that's my story..... RAY COOK WINS GOBBLER 23

[Steve Hixson]

11-19-11
Cleveland (TN) Speedway
GOBBLER 23


Car Count 30
Qualifying- Fast Time – Brian Reese #33 – 13.193
Notes: 1st Car to take time - Billy Ogle Jr. #201)into wall, turn 1 – no lap time.
Ogle Jr. was given one lap at the end of qualifying – qualified in 10th.
Michael Evans #33 (local Cleveland racer) into wall, between turns 1 & 2 – car
pirouetted on the wall, then landed upside down. Driver was uninjured.
Locked In: 2nd-10th – Ray Cook, Shane Clanton, Dale McDowell, Jonathan Davenport, William Thomas, Ronny Lee Hollingsworth, Jason Wilson, Dennis Erb Jr., Ogle
B-Main #1 Winner – David Payne, Riley Hickman, Johnny Chastain, Tommy Kerr, Michael Page, Brent Miller
B-Main #2 Winner – Derek Ellis, Brad Hall, Shawn Chastain, Preston Graves, George Mashburn, Shan Smith
S.A.S series Provisional’s: Kayne Hickman, Steve Smith
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Cleveland, TN (11/19/11) --- Ray Cook of Brasstown, NC picked up his 1st ever GOBBLER victory Saturday night at Cleveland Speedway in the 23rd edition of the season finale. Cook a fan favorite known as the “TAR-HEEL TIGER” rocketed into the lead from his outside FRONT ROW JOE starting position to lead every lap of the 50 lap $5,000 to-win Southern All-Star sanctioned event. In victory lane Cook climbed out of his D&R Motorsports #53 “Hicks and Ingle Co, RockStar Energy Drink, Makita Industrial Power Tools, VP Racing Fuels, PRC” sponsored Race Engine Design powered MasterSbilt racecar to the delight of many racefans. “
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Pole-sitter Brian Reese, was quickly overpowered by Dale McDowell and Jonathan (not a nice word)Davenport, and began a race long battle with Shane Clanton. Davenport got by McDowell for third place but a lap 5 caution for Preston Graves negated the pass. After the restart Cook builds up a god 5-car length advantage over McDowell as Davenport takes 3rd from Reese. Now, Davenport and McDowell battle for position and “SUPERMAN” flies by “McDADDY” easily. Caution #2 appears on (not a nice word)lap-20 for fluid on the track. Cook is in firm control by halfway as Davenport can only keep a few cars length to the leader.
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Caution #3 pops on lap-35 when back-marker racer Brent Miller gets into the wall in turn-4. Cook billows smoke from his car while under caution but restarts without any difficulty. David Payne rears another caution, spinning in front of the field after hitting fluid on the track on the lap-35 restart. Meanwhile the battle for the 2011 S.A.S Championship wages between Billy Ogle Jr. and William Thomas who are racing 6th and 7th respectfully. Ogle gets by Thomas late in the race and seals up the title, as Cook goes on to claim GOBBLER 23.
In the JOE LEE JOHNSON MEMORIAL LLM/Crate race, 43-Late Models entered with Josh Henry (#B00) of Newport,TN taking an impressive victory in his Cleveland Speedway debut. In the Limited division feature Jordan Rodabaugh (# 66) of Soddy Daisy was victorious. Jason Brown (# 42) of Chattanooga, won the Hobby Feature and Grady Stokes (# 4) of Chatsworth, GA won the Pony feature race. (not a nice word)
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S.A.S Official Results
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Ray Cook (# 53) of Brasstown, TN
Jonathan Davenport (# 49) of Blairsville, GA
Dale McDowell (# 17M) of Chickamauga, GA
Brian Reese (# 33) of Sharpsburg, GA
Shane Clanton (# 25) of Locust Grove, GA
Billy Ogle Jr. (# 201) of Knoxville, TN
William Thomas (# 22) of Phenix City, AL
Riley Hickman (# R1) of Ooltewah, TN
Michael Page (# 0) of Woodstock, GA
Jason Wilson (# 22) of Gadsden, AL
Kayne Hickman (# 41) of Soddy Daisy, TN
Steve Smith (# 3) of Powell, TN
Shawn Chastain (# X15) of Murphy, NC
Dennis Erb Jr. (# 28) of Carpentarsville, IL
Shan Smith (# 99W) of Crossville, TN
George Mashburn (# 13) of Murphy, NC
David Payne (# 8) of Murphy, NC
Johnny Chastain (# 00) of Murphy, NC
Derek Ellis (# 99) of Chatsworth, GA
Ronny Lee Hollingsworth (# 18) of Northport, AL
Brett Miller (# 25) of Knoxville, TN
Brad Hall (# 47) of Knoxville, TN
Preston Graves (# 105) of Murphy, NC
Tommy Kerr (# 4T) of Rockford, TN
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[Gibson Motorsports]

Good update Steve. It was a great race by Ray and the D&R team in leading from flag to flag.

One inaccuracy you have is David Payne spinning in water. He was actually pushed into the wall by Ogle the length of the back straight on the restart. Billy even stated after the race over the PA system he wrecked him as he could not allow anyone to finish between Thomas and himself. This gave him the SAS championship and his teammate the 3rd place points by taking David out of the race.

The most egregious aspect was the qualifying and how SAS/Brad Byrd allowed Billy to go back out to take another lap after he hit the wall. They did not even follow their own rule book. Their reasoning changed numerous times when trying to explain it. Ultimately, this most likely cost William Thomas the championship.

The TN Thunder Series collapsed under this type of selective rules enforcement and it will be interesting to see what the long term holds for SAS.

[clayman2]

southern allstars screwed william thomas out of the championship period!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ga racer]

yes SAS screwed william over big time, that just shows how sh/ty they are along with brad byrd , no reason for them to do that. where did all the water come from when david wrecked?

[stilhead]

Brad Byrd's stupidity ran the Tn. Thunder Series into the ground. Will the SAS be next?

[Gibson Motorsports]

yes SAS screwed william over big time, that just shows how sh/ty they are along with brad byrd , no reason for them to do that. where did all the water come from when david wrecked?

The radiator was knocked into the fan when he was hit bu the following cars, which then broke off and went thru the hood.

[Steve Hixson]

I saw water on the track rite after the spin by Payne is where
I got that from.... I could be wrong - but that was my perspective

As for BB... he made the call over the PA to the fans at my
Request for a Ruling on it OGLE will get an opportunity for
A single lap at end of qualifying..... Which he stated SAS rule
Says NO since he took the green flag....


But.... After the 33 flipped during qualifying
He and Morrow discussed if track condition mighta played
A factor in him hitting the wall..... So BB made a judgement
Call and allowed OGLE to qualify 1lap


......this is my account of the situation of which I have no dog
in the hunt - Billy and WillieT are both friends of mine...

[RacedudeGa]

It doesnt matter what the track conditions had to do with Ogle hitting the wall. Everyone else qualified on the same track. Using this argument then everyone else who had a bad lap should have been allowed to requalify since i'm sure the track conditions played a part in their times also.

I'm sure Ogle would have been able to start in the rear of the feature had he not secured a spot thru the b-mains due to his points total. SAS shot themselves in the foot by making this decision and lost some respect of the drivers & fans by going against their own rule book. Had it not said in bold letters NO EXCEPTIONS then it wouldnt look so bad and they would would some sort of argument to justify their decision. It doesnt surprise me in the least that Monty was involved in this decision.

Bottom line: William Thomas got screwed and SAS lost a lot of respect & credibility with the racing community.

[rb2441]

The rules state and this is copied from the Southern All Stars Rule Book

As in hot laps, drivers must qualify as in order of pill draw. Drivers must be in staging and in proper order when called for. If the driver is not in prescent when his designated spot comes up the designated driver will forfeit his qualifying run and will start from the rear of his heat races or last chance races. NO EXCEPTIONS

Billy was present and took the green flag, crashed after taking the green flag but before taking the white flag so i feel he was entitled to one more lap just as they did after qualifying was over. It would have been different if he was not able to qualify at the end but he did.

I am not a favorite of either driver but i see nothing wrong with what they did.

[statesboroblues]

OK RB say first 5 cars that drew 1-5 make one lap then stop on track you going to give them all a lap on end of qualifing cause the track wasnt fast enough. He didnt miss qualifing he took the GREEN flag and that was his turn therefore he SHOULD NOT get one lap. They just as well throw rulebook in trash can like other series and build a fire with it cause its not worth the paper its printed on.

[RacedudeGa]

The rules state and this is copied from the Southern All Stars Rule Book

As in hot laps, drivers must qualify as in order of pill draw. Drivers must be in staging and in proper order when called for. If the driver is not in prescent when his designated spot comes up the designated driver will forfeit his qualifying run and will start from the rear of his heat races or last chance races. NO EXCEPTIONS

Billy was present and took the green flag, crashed after taking the green flag but before taking the white flag so i feel he was entitled to one more lap just as they did after qualifying was over. It would have been different if he was not able to qualify at the end but he did.

I am not a favorite of either driver but i see nothing wrong with what they did.

since u copied & pasted the rules that means u have read them. i cant see how u can justify your statement that he should have gotten another lap. how would it have been different if he hadnt take the extra lap.?

[Southern Allstars PR]

First let me say I appreciate the passion I see here regarding this issue. Maybe I can shed a little light on this subject and explain how the decision was made to allow Ogle to get a lap at the end of qualifying.

Our rule book doesn't actually cover the scenario we found ourselves in on Saturday night. The rules that were copied and pasted above only cover being in proper order by way of the draw, which Ogle was. He was the first qualifier out and hit the wall in turn one just after taking the green flag.

My initial call was, Ogle would have to start at the rear of a B-Main. When Michael Evans, who came out fifth in the qualifying order, also hit the wall in turn one and flipped, track officials went onto the speedway and discovered water on the track in turn one which explained each car's demise.

We then pulled the next five cars from the starting grid onto the race track to pack the track in turn one and where fluids were left by Evan's car in the middle of the turn. These cars were awarded a few hot laps for helping us out. I then concurred with my officials and we unanimously felt it would only be fair that Ogle and Evans (if they were able to get their cars back together) would be deserving of one lap at the end of qualifying.

Admittedly this decision wasn't well received by all but as I told the race teams who questioned the call, I would have made the same call if it had been them in that situation.

Our rules do state that we can make amendments to the rules when necessary to promote fair competition and our decision was made simply in the fairness of competition. I, along with my officials, stand behind the call without regret.

The only thing I may change if faced with the same set of circumstances would be to allow the second, third and fourth cars out the option of an additional lap at the end of qualifying as well, so to them I apologize.

Hope this helps.

Brad Byrd

[acetone]

well said sir

[ga racer]

thats bullsh/t evans didnt hit the wall because of water he broke center out of a wheel. that was nothing but some knoxville home cooking and now your trying to justify it with rediculous story , you shafted william and you know and so does everybody else, he should drag yalls azz to court for this. it was even announced that ogle took the green and would start tail of a B main.

[black ice]

i cant understand how people keep saying that call cost william the championship. all he had to do is pass cars thats what billy did and won the championship. sorry but if your not going forward you will get passed in racing. william and billy are both good racers and it was exciting watching them battle it out on the track.

[J.L.]

Clanton was among the first people to qual. and he qual. in the top five........the fact of the matter is it was a wrong choice by SAS and it shouldn't have happened........ they should have put him in the back of a B-main like the rule book states......

[clayman2]

First let me say I appreciate the passion I see here regarding this issue. Maybe I can shed a little light on this subject and explain how the decision was made to allow Ogle to get a lap at the end of qualifying.

Our rule book doesn't actually cover the scenario we found ourselves in on Saturday night. The rules that were copied and pasted above only cover being in proper order by way of the draw, which Ogle was. He was the first qualifier out and hit the wall in turn one just after taking the green flag.

My initial call was, Ogle would have to start at the rear of a B-Main. When Michael Evans, who came out fifth in the qualifying order, also hit the wall in turn one and flipped, track officials went onto the speedway and discovered water on the track in turn one which explained each car's demise.

We then pulled the next five cars from the starting grid onto the race track to pack the track in turn one and where fluids were left by Evan's car in the middle of the turn. These cars were awarded a few hot laps for helping us out. I then concurred with my officials and we unanimously felt it would only be fair that Ogle and Evans (if they were able to get their cars back together) would be deserving of one lap at the end of qualifying.

Admittedly this decision wasn't well received by all but as I told the race teams who questioned the call, I would have made the same call if it had been them in that situation.

Our rules do state that we can make amendments to the rules when necessary to promote fair competition and our decision was made simply in the fairness of competition. I, along with my officials, stand behind the call without regret.

The only thing I may change if faced with the same set of circumstances would be to allow the second, third and fourth cars out the option of an additional lap at the end of qualifying as well, so to them I apologize.

Hope this helps.

Brad Byrd

once again great job of screwing thomas out of the champioship!!!!!!!!! this move should realy encourage racers and fans to follow your series

[Southern Allstars PR]

Clanton was among the first people to qual. and he qual. in the top five........the fact of the matter is it was a wrong choice by SAS and it shouldn't have happened........ they should have put him in the back of a B-main like the rule book states......

Show me where this is stated in our rule book. It only refers to being out of order.

I respect and admire each of these drivers, especially William as he is a true Super Late Model Rookie and competed at a high level all year with a lot less equipment and help than most of his competitors have. He has a bright future and we have been very proud to have him running with us all year.

Until you're in the position to actually make the calls yourself you can never truly appreciate and understand the fact that you're gonna be faced with decisions that are not going to please everyone. I stand behind the call 100%.

I'm sure if the the call had gone the other way, I would be dealing with arguments from the other side because nowhere in our rule book does it state that after a driver takes the green flag that under no circumstances he/she would be allowed another lap, especially under extenuating circumstances. Trust me, this rule will be well defined in the rules next year.

Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend.

Brad Byrd

[RacedudeGa]

If you had followed the NO EXCEPTIONS that was printed in your rule book you wouldnt have to come on here and try to defend your actions. You dont put a rule in the book and say it has no exceptions then dont follow it when your decision may have had a outcome on the points championship. Someone said that all William had to do is pass cars, Billy would have to do the same thing if he had been made to start in the rear of the B Main or the rear of the feature. As it was he only had to advance from 10th to 6th in the feature. From the reports i had read the track locked down and there wasnt a lot of passing going on. So would Billy have been able to still finish 6th if he hadnt been allowed to take the 2nd qualifying lap? I wonder what BJ Parker or Kelly Carlston would have done?

[otto9]

Well all I have to say is that none of this would have been even brought up if it did not involve Ogle and Thomas and the points championship. First of all Byrd did what he thought was right and I by what it says in the SAS rule book by amending or modifying the rules for fairness of competition, he would have done the same for any driver there in my opinion.

As far as giving the guys that packed the track extra laps, well Brian Reese was won of those cars to help get the track back in shape and he set fast time and I believe he was the next car to go out on the track after that.

As for Thomas getting screwed by SAS for the championship, Clanton is the one that screwed Thomas as he blocked him and the name of the game is to pass cars and Ogle did just that as he past cars and knew what he had to do to win the championship, Thomas did not pass too many cars.

So Ogle took championship, Thomas got rookie, and the season is over with, so now we have all off season to debate which who was right and who was wrong, don't you just love this soap opera of ours!!!

[black ice]

well said otto9. people say ogle just had to come from 10th to 6th if thomas would have took care of his business passing cars he would have won the points

[Southern Allstars PR]

If you had followed the NO EXCEPTIONS that was printed in your rule book you wouldnt have to come on here and try to defend your actions. You dont put a rule in the book and say it has no exceptions then dont follow it when your decision may have had a outcome on the points championship. Someone said that all William had to do is pass cars, Billy would have to do the same thing if he had been made to start in the rear of the B Main or the rear of the feature. As it was he only had to advance from 10th to 6th in the feature. From the reports i had read the track locked down and there wasnt a lot of passing going on. So would Billy have been able to still finish 6th if he hadnt been allowed to take the 2nd qualifying lap? I wonder what BJ Parker or Kelly Carlston would have done?


Again, the NO EXCEPTIONS rule only has to do with being in your proper slot, which was never at issue here.

[acetone]

that it true, he was in right slot. saw many a driver get to do there second lap after all others.

[ga racer]

no he was not in his proper slot when he made his lap.

[RacedudeGa]

give it up guys... he's never going to admit he f***ed up. Maybe he will see that next year when the car counts drop.

[acetone]

it wont drop

[ga racer]

its already dropped there was 2 guys ran all the races this year, if they loose anymore then there will be none and thats what they deserve and will probably get with BB in control.

[hillracer27]

The last time i checked i saw 4 cars that competed in all the races and i think it takes alot for someone to come on here and try to explain him self to some of you people good job brad. And as far as the qualifying thing what if that was willie t who got the same chance ogle did would you all still be upset? And lastly great job to both the 201 and 22

[ga racer]

nobody should get an extra lap when they bust there azz qualifying.

[hillracer27]

Thats pretty easy to do when waters on the track and why do you not have a problem with them letting the next 5 cars hot lap again (would that not be like qualifying) and didnt one of those guys set fast time and not real sure how long you have been around racing but billy ogle has done pretty cool stuff behind the wheel of a race car he mite have come from the rear and last let it go man

[J.L.]

Ya he may have done some cool stuff but he has also done some dirty stuff too......Like when he put David Payne in the wall and caused that wreck toward the end of the race which he admitted doing on the post race interveiw........he said that he couldn't let payne in front of him or he would loose the points......It also knocked Payne out of Third place in points.......

[otto9]

Ok I might can see point about all the fussing over the points between first and second looks like it is a $4,500 difference, but all the fussing about who finished third, there is only $500 difference between 3rd and 4th, I could understand Payne being mad if is was a lot but $500, Come On Man!!!

[Ford motorsports]

Still not sure why everyone is griping over this race, if yall havent noticed it over points championship is official. Quit complaining.

[J.L.]

Ok I might can see point about all the fussing over the points between first and second looks like it is a $4,500 difference, but all the fussing about who finished third, there is only $500 difference between 3rd and 4th, I could understand Payne being mad if is was a lot but $500, Come On Man!!!

Yes you are right there was only $500 difference between 3rd and 4th in points but you are not counting the damages to paynes car and to all the other cars that got damaged by the wreck.....plus Payne was passing Ogle for 6th so he lost that money too.....

[otto9]

Well it is a race and and things are gonna happen and you might wreck a race car