrolet in Claxton, GA with free next day delivery anywhere in the Southeast.  To place an order, call Tim Bland at 1-877-497-3624.

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 7/18/15:

NeSMITH CHEVROLET WEEKLY RACING SERIES WEEK 17 RESULTS:

July 17:

HATTIESBURG SPEEDWAY – HATTIESBURG, MS:
1. 347 Noah Daspit
2. 4 Michael Arnold
3. 7 Hunter Lewis
4. 3n Ronnie Graham
5. 14 Chase Cooper
6. 78 Calvin Martin
7. 75 Dustin Boykin
8. 15 Jeffrey Cooper
9. 47 Shannon Lee
10. S16 Brandon Underwood

MAGNOLIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY – COLUMBUS, MS:
1. 888 Jason Cliburn
2. 3 Shay Knight
3. 2s Kyle Shaw
4. 73 Evan Ellis
5. 147 Hunter Carroll
6. 01 Nick Thrash
7. 25 Justin McRee
8. 96 Trey Rickman
9. 196 Billy Scarbrough
10. G4 Shelby Sheedy
11. 232 Jamey Boland
12. 84 Randall Beckwith
13. 2 Tyler Burgess
14. 91 Billy Tedford
15. R3 Ryan Rigdon
16. 19 Marcus Minga
17. 97 Jason Williams
18. 43 Kurt Radojcsics
19. 7 John Biles
20. 11 Wayne Byrd

July 18:

ARK-LA-TEX SPEEDWAY – VIVIAN, LA (Southern Crate Late Model Series):
1. 20 Kevin Sitton
2. 77 Robbie Starnes
3. 2T Tootie Arnold
4. 56jr Colton Horner – Y
5. B75 Waylon Ball
6. 347 Noah Daspit
7. 125 Lew Lyles
8. 88 Steve Hamilton
9. 51 John Polasini
10. 14 Brant Tirello
11. F28 Eddie Provence
12. X Tony Lindsey
13. 2 Matt Brown

FLOMATON SPEEDWAY – FLOMATON, AL (NeSmith Panhandle Challenge Series):
1. 11 Mark Clifton
2. 12 Tracey Sutton
3. 10 Jonathan Joiner
4. 25 Josh Huss
5. 47 James Gilmore
6. 6 Brandon Hood
7. 8 Dewayne Morris
8. 79 Kyle Bryant
9. 0 John Wright
10. 1 Kevin Maher

GREENVILLE SPEEDWAY – GREENVILLE, MS (Week 8 Make Up Race):
1. 8 Mike Palasini Jr.
2. J8 Bobby Jordan
3. C4 Cole Burns
4. 7 Eric Carr
5. 7p Peter Hazzard
6. 44 Peyton Wilkerson – Y
7. D8jr Christopher Showah
8. 5 Richard Fedrick
9. 17 Greg Fore
10. 21 Drew McMahon

(Week 17 Race):
1. 17 Greg Fore
2. 8 Mike Palasini Jr.
3. J8 Bobby Jordan
4. 7p Peter Hazzard
5. C4 Cole Burns
6. 7 Eric Carr
7. 5 Richard Fedrick
8. D8jr Christopher Showah
9. 44 Peyton Wilkerson – Y
10. 21 Drew McMahon

JACKSON MOTOR SPEEDWAY – JACKSON, MS (I-20 Challenge Series Race):
1. C11 Cliff Williams
2. 4j Josh Banes – Y
3. C20 Cliff Ross
4. 33 Sid Scarbrough
5. 18 Dewayne Lott
6. 99 Justin Bowman
7. 111 Gary Cooper
8. 34 Doug Sanchagrin
9. 9 James Moore
10. 3n Ronnie Graham
11. 4 Michael Arnold

MAGNOLIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY – COLUMBUS, MS:
1. 888 Jason Cliburn
2. 1s Jeremy Shaw
3. 73 Evan Ellis
4. 2s Kyle Shaw
5. 01 Nick Thrash
6. 25 Justin McRee
7. 3 Shay Knight
8. 96 Trey Rickman
9. G4 Shelby Sheedy
10. 97 Jason Williams
11. 3 James Andrews
12. 43 Kurt Radojcsics
13. 7 Jon Biles
14. 69 Lane McKee
15. R3 Ryan Rigdon
16. 114 Marshall Hooter – Y
17. 1 Bryant Marsh – Y
18. 2 Tyler Burgess
19. 2 Mark Stokes
20. 196 Billy Scarbrough
21. 84 Randall Beckwith

TALLADEGA SHORT TRACK – EASTABOGA, AL:
1. 17 Adam Gauldin
2. 11 Cruz Skinner – Y
3. 7 Cole Daffron – Y
4. 81 Adam Cummings
5. 222 Carlton Freeman
6. 33 Shane Layfield
7. 44 Scott Davis
8. 12 Todd McBurnett
9. 71 Dustin Knighten

NeSMITH CHEVROLET WEEKLY RACING SERIES WEEK 18 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

July 24:

GREENVILLE SPEEDWAY – GREENVILLE, MS (Week 15 Make Up Race)
HATTIESBURG SPEEDWAY – HATTIESBURG, MS
SALINA SPEEDWAY – SALINA, KS

July 25:
BATTLEGROUND RACE PARK – HIGHLANDS, TX
CAMDEN SPEEDWAY – CAMDEN, TN
GREENVILLE SPEEDWAY – GREENVILLE, MS
SOUTHERN RACEWAY – MILTON, FL (NeSmith Panhandle Challenge Series)
TALLADEGA SHORT TRACK – EASTABOGA, AL
WHYNOT MOTORSPORTS PARK – MERIDIAN, MS ($1,000-To-Win)

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.  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, Integra Racing Shocks, Image Screen Printing, and Gresham Race Parts.  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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