Ownbey Wins In Night Of Firsts For Chevy Super Series At I-75

SWEETWATER, TN - John Ownbey of Cleveland, TN drove the Auto Depot Special to victory Friday night in the first visit for the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series to I-75 Raceway. Ownby passed Cleveland, TN neighbor Riley Hickman for the lead on lap 13, and then held off challenges by Tim Busha of Boaz, AL and Ryan King of Seymour, TN for the $3,000 win.

It was the first National Touring dirt late model race ever held at the track, and it was Ownbey’s first night out with a dirt late model powered by the LS3 production-based, economical Chevrolet Performance CT525 All-Aluminum Racing Engine.

“The Chevrolet Performance CT525 Engine put down good power, but we just have to do some tweaking on the carburetor to get better restarts,” Ownbey said. “Once we got going, the engine just seemed to keep pulling and pulling. We’re real happy with it, and even happier with the results tonight.”

King finished second in the Brian King Roofing Stinger and Hickman took the third spot in the Hickman Manufacturing CVR “House Car.” Busha was fourth in the Kilpatrick Racing GRT, and Cory Hedge(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word) of Lenoir City, TN drove the Eagle Racing Engines Rocket to a fifth-place finish.

Ownbey, King, Hickman, and Busha all qualified for the Hoosier Racing Tire “Road To Dega” Bonus Money and a chance to win $10,000 at the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series season-finale on October 3 at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL.

Brandon Williams came home in the sixth spot to earn the Cruise With The Champions Rookie of the Race honors. Chevy Super Series defending National Champion and current point leader Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN finished seventh in the NeSmith Chevrolet Special, and increased his lead to ten points over Tyler Crowder of Lamont, FL in the $10,000 Championship battle.

Matt Henderson of Loudon, TN drove the #H2 Duayne Hommel Tribute Car, the Rebel Diesel Rocket to an eighth-place finish with Duayne “Hollywood” Hommel himself watching at the track. Adam Martin of Talladega, AL finished ninth in the Seals Insurance Special, and Mario Gresham of Rome, GA rounded out the top ten in the Gresham Race Parts Special.

In preliminary action, Hickman was the Sellers Brothers Fast Qualifier among the 28 entrants with a lap around the 3/10-mile Clay oval in 13.066 seconds. The two ten-lap B-Main Races were won by Gresham and Ross Martin of Talladega, AL in the Dorrsett Trucking Special.

Hickman took the lead at the start of the race followed by King, Ownbey, Hedge(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word) and Brad Coffey of Maryville, TN in the Coffey Racing Warrior. Trevor Thompson of Dallas, GA brought out the first caution flag on lap four when he spun the Peachstate Printing Rocket in turn three.

Hickman led King, Ownbey, Hedge(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word), Williams and Jake Knowles of Rome, GA in the Coosa Heating and Air Rocket, Busha, Ross Martin, Gresham, and Coffey doubled up behind him for the Dixie-Style Double-File Restart. King chose the inside for the restart, but Ownbey drove by him on the outside to take over the second spot, when the green bulb came back on.

Pierce McCarter of Gatlinburg, TN spun in turn two on lap seven to bring out the second caution flag. This time, Hickman had Ownbey behind him in second, followed by King, Knowles, Hedge(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word), Williams, Busha, Ross Martin, Coffey and Gresham behind him. The field went one more lap under green before the next slowdown of the race.

Jeff Smith of Dalton, GA flipped the Josh Roberts Hauling Warrior down the front straightaway to bring the field to a complete stop with the red flag. The I-75 Raceway fire and rescue team was quick to arrive on the scene and help Smith from his car uninjured after if landed back on all four wheels in the infield.

On the next restart, Hedge(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word) dove under King to take over the third spot, and by lap ten, King had fallen back to the sixth spot. Oliver Gentry of Newnan, GA spun the Gentry Used Auto Parts and Recycling Rocket in turn four on lap 12 to bring out the fourth caution flag of the race.

The next restart saw Ownbey get to the inside of Hickman, and the top two cars race side-by-side for the lead until Ownbey cleared Hickman to take the lead on lap 13. There was also plenty of position changing going on behind the battle for the lead, as Busha moved up to the third spot. Busha was a man on a mission, as he used the outside groove to pass Hickman for second on lap 15.

Lavon Sparks of Phenix City, AL lit up the caution bulb for a fifth time on lap 18 when he stalled the Modern Images GRT on the front chute. A three car tangle on the restart in turn two led to Chevy Super Series officials doing away with the double-file restarts and go to single-file restarts. Ownbey led Busha, Hickman, Hedge(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word), King, Williams, Johnson, Henderson, Gresham and Billy Ogle Jr. of Knoxville, TN in the Natural Smiles Dentistry Rocket for the restart.

When the green flag came out, most of the drivers stayed on the bottom groove of the track, but a few went to the outside, and a couple of drivers made it work. Ogle put his race car on the top shelf, and the eight-time Atomic Speedway Late Model Champion and 2002 Hav-A-Tampa Dirt Late Model Series Rookie of the Year came from tenth to seventh by lap 30.

Ownbey began to encounter lapped traffic by lap 27, and Busha closed in to camp out on his back bumper by lap 32. Ownby stayed down on the inside of the track, giving Busha the outside, but lapped cars would cover the ground the second place driver needed to be in to challenge for the lead. That would all change on lap 42 when Knowles spun in turn two to bring out the final caution flag.

When the green light came back on for the nine lap dash to the finish, Hickman dove underneath Busha to take over the second spot, and King drove around the outside of Busha coming off the fourth turn to move up to third. On lap 48, King was on the outside and caught Hickman going into turn one.

Hickman moved up trying to use a lapped car as a pick to hold off King, but King made a hard left and pulled off the crossover move to dive under Hickman and take the second spot. King was closing fast on Ownbey on the final lap of the race, but it was Ownbey making his maiden voyage with the Chevy Super Series a successful one with a .511 second margin of victory.

The Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series will continue its East Tennessee Tour on Saturday night with its second stop of the 2015 season at 411 Motor Speedway in Seymour, TN for a $3,000-to-win 50-lap race, Round 8 of the season.

For more information and rules 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.