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

September 14, 2013

CLARKSVILLE WIN MAKES THOMAS FOUR FOR FIVE IN CHEVY SUPER SERIES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

                CLARKSVILLE, TN – William Thomas of Phenix City, AL drove the Alexander’s Industrial Service GRT to his fourth win in five races on Saturday night in the James Corlew Chevrolet 50 at Clarksville Speedway for the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series.  Thomas led all 50 laps to pick up the $3,000 top prize.

                Thomas left Clarksville Speedway with a 42-point lead in the championship standings over National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN, who finished second in the Tommy Pope Construction Warrior.  Johnson could get close to Thomas at times in the race, but Thomas was able to keep “The Chattanooga Flash” behind him.

                “We didn’t think the track would get as slick as it did, but it was still a good surface to race on and we just had to adjust our driving style for it,” Thomas said.  “I knew Ronnie Johnson was back there, so I knew I had to run hard, but at the same time, not overdrive the race track.  We still have a lot of racing left in this season, and if I do win this championship, I know Ronnie is going to make me earn it.”

                Tim Busha of Boaz, AL made a late race charge to claim the third spot in the Kilpatrick Racing GRT, and Tait Davenport of Benton, KY finished fourth in the Murtco, Inc. Special.  Ted Lackey of Munford, AL was fifth in the C.S. Beatty Construction Warrior, and Ross Martin of Talladega, AL drove the Blake Dorsett Trucking GRT to a sixth-place finish.

                David Brannon of Elora, TN finished seventh in the Elora Gin Company Special, and Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA started 15th and charged to the eighth spot in the J.T. Kerr Racing Equipment Special.  Adam Martin of Talladega, AL was ninth in the Seals Insurance Special and Brent Barrett of Cleveland, MS rounded out the top ten in the Custom Spraying, Inc. GRT.

                Chase Edge of Lafayette, AL set fast time in Qualifying with a lap around the ¼-mile clay oval in 13.067 seconds driving the Edge’s Gas Company Special to earn the pole position for the James Corlew Chevrolet 50.  Edge led the field down for the green flag and took the lead from outside front row starter Thomas.

                But the start was waved off when Ross Martin spun in turn one, which set off a chain reaction behind him.  All cars were able to line back up for a complete restart, and on the second try, Edge and Thomas raced side-by-side for the lead, until Thomas claimed the point coming off the fourth turn to lead lap one followed by Edge, Johnson, Ross Martin and Lackey.

                Ross Martin pulled to the inside of Johnson on lap three to set up a side-by-side battle for the third spot that was waged for six laps.  Johnson was able to settle back into third and open up a car length advantage over Ross Martin by lap nine.  With the tight confines of Clarksville Speedway, it didn’t take long for Thomas to catch the cars on the tail end of the lead lap by lap eight.

                Edge was unable to gain any ground on Thomas in lapped traffic.  Thomas could drive his car anywhere he wanted to on the race track to get through the traffic, and by 18 he had a full straightaway lead over Edge.  Edge was able to catch up with Thomas on lap 19 when the caution flag came out for debris in turn four.

                With Thomas at the front of the field for the “Dixie Style” double-file restart, as the field lined-up side-by-side behind him.  Edge chose the inside and had the third-place car of Johnson to his right on the outside.  Fourth through tenth respectively were Ross Martin, Lackey, Busha, Davenport, Brannon, Jeff Walston of Paducah, KY, and Brad Smith of Winston-Salem, NC.

                The caution flag came out on the restart when Carlton Freeman of Eastaboga, AL spun the Advanced Lazer and Machine Special in turn four, and Walston gave up the ninth spot when he took the Mason’s Recycling Special to the pit area.

                When the field went back to green flag action, Johnson sailed around the outside of Edge to take over the second spot coming off the second turn, and was right on Thomas’ back bumper going down the backstretch.  Thomas gave Johnson the inside line as they sailed into turn three, but Thomas was able to pull Johnson one car-length coming off the fourth turn.

                Johnson suddenly slowed off the pace down the front straightaway on lap 24 that set up a scramble Ross Martin was able to capitalize on, as he moved up to the second spot.  Johnson came back up to speed in turn two and settled back into the third spot, with Lackey moving up to fourth, and Edge dropping back to fifth.

                Freeman spun in turn three on lap 29 collecting Mark Dowdy of Waterloo, AL in the Action Track Chair Special to bring out the caution flag and eliminating both cars.  Thomas had Ross Martin, Johnson, Lackey, Edge, Busha, Davenport, Brannon, Adam Martin, and Turner doubled up behind him for the restart. 

Ross Martin chose the inside for the restart and had Johnson to his right on the outside.  When the green flag came out, Johnson passed Martin for second, and Edge followed him around Lackey to reclaim the third spot.

                Smith spun the Velocita Special in two on lap 30 to light up the yellow caution bulb for the fifth time.  After the field went back to green flag action, Busha was on the move, as he got around Davenport and Lackey to move up to the fifth spot.  Edge gave up the third spot when he slowed with a cut tire on lap 31 to bring the caution flag back out over the field. 

                The restart saw Thomas leading Johnson, Ross Martin, Busha, Lackey, Davenport, Brannon, Adam Martin, Turner and Barrett.  On lap 36, Ross Martin got sideways in turn three, and created a wild scramble behind him.  All of the cars continued without stopping, but the aftermath left debris on the track, and caution flag came out on lap 37.

                The turn three action reshuffled the top ten for the restart from second on back.  Thomas and Johnson still held the first two spots, but Busha moved up to third followed by Davenport, Lackey, Ross Martin, Brannon, Adam Martin, Turner and Barrett.

                In the closing laps of the race, Johnson could keep Thomas in his sights, but he couldn’t get close enough to challenge for the win.  Thomas picked his way through lapped traffic in the final eight laps of the race, keeping at least one lapped car between himself and Johnson to take a .768 second margin of victory at the checkered flag.

                The Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series will take part in a triple racing weekend next week with a trio of $3,000-to-win $300-to-start events.  The three upcoming races will be Rounds 6, 7 and 8 of the 2013 season.

The action begins on Friday night at Boyd’s Speedway in Ringgold, GA with the Mountain View Chevrolet 50.  The second race will be the Volunteer Chevrolet 50 on Saturday night at 411 Motor Speedway in Seymour, TN.  The third race will be the completion of the West Chevrolet 50 on Sunday night at Tazewell Speedway in Tazewell, TN.

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 CLARKSVILLE SPEEDWAY IN CLARKSVILLE, TN ON 9/14/13:

POS        STRT     CAR #    DRIVER                               HOMETOWN                     LAPS     $ WON 
1.             2              A19        William Thomas                                Phenix City, AL                  50           $3,000
2.             4              5              Ronnie Johnson                  Chattanooga, TN                50           $1,500
3.             7              15           Tim Busha                           Boaz, AL                              50           $1,000
4.             9              18d         Tait Davenport                   Benton, KY                          50           $850
5.             6              41           Ted Lackey                          Munford, AL                       50           $750
6.             3              47           Ross Martin                         Talladega, AL                     50           $700
7.             8              33           David Brannon                   Elora, TN                             50           $650
8.             15           10           Matthew Turner                 Dawsonville, GA                 50           $600
9.             11           47m        Adam Martin                      Talladega, AL                     50           $550
10.          12           110         Brent Barrett                      Cleveland, MS                     50           $500
11.          16           36           Evan Taylor                        Woodlawn, TN                    50           $475
12.          1              18           Chase Edge                          Lafayette, AL                      50           $450
13.          13           19           Gavin Schmidt                    Tennessee Ridge, TN         50           $425
14.          17           89           Credence Mott                    Vienna, IL                            49           $400
15.          20           127         Robert Ardry                      Lavergne, TN                      48           $375
16.          21           5t            Mitch Thornton                  Columbia, TN                     47           $350
17.          19           72           Frank Wilson                      Milton, FL                            47           $325
18.          5              14k         Brad Smith                          Winston-Salem, NC           29           $300
19.          14           88d         Mark Dowdy                       Waterloo, AL                      26           $300
20.          18           B17        Carlton Freeman               Eastaboga, AL                    26           $300
21.          10           56           Jeff Walston                        Paducah, KY                       18           $300

ENTRIES:  21
FAST QUALIFIER:  Edge, 13.067 Seconds
LEAD CHANGES:  None
LAP LEADER:  Thomas, 1-50
CAUTIONS:  7
MARGIN OF VICTORY:  .768 Seconds
TIME OF THE RACE:  40 Minutes and 42.091 Seconds

QUALIFYING:

POS

CAR #

DRIVER

HOMETOWN

CHASSIS

LAP 1

LAP 2

TIME

1

18

Chase Edge

Lafayette, AL

Mastersbilt

13.502

13.067

13.067

2

A19

William Thomas

Phenix City, AL

GRT

13.382

13.080

13.080

3

47

Ross Martin

Talladega, AL

GRT

13.116

13.411

13.116

4

5

Ronnie Johnson

Chattanooga, TN

Warrior

13.148

13.361

13.148

5

14k

Brad Smith

Winston-Salem, NC

Lazer

13.913

13.214

13.214

6

41

Ted Lackey

Munford, AL

Warrior

13.906

13.239

13.239

7

15

Tim Busha

Boaz, AL

GRT

13.278

13.277

13.277

8

33

David Brannon

Elora, TN

Barry Wright

13.608

13.285

13.285

9

18d

Tait Davenport

Benton, KY

Longhorn

13.309

13.546

13.309

10

56

Jeff Walston

Paducah, KY

Mastersbilt

13.484

13.324

13.324

11

47m

Adam Martin

Talladega, AL

Barry Wright

13.531

13.422

13.422

12

110

Brent Barrett

Cleveland,, MS

GRT

13.606

13.512

13.512

13

19

Gavin Schmidt

Tennessee Ridge, TN

GRT

13.715

13.544

13.544

14

88d

Mark Dowdy

Waterloo, AL

Killer

13.555

14.886

13.555

15

10

Matthew Turner

Dawsonville, GA

DWB

14.731

13.567

13.567

16

36

Evan Taylor

Woodlawn, TN

PPM

13.660

13.605

13.605

17

89

Credence Mott

Vienna, IL

Barry Wright

13.749

13.625

13.625

18

B17

Carlton Freeman

Eastaboga, AL

HRRC

14.094

13.866

13.866

19

72

Frank Wilson

Milton, FL

Trak-Star

14.529

14.051

14.051

20

127

Robert Ardry

Lavergne, TN

Rayburn

14.978

NT

14.978

21

5

Mitch Thornton

Columbia, TN

Warrior

NT

NT

NT

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

1. A19 William Thomas – 494
2. 5 Ronnie Johnson – 452
3. 10 Matthew Turner – 440
4. 18 Chase Edge – 432
4. 15 Tim Busha – 432
6. 110 Brent Barrett – 430
7. 72 Frank Wilson – 386
8. 47m Adam Martin – 378
9. 14k Brad Smith – 364
10. 222 Carlton Freeman – 352
10. 47 Ross Martin – 352
12. 33 David Brannon – 344
13. B17 Ted Lackey – 244
14. 88d Mark Dowdy – 230
15. 1 Johnny Stokes – 144
15. 42 Steve Kirk – 144
17. 19b Jeremy Britton – 140
18. 00 Richie Stephens – 126
19. 1s Jeremy Shaw – 96
20. 2s Kyle Shaw – 92
20. 18d Tait Davenport

 

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.  Hedman Hedders is the Official Hedder of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series and the Hedman Husler Award sponsor.  Bilstein Shocks is the Official Spec Shock of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series.  Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series Contingency Sponsors for 2013 are Modern Images, Mike Custom Tanks, AR Bodies, Velocita Racewear, and KRC Power Steering. 

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