Jones goes flag-to-flag for Volunteer Speedway Super Late Model victory

By Robert Walden

BULLS GAP, Tenn. (April 17) — Weather experts are calling the current cool conditions around the East Tennessee region Dogwood winter, but Kerry Jones of Bristol, 2001 and ’07 Volunteer Speedway track champion, delivered the heat over the Super Late Model field Saturday night as he led flag-to-flag in winning the 30-lap feature.

Shanon Buckingham toured the high banks at 12.537-seconds (114.864 mph) to earn the pole position, with Jones nailing down the outside front-row starting berth with a time of 12.702.

Buckingham and Jones raced side-by-side into the first turn at drop of the green flag, with Jones powering into the lead racing off turn two down the backstretch. Buckingham shadowed Jones in the early laps before Jones began to put some real estate between the front-running duo as the race reached halfway.

With Jones and Buckingham setting a blistering pace up front, just behind them Mark Vineyard and Mark Douglas were also within striking distance of Jones and Buckingham should either falter along the journey. Rodney Kiker was applying heat on Bryan Hendrix looking to take away fifth in the running order, and once Kiker grabbed the spot he set his sights ahead on Vineyard and Douglas.

Last week’s Super Late Model winner, Jeff Maupin, dug himself into a hole during qualifying when he timed-in seventh fastest. But he got up on the wheel and hustled his mount around the track to first overtake Hendrix for sixth, and then got around Kiker on lap 21 to move into fifth place.

But the race belonged to Jones, driving the Kerry Jones Trucking/Bigfoot Enterprises/Polaris of Kingsport/Ohlins/Signs by Roach of Kingsport/Vic Hill Racing Engines/Bloomquist Race Cars/No. 6 Chevrolet Impala, who ran a strong race to hold back the hard-charging Buckingham for the entire 30-lap distance in recording his first victory of the season. Vineyard, Douglas and Maupin rounded out the top five finishers at the checkered flag.

Completing the top 10 in running order were Kiker, Hendrix, Mike Smith, Chad Ogle and Ray Jarnigan.

“This definitely is a good feeling, getting a Super Late Model feature win here at ‘The Gap’ over several strong cars,” said Jones with a smile on his face in victory lane. “Winning never gets old. You’ve got to enjoy every race you’re fortunate enough to win, because let me tell you – it’s tough to outrun guys like Shanon (Buckingham), (Mark) Vineyard and (Mark) Douglas. In 2009 Buckingham won the Fastrak Racing Series national championship for the Crate Late Model cars, and Vineyard’s a former Southern All Stars Dirt Racing Series rookie-of-the-year and he ran full-time with that series for a few years, and Douglas is a two-time Super Late Model track champion here at Volunteer Speedway. We outran some good competition here tonight.

“Our Bloomquist Race Car was really good the whole race and I want to thank Scott (Bloomquist) for building such great cars. I believe the longer we ran the car actually got better. You never know sometimes, when a race goes green the entire distance, the car might start to fade towards the end. But we were good from start-to-finish and I could drive anywhere on the track I needed and the car worked well. Racing these cars really is almost like a full-time job with all the work it takes during the week back at the shop and then here at the track on race night to be able run up front. I really want to thank John Estes, Dave Burks and Andy McCroskey for all they do. My wife (Sharon) really supports me, and I want to thank her for putting up with me doing this (racing). Sometimes I kind of think I want to stop racing, but it’s nights like this when you run good and win that makes it all worthwhile and before you even get your equipment loaded up to leave the track – you’re already wishing it was time to race again.”

Shane Roberts jumped into the lead over Morristown’s Shanon Buckingham racing off turn two on opening lap of Fastrak Racing Series-sanctioned Pro Late Model feature. But Buckingham battled back to pass Roberts racing off the fourth turn on lap 3, and once out front he never looked back en route to remaining perfect on the season in capturing his fifth victory.

With Buckingham in command out front leading over Roberts, Dale Ball and Todd Brooks, the best battle for positions involved Keith Helton, Tim Byrd and David Watts – running fifth through seventh over the first half of the 25-lap feature. Helton got high between turns three and four allowing both Byrd and Watts to make the pass, dropping Helton back to seventh in the running order.

The only thing slowing Buckingham’s run to victory were two brief caution periods, the first on lap 8 when Jake Teague had a flat left-rear tire and then on lap 18 when Joey Steele spun in the fourth turn.

Buckingham earned the trip to victory lane in winning over Roberts, Ball, Brooks and Byrd.

Dale Reed grabbed the lead over pole-sitter Jesse Helton in the Hobby Stock feature and the duo ran one-two for the first 15 laps of the 20-lap event, with Reed having to fend off several challenges from Helton for the lead. Helton’s hopes for getting the win vanished when he slung the belts (from his engine) and lost power-steering with the motor also getting hot with five laps to go.

Reed looked to have the race in his control until engine began sputtering with a couple of circuits remaining to open the door for Jamie Whitt of Wise, Va., to speed past Reed racing off the fourth turn on the white flag lap to capture the victory. Finishing third through fifth, respectively, were Blake Kelley, Robbie Woods and Dennis Metcalf.

Roger Hunter, the 65-year-old veteran racer who posted a career-best second place finish in last week’s first points race of the season, destroyed his race car in a lap 2 accident entering the first turn after contact from behind sent him hard into the outside guardrail where he was then drilled by Charlie Bates, who had nowhere to go. Also involved in the incident was Chuck Johnson.

SUPER LATE MODEL (30 laps)

1. Kerry Jones #6-Bristol, TN
2. Shanon Buckingham #50-Morristown, TN
3. Mark Vineyard #4-Powell, TN
4. Mark Douglas #52D-Knoxville, TN
5. Jeff Maupin #0-Greeneville, TN
6. Rodney Kiker #25-Greeneville, TN
7. Bryan Hendrix #5-Knoxville, TN
8. Mike Smith #4s-Rogersville, TN
9. Chad Ogle #10-Sevierville, TN
10. Ray Jarnigan #73-Thornhill, TN
11. Mark Sturgill #4m-Pound, VA
12. Steve Smith #3-Powell, TN
13. Don Scalf #B4-Watauga, TN

PRO LATE MODEL (25 laps)

1) Shanon Buckingham #50; 2) Shane Roberts #17; 3) Dale Ball #2; 4) Todd Brooks #T1; 5) Tim Byrd #24; 6) David Watts #6; 7) Keith Helton #5; 8) Ricky Moore #75; 9) Jackie Hughes #27; 10) Eddie Morris #m14; 11) James Cole #5c; 12) Richard Adkins #73; 13) Forrest Trent #4Q; 14) Joey Steele #97; 15) Jake Teague #117

HOBBY STOCK (20 laps)

1) Jamie Whitt #1; 2) Dale Reed #52; 3) Blake Kelley #K5; 4) Robbie Woods #2; 5) Dennis Metcalf #55; 6) Curt Taylor #50; 7) Terry Dean #47; 8) Jesse Wilder #79; 9) Jesse Helton #28; 10) Bobby Shelton #5; 11) Eddie Adams #9; 12) Patrick Flannery #38; 13) Chuck Killian #96; 14) Chris Long #75; 15) Tim Brewer #77; 16) Bobby Reed #54; 17) Chuck Johnson #17; 18) Roger Hunter #7-11; 19) Charlie Bates #27 – Did Not Start: Jon Cook #0z

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