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

August 31, 2013

ELLIS GOES WIRE-TO-WIRE FOR NeSMITH CHEVROLET DLMS WEST PLAINS WIN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

                WEST PLAINS, MO – Evan Ellis of Plantersville, MS drove the Ellis Welding Special to a wire-to-wire win in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series 50-lap main event at West Plains Motor Speedway.  Ellis picked up his first career series win with a 1.971 margin of victory over Chandler Petty of Austin, AR in the Whistle Stop Barbeque Rocket.

                Brent Barrett of Cleveland, MS took his best finish of the season with a third-place effort in the Custom Spraying, Inc. GRT that resulted from an inside move on the last turn of the last lap when he passed Jason Hughes of West Plains, MO, who finished fourth in the Gary’s Tire and Automotive Rocket.  Barrett was also the Rookie of the Race.

                National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee and NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series point leader Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN was fifth in the NeSmith Chevrolet Special, and got a little closer to the 2013 $20,000 Championship. 

With three races left in the season, Johnson left West Plains Motor Speedway with a 98-point lead over Kyle Bronson of Brandon, FL.  Bronson moved up to the second spot in the point standings after taking a provisional, starting 23rd in the Brandon Ford Warrior and finishing 12th to earn the Hedman Husler of the Race Award.

Roger Witt of Batesville, AR took the sixth spot in The Chrome Shop Trak-Star and Tait Davenport of Benton, KY moved up to the third spot in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series point standings with a seventh-place finish in the Murtco, Inc. Special.  Gary Stolba of Willow Springs, MO was eighth in the Ranchall Innovations GRT.

Chris O’Connor of Cantonment, FL finished ninth in the Gas Monkey Garage Special and Troy English of Calvert City, KY rounded out the top ten in the West Kentucky Auto Sales Special. 

The only caution flag of the race came out on lap 20 when two-time series champion Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS spun the B&M Salvage Rocket in turn one while running third.  That earned Cooley the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award.  Ellis completed the 50 tours of West Plains Motor Speedway in 20 minutes and 5.245 seconds.

Ellis made it a clean sweep of the race program, as he was the Fast Qualifier of the race.  Ellis out-timed the 32-car field with a lap around the 3/8-mile clay oval in 15.806 seconds.  The two 10-lap B-Main Races were won by English and Davenport.

The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series now travels to Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS for a 40-lap $2,000-to-win race on Sunday night, Round 19 of the 2013 season.

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 18 AT WEST PLAINS MOTOR SPEEDWAY IN WEST PLAINS, MO ON 8/31/13:

POS        STRT     CAR #    DRIVER                               HOMETOWN                     LAPS     $ WON 
1.             1              73           Evan Ellis                            Plantersville, MS                50           $2,500
2.             2              47           Chandler Petty                    Austin, AR                            50           $1,250
3.             4              110         Brent Barrett (R)                Cleveland, MS                     50           $850
4.             5              6h           Jason Hughes                      West Plains, MO 50           $700
5.             8              5              Ronnie Johnson                  Chattanooga, TN                50           $650
6.             6              18           Roger Witt                           Batesville, AR                     50           $550
7.             12           18d         Tait Davenport                   Benton, KY                          50           $500
8.             7              33           Gary Stolba                         Willow Springs, MO          50           $450
9.             13           00           Chris O’Connor                  Cantonment, FL                 50           $400
10.          11           6              Troy English                       Calvert City, KY                50           $375
11.          14           19           Marcus Minga                    Shannon, MS                       50           $350
12.          23           40           Kyle Bronson (R)               Brandon, FL                        50           $400
13.          10           1s            Joey Smith                           Pomona, MO                       50           $280
14.          3              19c         Eric Cooley                         Fulton, MS                           50           $260
15.          17           77           Gavin Landers                    Batesville, AR                     50           $250
16.          15           11           Hunter Duren                      Yellville, AR                        50           $240
17.          20           55           Bobby Skinner                    Moody, AR                           49           $220
18.          24           1              Johnny Stokes                     Columbus, MS                     49           $200
19.          19           17           Nick Black                           Van Buren, MO                  48           $200
20.          18           121         Michael Blount                   Sumrall, MS                        48           $200
21.          16           181         Chad Williams                    Lake City, AR                     47           $200
22.          21           93           Mason Oberkramer          Brosley, MO                        34           $200
23.          9              25           Justin McRee                       Cottondale, AL                   30           $200
24.          22           66           Robby Moore                      Brosley, MO                        24           $200

ENTRIES:  32
FAST QUALIFIER:  Ellis, 15.806 Seconds
PROVISIONALS:  Bronson and Stokes
LEAD CHANGES:  None
LAPS LED:  Ellis, 1-50
HEDMAN HUSLER OF THE RACE:  Bronson (started 23rd and finished 12th)
ROOKIE OF THE RACE:  Barrett
DOMINATOR RACE PRODUCTS HARD LUCK AWARD:  Cooley
PRC JUST MISSED IT AWARD:  Kevin Collins
STEALTH RACING CARBURETORS 7TH-PLACE AWARD:  Davenport
VELOCITA RACEWEAR 8TH-PLACE AWARD: Stolba
MODERN IMAGES 9TH-PLACE AWARD:  O’Connor
AR BODIES 10TH-PLACE AWARD:  English
MIKE CUSTOM TANKS 11TH-PLACE AWARD:  Minga
SHORTY’S SHOCK SERVICE 12TH-PLACE AWARD:  Bronson
SCHOENFELD HEADERS 13TH-PLACE AWARD:  Smith
J.T. KERR RACING EQUIPMENT 14TH-PLACE AWARD:  Cooley
KINSER AIR FILTERS 15TH-PLACE AWARD:  Landers
CAUTIONS:  1
MARGIN OF VICTORY:  1.971 Seconds
TIME OF THE RACE:  20 Minutes and 5.245 Seconds

QUALIFYING (Top 10 Transfer To Main Event):

POS

CAR #

DRIVER

HOMETOWN

CHASSIS

LAP 1

LAP 2

TIME

1

73

Evan Ellis

Plantersville, MS

Barry Wright

15.806

15.858

15.806

2

47

Chandler Petty

Austin, AR

Rocket

15.891

16.121

15.891

3

19c

Eric Cooley

Fulton, MS

Rocket

15.966

16.059

15.966

4

110

Brent Barrett - R

Cleveland, MS

GRT

15.981

16.110

15.981

5

6h

Jason Hughes

West Plains, MO

Rocket

15.996

16.032

15.996

6

18

Roger Witt

Batesville, AR

Trak-Star

15.997

16.040

15.997

7

33

Gary Stolba

Willow Springs, MO

GRT

16.101

16.076

16.076

8

5

Ronnie Johnson

Chattanooga, TN

Mastersbilt

16.096

16.281

16.096

9

25

Justin McRee

Cottondale, AL

HRRC

16.143

16.285

16.143

10

1s

Joey Smith

Pomona, MO

Mastersbilt

16.172

16.288

16.172

11

6

Troy English

Calvert City, KY

Barry Wright

16.173

16.593

16.173

12

18d

Tait Davenport

Benton, KY

Longhorn

16.222

16.203

16.203

13

11

Hunter Duren

Yellville, AR

GRT

16.203

16.252

16.203

14

19

Josh Adkins - R

Talladega, AL

Barry Wright

16.206

16.408

16.206

15

77

Gavin Landers

Batesville, AR

Rocket

16.288

16.365

16.288

16

19m

Marcus Minga

Shannon, MS

Rocket

16.380

16.347

16.347

17

14jr

Chris Jones

Poplar Bluff, MO

GRT

16.468

16.348

16.348

18

181

Chad Williams

Lake City, AR

Trak-Star

16.349

16.349

16.349

19

00c

Chris O'Connor

Cantonment, FL

HRRC

16.349

16.546

16.349

20

55

Bobby Skinner

Moody, MO

Rocket

16.354

16.467

16.354

21

K7

Kevin Collins

West Plains, MO

GRT

16.355

16.498

16.355

22

121

Michael Blount

Sumrall, MS

GRT

16.375

16.473

16.375

23

17

Nick Black

Van Buren, MO

GRT

17.024

16.392

16.392

24

40b

Kyle Bronson - R

Brandon, FL

Warrior

16.407

16.404

16.404

25

93

Mason Oberkramer

Brosley, MO

GRT

NT

16.479

16.479

26

66

Robby Moore

Brosley, MO

Trak-Star

16.489

16.753

16.489

27

17k

Cody Kierre

Beebe, AR

Larry Shaw

16.591

16.538

16.538

28

1

Johnny Stokes

Columbus, MS

GRT

16.708

16.962

16.708

29

15

John Aiken

West Plains, MO

Mastersbilt

16.817

17.327

16.817

30

3x

Steve Tarry

Paragould, AR

GRT

17.228

16.853

16.853

31

33k

Kaleb Stolba

Willow Springs, MO

GRT

17.755

17.194

17.194

32

14c

Jerry Croney

West Plains, MO

GRT

17.609

17.567

17.567

B-MAINS (10 Laps – Top 6 Transfer To Main Event):

                1ST B-MAIN:  1. English; 2. O'Connor; 3. Duren; 4. Landers; 5. Black; 6. Oberkramer; 7. Collins; 8. Kierre; 9. Aitken; 10. Jones; 11. K. Stolba.

                2ND B-MAIN:  1. Davenport; 2. Minga; 3. Williams; 4. Blount; 5. Skinner; 6. Moore; 7. Bronson (R); 8. Stokes; 9. Tarry; 10. Croney; 11. Adkins (R).

NeSMITH CHEVROLET DIRT LATE MODEL SERIES POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 8/31/13:

1. 5 Ronnie Johnson – 1,476
2. 40 Kyle Bronson (R) – 1,378
3. 18d Tait Davenport – 1,322
4. 18 Ronny Lee Hollingsworth – 1,304
5. 1 Johnny Stokes – 1,202
6. 25 Justin McRee – 1,160
7. 19 Josh Adkins (R) – 1,088
8. 110 Brent Barrett (R) – 1,060
9. 121 Michael Blount – 822
10. 10 Matthew Turner – 776
11. 56 David Earl Gentry – 762
12. 47 Shannon Lee – 718
13. 51 Mack McCarter (R) – 624
14. 17ss Shan Smith – 610
15. 8a Todd Morrow – 562
16. 117 Jake Teague (R) – 534
17. 19 Marcus Minga – 532
18. 1s Jeremy Shaw – 496
19. 38 Scott Dedwylder – 448
20. 73 Evan Ellis – 442

R – Denotes Rookie of the Year

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. 

-30-