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

September 13, 2014

McCARTER HOLDS OFF JOHNSON FOR TAZEWELL CHEVY SUPER SERIES WIN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

                TAZEWELL, TN – Mack McCarter of Gatlinburg, TN won the 6th Annual Buddy Rogers Memorial 44 for the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series in spectacular fashion Saturday night at Tazewell Speedway driving the McCarter Brothers Racing CVR.  After a race-long duel, McCarter held off a driver he has the highest respect for; Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN.

                To get to the checkered flag coming off the fourth turn on the final lap, McCarter had to go through a slow lapped car and then defend the point against a hard charging Johnson to take the win sideways at the finish line.

                “Ronnie Johnson is the best dirt late model driver in the country, and I’ve been trying to beat him for win all season long over in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series,” McCarter said.  “He beat us in qualifying, but I beat him for the lead at the start of the race and track position means everything here.  All race long I kept asking myself, where’s Johnson and where’s the checkered flag?”

                All race long, McCarter didn’t have to look very far to find the National Dirt Hall of Fame Inductee.  For most of the race, Johnson kept looking inside McCarter to challenge for the lead, but the momentum McCarter had coming off the corners kept him in the lead.  The only thing that could work to Johnson’s advantage was lapped traffic, and it almost got him his third win of the season in the final turn of the final lap.

                McCarter led into the third turn on the final lap with Johnson running right in his tire tracks.  Coming off the fourth turn, the lapped car of Brian Shockley of Thorn Hill, TN was running about half speed right in the groove McCarter was running.  Just when everyone thought Johnson had run out of tricks to try and pass McCarter, the Chattanooga Flash had one more in the bag.

                Seeing that McCarter had committed to the groove the slow lapped car was in, Johnson stepped to the outside and tried to use Shockley as a pick, and drive around McCarter for the win.  McCarter was not to be denied and refused to take another second-place to Johnson. 

McCarter dropped the hammer, moved Shockley out of the way, and then drifted up the banking to defend the point.  McCarter’s right-rear made contact with Johnson’s left-front getting McCarter sideways under the checkered flag for the $4,400 top prize.  Johnson had to settle for second in the NeSmith Chevrolet Special.

Third-generation driver Brandon Williams of Crossville, TN was impressive in his first-ever start with the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series by driving the Auto Zone Special to a third-place finish.  Williams had to replace a power steering pump and missed hot laps. 

His first laps on the track in a super late model powered by a Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine, Williams qualified fourth fastest, and ran third in the race, running blind while he was in lapped traffic.  Williams lost all of the tear offs on his helmet visor in the opening laps of the race.  Jacob Grizzle of Blairsville, GA finished fourth in the Carolina Performance Special.

Jake Knowles of Tyrone, GA took the fifth spot in the Cedartown Electric Rocket, and Ryan King of Anniston, AL drove the David King Automotive Special to a sixth-place finish.  Brent Barrett of Cleveland, MS was seventh in the Custom Spraying, Inc. Special and was the highest finishing Rookie of the Year candidate in the race.

Josh Henry of Newport, TN finished eighth in the Henry Trucking Rocket and Tyler Crowder of Lamont, FL cut down a tire early in the race, but came back to take the ninth spot in the Crowder Trucking Rocket.  David Brannon of Elora, TN rounded out the top ten in the Elora Gin Company Special.

Johnson was the fast qualifier with a lap around the 1/3-mile high-banked clay oval in 11.916 seconds to earn the pole position for the main event.  When the green flag came out to start the 6th Annual Buddy Rogers Memorial 44, it was outside front row starter McCarter taking the lead followed by Johnson, Williams, Grizzle, and Knowles.

The race was slowed by the first of five caution flags on lap 4 when Jadon Frame of Winchester, TN cut down a tire on his Poultry Electric Special, and again on lap seven when Crowder cut down a tire.  McCarter led Johnson, Williams, Grizzle, Knowles, Barrett, Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA, King, Henry and Shockley down for the restart.

King was able to get by Turner for the seventh spot on the restart, and by lap 12, McCarter led Johnson into lapped traffic with a two car-length advantage.  Johnson’s night almost came to an end on lap 15 when he threw a slider on the lapped car of Mark Dowdy of Waterloo, AL in turn four.  Johnson’s rear bumper locked onto the front bumper of Dowdy’s Action Track Chair.com Special down the front straightaway.

Johnson and Dowdy got separated by the time they got to the first turn, but by that time, McCarter had opened up a half straightaway lead on Johnson.  Turner slowed his Hedman Hussler Hedders Special on lap 23 while running ninth to bring out the third caution flag of the race.  McCarter’s big lead was gone, and Johnson camped out on his back bumper for the restart.

When the green flag came back out, Johnson went into attack mode, showing the nose of his race car to McCarter on the inside on every lap until the fourth caution flag was unfuelled on lap 27 when Lavon Sparks stalled the Hester Racing GRT on the front straightaway.  McCarter led Johnson, Williams, Grizzle, Knowles, Barrett, King, Henry, Shockley and Crowder back to the green flag.

McCarter’s car began to get loose in turns three and four, as track began to get black and slick, while Johnson was hammer down in the moist clay on the inside.  On lap 33, McCarter changed his racing groove in turns three and four, dropping to the inside, which in turn slowed Johnson’s momentum to get underneath the leader.

Shockley had problems with his Discount Auto Parts Rocket coming off the fourth turn on lap 37 and got sideways in front of the leaders, and then slowed on the front straightaway to bring out the final caution flag of the race.  This scenario would play out again on the last turn of the last lap.

When the green flag came back out for the eight lap dash to the finish, Johnson tried the outside, but couldn’t make it work to get by McCarter for the lead.  On the last lap, Johnson went to the outside again, only this time by necessity, as McCarter got into Shockley with the checkered flag waving in front of them. 

McCarter sent Shockley spinning down the front stretch as Johnson worked to his outside.  It was a grinding drag race to the finish line, and McCarter got there first to take his first career Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series win in just his second start.

The next race for the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series will be next Saturday night, September 20 with a 50-lap $3,000-to-win event at 411 Motor Speedway in Seymour, TN.  Johnson holds a 30-point lead over Crowder in the point standings going into Round 6 of the 2014 Chevy Super Series 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 5 AT TAZEWELL SPEEDWAY IN TAZEWELL, TN ON 9/13/14:

POS        STRT     CAR #    DRIVER                               HOMETOWN                     LAPS     $ WON 
1.             2              51           Mack McCarter                  Gatlinburg, TN                   44           $4,400
2.             1              5              Ronnie Johnson                  Chattanooga, TN                44           $2,200
3.             4              95           Brandon Williams             Crossville, TN                     44           $1,100
4.             3              99g         Jacob Grizzle                      Blairsville, GA                    44           $1,000
5.             5              66           Jake Knowles                      Tyrone, GA                          44           $800
6.             7              55           Ryan King                            Anniston, AL                       44           $700
7.             6              110         Brent Barrett (R)                Cleveland, MS                     44           $600
8.             9              B00        Josh Henry                          Newport, TN                        43           $550
9.             13           47           Tyler Crowder                    Lamont, FL                         43           $500
10.          14           33           David Brannon                   Elora, FL                             43           $475
11.          15           11           Lavon Sparks                      Phenix City, AL                  42           $450
12.          11           17           Brian Shockley                   Thorn Hill, TN                    40           $425
13.          16           88d         Mark Dowdy                       Waterloo, AL                      37           $400
14.          10           J8           Jadon Frame (R)                Winchester, TN                   34           $400
15.          8              10           Matthew Turner                 Dawsonville, GA                 21           $400
16.          12           3              Brad Hall                             Knoxville, TN                     0              DNS

ENTRIES:  16
FAST QUALIFIER: Johnson, 11.916 Seconds
LEAD CHANGES:  None
LAP LEADER:  McCarter, 1-44
ROOKIE OF THE RACE:  Barrett
SCHAEFFER’S OIL 8TH-PLACE AWARD:  Henry
MODERN IMAGES 9TH-PLACE AWARD:  Crowder
DAVID SMITH CARBURETORS 10TH-PLACE AWARD:  Brannon
MIKE’S CUSTOM TANKS 11TH-PLACE AWARD:  Sparks
SHORTY’S SHOCK SERVICE 12TH-PLACE AWARD:  Shockley
CAUTIONS:  5
MARGIN OF VICTORY: .127 Seconds
TIME OF THE RACE:  24 Minutes and 55.259 Seconds
QUALIFYING:

CHEVROLET PERFORMANCE SUPER LATE MODEL SERIES POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 9/13/14:

1. 5 Ronnie Johnson – 488
2. 47 Tyler Crowder – 458
3. 66 Jake Knowles – 444
4. 99g Jacob Grizzle – 434
5. 110 Brent Barrett (R) – 390
6. 11 Lavon Sparks – 384
7. J8 Jadon Frame (R) – 378
8. 49 Dingus Griffin – 370
9. 88d Mark Dowdy – 360
10. 18 Chase Edge (R) – 316
11. 10 Matthew Turner – 306
12. 19m Josh Adkins (R) – 266
13. 33 David Brannon – 228
14. 72 Frank Wilson – 212
15. 15 Tim Busha – 196
16. 51 Mack McCarter – 176
17. 47a Adam Martin (R) – 172
18. 47r Ross Martin – 168
19. 17 Ronald Dunn – 152
20. 222 Carlton Freeman - 150

R – Denotes Rookie of the Year Candidate

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.  Schaeffer’s Oil Presented By Chad Wallace and Heather Newsome is the Official Oil of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series.  AR Bodies is an Official Sponsor of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series.  Cruise With The Champions is an Official Sponsor of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series.  Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series Contingency Sponsors for 2014 are Modern Images, Mike Custom Tanks, KRC Power Steering, David Smith Carburetors, Kinser Air Filters, and Shorty’s Shock Service.

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