Vote For 3 NeSmith Racing Drivers In $50,000 Sponsorship Contest

CARTERSVILLE, GA – Three drivers that compete under the NeSmith Racing banner in three different Divisions are among the 392 drivers that have thrown their respective hats in the ring to contest for the Champion Spark Plugs $50,000 “Search For A Champion” Sponsorship. William Thomas, Mark Dowdy, and Chandler Petty want you to listen to their story and they want your vote.

Thomas, Dowdy and Petty have submitted videos to Champion Spark Plugs that tell the story of how they are a champion. Each driver has his own story to tell and this story makes up two thirds of the criteria that will be used by Champion Spark Plugs to determine who wins the $50,000 sponsorship.

The most important third of the contest’s criteria is votes they receive on the contest web site, www.alwaysachampion.com. Votes for drivers can be made once a day through February 2, and votes can be cast for multiple drivers. The Top 15 drivers from the Round 1 voting will move on to Round 2 of the sponsorship contest. Each driver’s video story can also be seen on the web site.

William Thomas, Mark Dowdy and Chandler Petty have three distinct stories to tell. These stories involve heritage and a National Championship for Thomas, enormous courage and inspiration for Dowdy, and a Young Gun’s desire for Petty. Each driver is worthy of your vote each day through February 2 at www.alwaysachampion.com.

Thomas is a third-generation dirt late model racer from Phenix City, AL who has made a name for himself competing in NeSmith Racing events. Thomas won the 2013 and first Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series Championship with four wins in seven races with six top five finishes and seven top ten finishes.

Thomas ranks third on the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series All-Time Career Wins list with 11 victories, is ranked third in All-Time Laps Led with 461, and is third on the All-Time Career Fast Qualifiers list with seven Fast Time Awards.

Dowdy is a story of courage and inspiration. In competing with the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series in 2013, Dowdy didn’t win a race, and he didn’t lead a lap, but he was a Champion in the hearts of the fans, and his fellow racers just by being on the race track. Most importantly, he gave hope to physical challenged people worldwide.

Mark Dowdy doesn’t step into his dirt late model to race because he can’t. Being paralyzed from the waist down, Dowdy hoists himself from a wheelchair and into the seat of his race car. The following is Mark Dowdy’s amazing story, reprinted from his web site.

“On Tuesday, May 13th 2008, Mark was riding his motorcycle to work in the early hours of the morning. While approaching a gentle right hand curve, the rear tire of his motorcycle locked up. Witnesses reported that they saw him wrestling with the bike to keep it upright. However, it went down and he slid across the curve on the road.
Unfortunately, while in the road another driver was coming the other way and he hit Mark head on with a Dodge ram pickup truck. Mark awoke on Thursday of the same week to learn of his injuries. He was left with 6 broken ribs on his right side, a punctured lung, a T-11 burst fracture of his vertebrae and a severed spinal cord.
He was very lucky to survive this accident. He had lost 3 1/2 pints of blood and was breathing with the help of a tube that was entered into his lungs. The doctors came into the room and informed Mark that he would never walk again. His injury is listed as a T-11 "Complete". This means that he is paralyzed from the waist down.
Mark accepted the fact that he would never walk again, although not without some difficulty. However, Mark did not accept the fact that he would never race again. Mark had worked to become a fairly successful regional dirt track racer in the Great Lakes region of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.
Winning numerous races in the IMCA & UMP modified division during the 90's, then switching to the Late Model division in 1999, Mark continued to win. Mark was very proud of the fact that he was not a "One Track" racer. He would travel from track to track every weekend and hone his skill. From week to week you may catch him in Michigan or Alabama, or any track in between. Mark has competed at around 112 race tracks thru out the Midwest and the South.
So when Mark was released from the hospital, (six weeks later), he finished his move to Northwest Alabama, (a move that had been planned before his accident). From his shop at his home near Waterloo Alabama, Mark began work on a way to continue to race.
With the help of his friend of many years, Dennis Brewer, and after several failed attempts, Mark & Dennis came up with a steering wheel that will allow him to control the throttle, brake and steering, all without ever lifting a hand from the wheel. The 2009 race season was to be a test & tune for Mark and Dennis. However after about 2 months, Mark became very competitive in their new Warrior race chassis."
Petty is an 18-year-old NeSmith Racing Young Gun from Austin, AR that has competed for the last three seasons in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Touring Division and the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series.

People really took notice of Petty in 2013, as he recorded a second-place finish in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Touring Division race at West Plains Motor Speedway in West Plains, MO on August 31. Petty also took three wins this season in NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series competition.

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.


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, KRC Power Steering, Lazer Race Cars, and Landrum Springs.