crusapr
02-01-2013, 04:31 AM
OCALA, FL – Kyle Bronson of Brandon, FL survived a wild NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series 40-lap main event on Thursday night to win the Rock Auto.com Speedweeks Presented By Racecar Engineering event at Bubba Raceway Park. Bronson swapped the lead on several occasions before taking the $2,000 win driving the Brandon Ford Warrior.
Bronson led the first 14 laps of the race before dropping back to the fourth spot, but he rallied back to survive a tangle in front of him between the top two cars. That incident led to Bronson reclaiming the lead on lap 32.
Bronson then held off a challenge from two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Champion David Earl Gentry of Murfreesboro, TN to take his first series career win with a 1.216 second margin of victory. Bronson finished second in the 40-lap NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS Rock Auto.com Speedweeks Presented By Racecar Engineering event on Tuesday night.
“There were slid jobs being thrown all over the place tonight, so when I saw how we were going to race, I got in there with them,” Bronson said. “There is some great competition here, so it feels great to win and we’re looking forward to the rest of the week.”
Gentry finished second in the Eads Farms/Hardy & Associates Warrior to give the Knoxville-based chassis manufacturer a one-two finish. Gentry also took over the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series point lead after the first three races of the 2013 season. Gentry had a ninth-place finish on Tuesday night and an eighth-place finish on Wednesday night.
National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN took the third spot after a high-riding late-race charge in the NeSmith Chevrolet Special. Doug Horton of Bruceton Mills, WV had his best finish of the week with a fourth-place effort in the Mainland Transport Warrior.
Ivedent Lloyd Jr. of Ocala, FL drove the Harrod Logging Special to a fifth-place finish, and Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, GA started 23rd and finished sixth in the AES Racing Special to claim the Hedman Husler Hard Charger of the Race Award. Davenport moved up to second in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series standings, two points behind Gentry.
NASCAR Trucker and Rookie of the Year Joey Coulter of Concord, NC was seventh in the
Wolfpack Racing Rocket, and Ryan Montgomery of Fairmont, WV took the eighth spot in the Central Supply Warrior. Shannon Lee of Lumberton, MS finished ninth in the Billy Riels Racing GRT, and Jason Welshan of Maryville, TN rounded out the top ten in the Competition Racing Equipment Special.
Bronson drew the pole position for the main event after winning the sixth ten-lap heat race. At the drop of the green flag, Bronson took the lead followed by Ronny Lee Hollingsworth of Northport, AL in the Sparks Motorsports Special, Horton, Justin McRee of Cottondale, AL in the High Roller Race Cars Special, and Darren Peters of Fort Erie, ON Canada in the Billy Bones Bar-B-Que Rocket.
Horton was the early race mover and shaker, as he passed Hollingsworth for the second spot coming off the fourth turn on lap two. Horton chased down Bronson on lap seven and began to challenge for the lead when the lead duo reached the cars on the tail of the lead lap on the eighth tour.
The lead was exchanged on lap 12 when Horton drove under Bronson in turn one, but Bronson came off the second turn with a run on Horton to reclaim the point going down the backstretch. While Bronson tried to work lapped traffic on the bottom groove of the track, Hollingsworth went to the outside and got a run on the lead duo.
Hollingsworth sailed around the outside of Horton for second on lap 14 in turn three, and on lap 15, the high-flying Hollingsworth went around Bronson in turn four to take the lead in quest of his third straight NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series win at Bubba Raceway Park.
McRee picked up his pace on lap 17 when he dove under Horton in turn three to take the third spot, One lap later, McRee got by Bronson for the second position, and Horton also got by Bronson, dropping him back to fourth. The first of four caution flags came out on lap 19 when John Over of Uniontown, PA nosed the K2 Engineering Warrior into the front straightaway wall.
Hollingsworth led the doubled up McRee, Horton, Bronson, and Gentry back to green flag action. Bronson passed both Horton and McRee on the restart to move back up to the second spot, but McRee would take the position back on lap 20 by passing Bronson going down the backstretch. Horton was still in the fight, as he passed Bronson for third on lap 28.
The second caution flag of the race came out on lap 29 when defending NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Champion Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA stalled the J.T. Kerr Racing Equipment Special in turn four. The double-file restart order saw Hollingsworth leading McRee, Horton, Bronson and Gentry back to the green flag, and lead quartet would get busy in short order.
McRee challenged Hollingsworth for the lead going into turn one on lap 31, but they tangled coming off turn two, and Hollingsworth spun to the infield on the backstretch. That brought out the caution flag and gave McRee the lead. Gentry moved up to the second spot for the restart followed by Bronson, Horton and Coulter.
Bronson turned up the wick on the restart by getting around Gentry for the second spot, and moved right up to challenge McRee for the lead. Larry Harrod of Plains, GA stalled the Harrod Logging Special in turn four on lap 32 to bring out the fourth and final caution flag.
While the field circled the track under caution, something broke on McRee’s race car and forced him to give up the lead and head to the pit area. This misfortune earned McRee the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award. Bronson was once again in the lead followed by Gentry, Horton, Lloyd, Coulter and Johnson.
Johnson was ready to put on a show to heat up a chilly evening when the field went back to green flag racing for a nine lap dash to the finish. Johnson went to the outside and passed Coulter for the fifth spot on the restart. Lap 33 saw Johnson sail around the outside of Lloyd for the fourth spot, and he made the same move on Horton for third on lap 37.
Meanwhile at the front of the pack, Gentry tried to get inside Bronson to challenge for the lead in the closing laps of the race, but Bronson would pull away with five laps to go, and hang on for the win.
In preliminary action, Hollingsworth out-qualified the 62-car field with a lap in 14.774 seconds to take the Smiley’s Racing Products Fast Time Award. The six ten-lap heat races were won by Horton, Peters, Hollingsworth, Montgomery, McRee and Bronson. The three 12-lap B-Main races were won by Lloyd, Brent Barrett of Cleveland, MS in the Custom Spraying GRT, and Lee. Over won the ten-lap Last Chance Race.
The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Rock Auto.com Speedweeks Presented By Racecar Engineering at Bubba Raceway Park continues on Friday night with a $2,000-to-win 40-lap main event.
For more information 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.
Bronson led the first 14 laps of the race before dropping back to the fourth spot, but he rallied back to survive a tangle in front of him between the top two cars. That incident led to Bronson reclaiming the lead on lap 32.
Bronson then held off a challenge from two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Champion David Earl Gentry of Murfreesboro, TN to take his first series career win with a 1.216 second margin of victory. Bronson finished second in the 40-lap NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS Rock Auto.com Speedweeks Presented By Racecar Engineering event on Tuesday night.
“There were slid jobs being thrown all over the place tonight, so when I saw how we were going to race, I got in there with them,” Bronson said. “There is some great competition here, so it feels great to win and we’re looking forward to the rest of the week.”
Gentry finished second in the Eads Farms/Hardy & Associates Warrior to give the Knoxville-based chassis manufacturer a one-two finish. Gentry also took over the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series point lead after the first three races of the 2013 season. Gentry had a ninth-place finish on Tuesday night and an eighth-place finish on Wednesday night.
National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN took the third spot after a high-riding late-race charge in the NeSmith Chevrolet Special. Doug Horton of Bruceton Mills, WV had his best finish of the week with a fourth-place effort in the Mainland Transport Warrior.
Ivedent Lloyd Jr. of Ocala, FL drove the Harrod Logging Special to a fifth-place finish, and Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, GA started 23rd and finished sixth in the AES Racing Special to claim the Hedman Husler Hard Charger of the Race Award. Davenport moved up to second in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series standings, two points behind Gentry.
NASCAR Trucker and Rookie of the Year Joey Coulter of Concord, NC was seventh in the
Wolfpack Racing Rocket, and Ryan Montgomery of Fairmont, WV took the eighth spot in the Central Supply Warrior. Shannon Lee of Lumberton, MS finished ninth in the Billy Riels Racing GRT, and Jason Welshan of Maryville, TN rounded out the top ten in the Competition Racing Equipment Special.
Bronson drew the pole position for the main event after winning the sixth ten-lap heat race. At the drop of the green flag, Bronson took the lead followed by Ronny Lee Hollingsworth of Northport, AL in the Sparks Motorsports Special, Horton, Justin McRee of Cottondale, AL in the High Roller Race Cars Special, and Darren Peters of Fort Erie, ON Canada in the Billy Bones Bar-B-Que Rocket.
Horton was the early race mover and shaker, as he passed Hollingsworth for the second spot coming off the fourth turn on lap two. Horton chased down Bronson on lap seven and began to challenge for the lead when the lead duo reached the cars on the tail of the lead lap on the eighth tour.
The lead was exchanged on lap 12 when Horton drove under Bronson in turn one, but Bronson came off the second turn with a run on Horton to reclaim the point going down the backstretch. While Bronson tried to work lapped traffic on the bottom groove of the track, Hollingsworth went to the outside and got a run on the lead duo.
Hollingsworth sailed around the outside of Horton for second on lap 14 in turn three, and on lap 15, the high-flying Hollingsworth went around Bronson in turn four to take the lead in quest of his third straight NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series win at Bubba Raceway Park.
McRee picked up his pace on lap 17 when he dove under Horton in turn three to take the third spot, One lap later, McRee got by Bronson for the second position, and Horton also got by Bronson, dropping him back to fourth. The first of four caution flags came out on lap 19 when John Over of Uniontown, PA nosed the K2 Engineering Warrior into the front straightaway wall.
Hollingsworth led the doubled up McRee, Horton, Bronson, and Gentry back to green flag action. Bronson passed both Horton and McRee on the restart to move back up to the second spot, but McRee would take the position back on lap 20 by passing Bronson going down the backstretch. Horton was still in the fight, as he passed Bronson for third on lap 28.
The second caution flag of the race came out on lap 29 when defending NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Champion Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA stalled the J.T. Kerr Racing Equipment Special in turn four. The double-file restart order saw Hollingsworth leading McRee, Horton, Bronson and Gentry back to the green flag, and lead quartet would get busy in short order.
McRee challenged Hollingsworth for the lead going into turn one on lap 31, but they tangled coming off turn two, and Hollingsworth spun to the infield on the backstretch. That brought out the caution flag and gave McRee the lead. Gentry moved up to the second spot for the restart followed by Bronson, Horton and Coulter.
Bronson turned up the wick on the restart by getting around Gentry for the second spot, and moved right up to challenge McRee for the lead. Larry Harrod of Plains, GA stalled the Harrod Logging Special in turn four on lap 32 to bring out the fourth and final caution flag.
While the field circled the track under caution, something broke on McRee’s race car and forced him to give up the lead and head to the pit area. This misfortune earned McRee the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award. Bronson was once again in the lead followed by Gentry, Horton, Lloyd, Coulter and Johnson.
Johnson was ready to put on a show to heat up a chilly evening when the field went back to green flag racing for a nine lap dash to the finish. Johnson went to the outside and passed Coulter for the fifth spot on the restart. Lap 33 saw Johnson sail around the outside of Lloyd for the fourth spot, and he made the same move on Horton for third on lap 37.
Meanwhile at the front of the pack, Gentry tried to get inside Bronson to challenge for the lead in the closing laps of the race, but Bronson would pull away with five laps to go, and hang on for the win.
In preliminary action, Hollingsworth out-qualified the 62-car field with a lap in 14.774 seconds to take the Smiley’s Racing Products Fast Time Award. The six ten-lap heat races were won by Horton, Peters, Hollingsworth, Montgomery, McRee and Bronson. The three 12-lap B-Main races were won by Lloyd, Brent Barrett of Cleveland, MS in the Custom Spraying GRT, and Lee. Over won the ten-lap Last Chance Race.
The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Rock Auto.com Speedweeks Presented By Racecar Engineering at Bubba Raceway Park continues on Friday night with a $2,000-to-win 40-lap main event.
For more information 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.