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

August 28, 2015

HICKMAN DOMINATES IN NeSMITH LATE MODEL KY LAKE MOTOR SPEEDWAY WIN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

                CALVERT CITY, KY – Riley Hickman of Cleveland, TN had everything going his way Friday night in the first-ever visit for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway.  Not even a broken shock could slow Hickman down on his way to his second series win of the season in the Hickman Manufacturing CVR “House Car.”

                Hickman took the lead on lap 12 from Matt Henderson of Loudon, TN, and then he packed his bags, turned in the key, and checked out on the field in the 50-lap main event.  At one point in the race, Hickman had a full straightaway lead over Henderson, who was locked in a side-by-side battle for second with Ryan King of Seymour, TN.

                After the race, Hickman was thankful for the big lead, as he got mired in heavy lapped traffic in the last ten laps of the race, as Henderson and King closed in.  But Hickman had to show patience, and it prevailed, as he took the win worth $2,500 with almost a full second margin of victory.

                “I think we were good tonight because we had a little bit different tire combination than anyone else,” Hickman said.  “Even with a broken shock, that just goes to show what a great race car Chip Vineyard puts on the race track for me.  We just might have to come back tomorrow night and leave the broken shock on the car!  I was a little worried about getting through the lapped traffic there at the end, and I might have even tried a little too hard because I hit one of the tires on the inside of the track and bent the front bumper.”

                The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series will return to Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway on Saturday night for a 50-lap $2,500-to-win main event.  If Hickman can make it two straight and sweep the weekend, he will pick up a $1,000 bonus for a $6,000 weekend paycheck.

                Henderson finished second in the Rebel Diesel Rocket #H2 Duayne Hommel Tribute Car and was also the Cruise With The Champions Rookie of the Race.  King finished third for his fourth straight Top 5 finish in the series driving the Brian King Roofing Stinger.  John Ownbey of Cleveland, TN was fourth in the Auto Depot Special.

                Jake Teague of Oliver Springs, TN took the fifth spot in the Wade’s Body Shop Special to make it a Top 5 sweep for East Tennessee drivers.  West Tennessee’s Ashley Newman of Ripley, TN finished sixth in the Greg’s Sawmill Special, and Tait Davenport of Paducah, KY drove the Lucas Lee Motorsports Special to a seventh-place finish.

                Two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS was eighth in the Bryson Motorsports/Cooley Transport Special, and Troy English of Calvert City, KY took the ninth spot in the JDS Poultry Special.  Todd Morrow of East Ridge, TN rounded out the top ten in the A-Plus Collision Center GRT.

                Ryan Crane of Panama City, FL started 20th in the Panama City Cycles Rocket and finished 14th to earn the Beyea Headers Hard Charger of the Race Award.    The Sunoco Young Gun of the Race Award went to 13-year-old Will Roland of Jasper, GA in the Roland Tire Warrior.  

Two-time and defending NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion and current point leader Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN finished 13th in the NeSmith Chevrolet Special, but still holds a 78-point lead over King in the battle for the series’ National Championship.

                In preliminary action, Hickman out-qualified the 32 entrants with a lap around the 3/8-mile dirt oval in 16.288 seconds.  Less than one second separated the top 30 qualifiers.  The two ten-lap B-Main Races were won by Cooley and Morrow.

                Hickman took the lead at the drop of the green flag from the pole position followed by Henderson, King, Erick Hickerson of Linden, TN, and Ownbey.  Henderson got wound up down the backstretch and he stepped to the outside of Hickman in turns three and four to take the lead and lead lap one.

                Ownbey passed Hickerson for fourth on lap two, and brought Newman with him up into the fifth spot.  Henderson changed his groove on lap 12, and dropped to the bottom of the track.  Hickman went where Henderson wasn’t in turn two, and pulled alongside the leader on the outside to challenge for the point.

                Hickman took the lead coming off the fourth turn to complete lap 12, and then quickly began to pull away.  By lap 14, Hickman was in lapped traffic, but didn’t have much issue at all working his way through.  While Henderson watched Hickman pull away, it wasn’t long before he had company from King, who stepped to the outside of Henderson.

                In turn four, King squeezed between Henderson to his inside and the lapped Ben Garner Farms Special of Bronson Berry of Huntingdon, TN on his outside to take over the second spot.  By lap 20, Hickman had a full straightaway lead over King and was racing in a different zip code.

                Henderson must have thought that “thread the needle” move King pulled on him a few laps earlier was pretty cool because he pulled the same trick with King to his inside and a lapped car to his outside coming off the fourth turn on lap 21 to retake the second spot.  It didn’t take Henderson long to catch Hickman, as Ricky Waggoner of Martin, TN slowed down the backstretch in the Taylormade Performance Special on lap 25 to bring out the first caution flag of the race.

                For the “Dixie-Style” double-file restart, Hickman has Henderson, King, Ownbey, Newman, Teague, Hickerson, English, Cooley and Davenport doubled up behind him.  Hickman pulled away when the green bulb came back on, but behind him, Henderson, King and Ownbey had a good ole East Tennessee three-wide fight going on for the second spot.

                They settled it in a couple of laps with Henderson keeping his claim on the spot, followed by King and Ownbey.  Hickman had opened up a half straightaway lead in just a few laps, but had to give it up on lap 30 when Hickerson stalled the All Around Underground Special on the front straightaway. 

                Hickman once again waved bye-bye to the rest of the field when the green flag came back out.  Teague got by Ownbey for the fourth spot on the restart, but Ownbey was able to get around the outside of Teague on lap 31 to retake the fourth position.  By lap 35, Hickman had a half-straightaway lead on Henderson.

The leader began encountering lapped traffic on lap 40 with a two and a half second lead on Henderson, but with the lapped cars wanting the same inside “sweet spot” of the race track as Hickman did, getting through traffic in the final ten laps of the race proved to try Hickman’s patience.

Henderson shaved off over a second and half on Hickman’s lead in the closing laps of the race, but Hickman was able to hold his ground to the checkered flag.  Most of the drivers said they learned a lot about Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway on night one of the weekend double-header, so Saturday night’s race should be even more competitive.

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 16 AT KENTUCKY LAKE MOTOR SPEEDWAY IN CALVERT CITY, KY ON 8/28/15:

POS        STRT     CAR #    DRIVER                               HOMETOWN                     LAPS     $ WON 
1.             1              1v           Riley Hickman                    Cleveland, TN                     50           $2,500
2.             2              H2          Matt Henderson (R)           Loudon, TN                         50           $1,375
3.             4              30           Ryan King (R)                     Seymour, TN                       50           $975
4.             6              44           John Ownbey                      Cleveland, TN                     50           $700
5.             9              117         Jake Teague                        Oliver Springs, TN            50           $650
6.             5              73           Ashley Newman                  Ripley, TN                            50           $550
7.             7              18d         Tait Davenport                   Paducah, KY                       50           $500
8.             11           33b         Eric Cooley                         Fulton, MS                           50           $450
9.             8              6              Troy English                       Calvert City, KY                50           $400
10.          12           8a           Todd Morrow                     East Ridge, TN                    50           $375
11.          13           1              Grant Garrison                  Walton, KY                          50           $350
12.          16           10           Ronnie Cooper                    McKenzie, TN                     50           $300
13.          15           5              Ronnie Johnson                  Chattanooga, TN                50           $405
14.          20           10c         Ryan Crane (R)                   Panama City, FL                50           $385
15.          14           22           Will Roland (Y)                  Jasper, GA                           50           $250
16.          10           18           Chase Edge                          LaFayette, AL                     50           $365
17.          21           18L        Brent Lewis                         Harrisburg, IL                    49           $220
18.          23           19           Marcus Minga                    Shannon, MS                       48           $325
19.          18           36           Evan Taylor                        Clarksville, TN                   48           $200
20.          22           12           Kevin Poole                         Paducah, KY                       48           $200
21.          3              98           Eric Hickerson                   Linden, TN                           28           $200
22.          19           89           Credence Mott                    Vienna, IL                            26           $200
23.          17           00w        Ricky Waggoner                                Martin, TN                           23           $200
24.          24           00           Bronson Berry                    Huntingdon, TN                  23           $200

ENTRIES:  32
FAST QUALIFIER:  Hickman, 16.288 Seconds
PROVISIONALS:  Minga and Berry
LEAD CHANGES:  1
LAP LEADER:  Henderson, 1-11; Hickman, 12-50
CRUISE WITH THE CHAMPIONS ROOKIE OF THE RACE:  Henderson
SUNOCO YOUNG GUN OF THE RACE:  Roland
BEYEA HEADERS HARD CHARGER AWARD:  Crane (started 20th and finished 14th)
INTEGRA SHOCKS FIFTH-PLACE AWARD:  Teague
CRATE INSIDER.COM SIXTH-PLACE AWARD: Newman
GRESHAM RACE PARTS SEVENTH-PLACE AWARD:  Davenport
IMAGE SCREEN PRINTING NINTH-PLACE AWARD:  English
AR BODIES TENTH-PLACE AWARD:  Morrow
CAUTIONS:  2
MARGIN OF VICTORY:  .973 Seconds
TIME OF THE RACE:  24 Minutes and 17.485 Seconds
NEXT RACE:  August 29, KY Lake Motor Speedway, Calvert City, KY, 50-Laps, $2,500-to-win

QUALIFYING (Top 10 Transfer To Main Event):

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

                1ST B-MAIN:  1. Cooley; 2. Garrison; 3. Johnson; 4. Waggoner; 5. Mott; 6. Lewis; 7. Berry; 8. Minga; 9. Garner; 10. Ray; 11. Blount.

                2ND B-MAIN:  1. Morrow; 2. Roland (Y); 3. Cooper; 4. Taylor; 5. Crane (R); 6. Poole; 7. Halford; 8. Neisler; 9. Landers DQ/LT; 10. Mike DNS; 11. Bush DNS.

NeSMITH CHEVROLET DIRT LATE MODEL SERIES POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 8/28/15:

1. 5 Ronnie Johnson – 1,356
2. 30 Ryan King (R) – 1,278
3. 18 Chase Edge – 1,248
4, H2 Matt Henderson (R) – 1,222
5. 10c Ryan Crane (R) – 1,144
6. 21m Cody Martin (R) – 988
7. 19 Marcus Minga – 878
8. 5d Rodgerick Dykes – 552
9. 14 Cale Conley – 482
10. 87 Walker Arthur – 464
11. 33b Eric Cooley – 454
12. 22 Will Roland (Y) – 444
13. 14c Tyler Clem (R/Y) – 438
14. 25 Justin McRee – 432
15. 55 Montana Dudley – 380
16. 4 Jeremy Faircloth – 356
17. 121 Michael Blount – 350
18. 19t William Thomas – 348
19. 8a Todd Morrow – 344
20. 21n Joe Noojin - 338

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

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.  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, and CVR Race Cars. 

-30-