Edge Is Razor Sharp In NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS EAMS Win

PHENIX CITY, AL - Chase Edge of LaFayette, AL was razor sharp Friday night, as he disappeared from the field in his Edge’s Gas Company Special to win the Salute To The Armed Forces 50 for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series in night two of the four-race Salute To America Nationals at East Alabama Motor Speedway in front of a standing-room-only crowd.

Edge led all 50 laps enroute to his second career NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series win, and he was able to maintain at least a five to seven car-length lead over second-place for the first two-thirds of the race running the outside groove. It was in lapped traffic on lap 33 that Edge found a new groove on the race track that put him in orbit.

While lapping Shep Lucas of McKenzie, AL in the Performance Kwik Change Trak-Star, Edge had to use the inside of turn one, then slide up the banking and rocket off the second turn. After a lap 41 restart, Edge disappeared from the rest of the field after a lap 41 restart.

“I knew the top groove was beginning to go away, and when I went into turn one low, I found that if I drove the car straight through the bumps, it led me into some great traction for getting off the corner,” Edge said. “This win is big for us, especially coming so close to home in front of friends and family. I prayed to God all week for this, and I just give Him all of the praise for answering my prayer.”

By the time Edge took the checkered flag, he had over a seven second lead over the second-place driver Terrance Nowell of Phenix City, AL in the Dykes Towing Warrior. The only hiccup Edge had all night was on the final lap of the race when he just about gave it all way. When Edge slid up the banking in turn two, he got just a little too high, and almost left the ballpark.

“I knew I was in trouble coming off the second turn when I had the steering wheel turned left and the car was going straight,” Edge said. “I really had to talk to the race car to settle down and get me back to the checkered flag. I mean I led the first 49 laps, and that wouldn’t have been good to give it away on the last lap.”

While Edge was in his own zip code, the racing for the second spot on the other side of the race track was intense with the second, third, fourth and fifth spots changing hands at will during the last ten laps of the race.

Nowell went from third, back to fifth, and then up to second at the checkered flag. Johnny Stokes of Columbus, MS rallied from the 13th starting to finish third in the Bassett Hound Motorsports GRT. Chris Noah of Rainbow City, AL took the fourth spot in the Old Man’s Garage Special.

Larry Harrod ran in the second spot for most of the race, but faded in the last five laps of the race and ended up fifth in the Harrod Logging Special. Montana Dudley of Phenix City, AL drove the Eiland Pools Rocket to a sixth-place finish, and Josh Adkins of Talladega, AL was seventh in the Yellow Hammer Construction Special.

Jak Kicklighter of Savannah, GA finished eighth in the Kicklighter Construction Special and Todd Morrow of East Ridge, TN drove the A-Plus Collision Center GRT to a ninth-place finish. The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series defending champion and current point leader Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN rounded out the top ten in the NeSmith Chevrolet Special.

In preliminary action, Jimmy Thomas of Phenix City, AL was the fast qualifier among the 35 entrants with a lap in 15.333 seconds driving the Dublin Tire Company Special. The two 12-lap B-Main races were won by Johnson and Brent Barrett of Cleveland, TN in the Custom Spraying Inc. GRT.

The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series will now travel to Arkadelphia Speedway in Bremen, AL on Saturday night for Round 3 of the four-race Salute To America Nationals with a 40-lap $2,000-to-win event. The fourth and final race will be at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS on Sunday night with a 50-lap $2,500-to-win finale.

For more information and rules about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series, visit the series all-new 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.

OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 13 AT EAST ALABAMA MOTOR SPEEDWAY IN PHENIX CITY, AL ON 7/4/14:

POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 2 18 Chase Edge LaFayette, AL 50 $2,500
2. 4 55n Terrance Nowell Phenix City, AL 50 $1,250
3. 13 1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS 50 $850
4. 6 56 Chris Noah (R) Rainbow City, AL 50 $700
5. 3 27 Larry Harrod Plains, GA 50 $650
6. 7 55 Montana Dudley (R) Phenix City, AL 50 $550
7. 17 19m Josh Adkins Talladega, AL 50 $500
8. 5 7k Jak Kicklighter (R) Savannah, GA 50 $450
9. 15 8a Todd Morrow East Ridge, TN 50 $400
10. 11 R1 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 50 $375
11. 22 10 Ronnie Cooper McKenzie, TN 50 $350
12. 16 57 Shep Lucas McKenzie, AL 49 $300
13. 12 110 Brent Barrett Cleveland, MS 49 $280
14. 14 18d Cord Dodgen LaFayette, AL 40 $260
15. 10 51 Mack McCarter Gatlinburg, TN 37 $250
16. 23 121 Michael Blount Sumrall, MS 36 $240
17. 18 66k Dylan Knowles Lanett, AL 30 $220
18. 20 6 Chad Marchman LaGrange, GA 30 $200
19. 9 38 Chip Brindle Chatsworth, GA 29 $200
20. 8 J39 Jimmy Elliott Cleveland, TN 18 $200
21. 21 105 Taylor Mitcham LaFayette, AL 18 $200
22. 19 14 Tyler Clem St. Petersburg, FL 16 $200
23. 1 22 Jimmy Thomas Phenix City, AL 9 $200
24. 24 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS 5 $200

ENTRIES: 35
FAST QUALIFIER: Thomas, 15.333 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: Blount and Minga
LEAD CHANGES: None
LAPS LED: Edge, 1-50
ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Noah
DOMINATOR RACE PRODUCTS HARD LUCK AWARD: McCarter
PRC JUST MISSED IT AWARD: Brent Rhodes
STEALTH RACING CARBURETORS 7TH-PLACE AWARD: Adkins
SCHAEFFER’S OIL 8TH-PLACE AWARD PRESENTED BY CHAD WALLACE AND HEATHER NEWSOME: Kicklighter
MODERN IMAGES 9TH-PLACE AWARD: Morrow
AR BODIES 10TH-PLACE AWARD: Johnson
MIKE CUSTOM TANKS 11TH-PLACE AWARD: Cooper
SCHOENFELD HEADERS 12TH-PLACE AWARD: Lucas
KINSER AIR FILTERS 13TH-PLACE AWARD: Barrett
CAUTIONS: 5
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 7.263 Seconds
TIME OF THE RACE: 30 Minutes and 44.098 Seconds

QUALIFYING (Top 10 Transfer To Main Event):

POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS LAP 1 LAP 2 TIME
1 22 Jimmy Thomas Phenix City, AL Scorpion 15.458 15.333 15.333
2 18e Chase Edge LaFayette, AL Mastersbilt 15.841 15.680 15.680
3 27 Larry Harrod Plains, GA Scorpion 15.941 15.689 15.689
4 55n Terrence Nowell Phenix City, AL Warrior 15.847 15.841 15.841
5 7k Jak Kicklighter - R Savannah, GA Barry Wright 15.976 15.846 15.846
6 56n Chris Noah - R Rainbow City, AL Mastersbilt 16.168 15.891 15.891
7 55 Montana Dudley - R Phenix City, AL Rocket 16.040 15.893 15.893
8 J39 Jimmy Elliott Cleveland, TN CVR 15.990 15.910 15.910
9 38 Chip Brindle Chatsworth, GA Pro 1 16.170 15.986 15.986
10 51 Mack McCarter Gatlinburg, TN CVR 16.050 16.040 16.040
11 R1 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN Mastersbilt 16.287 16.116 16.116
12 110 Brent Barrett Cleveland, MS GRT 16.581 16.177 16.177
13 1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS GRT 16.245 16.201 16.201
14 18d Cord Dodgen LaFayette, AL Mastersbilt 16.859 16.210 16.210
15 105 Taylor Mitcham LaFayette, AL Trak-Star 16.253 16.211 16.211
16 6 Chad Marchman LaGrange, GA TNT 16.329 16.223 16.223
17 8a Todd Morrow East Ridge, TN GRT 16.251 16.302 16.251
18 57 Shep Lucas McKenzie, AL Trak-Star 16.303 NT 16.303
19 34 Lee Mason Eclectic, AL Trak-Star 16.312 NT 16.312
20 5L Thomas Lewis Hamilton, GA Mastersbilt 16.316 16.486 16.316
21 19m Josh Adkins Talladega, AL Barry Wright 16.349 16.321 16.321
22 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS Rocket 16.879 16.355 16.355
23 13 Brent Rhodes Boaz, AL Mastersbilt 16.364 16.601 16.364
24 1T Terry Mosley Gilbertown, AL Rayburn 16.430 16.364 16.364
25 121 Michael Blount Sumrall, MS Trak-Star 16.401 16.511 16.401
26 66k Dylan Knowles Lanett, AL Scorpion 16.470 16.429 16.429
27 14c Tyler Clem St. Petersburg, FL Rocket 16.674 16.437 16.437
28 10c Ronnie Cooper McKenzie, TN Rocket 16.441 16.445 16.441
29 5d Rodgerick Dykes Smith Station, AL Warrior 16.523 16.492 16.492
30 10 Joseph Joiner Milton, FL Mastersbilt 16.640 16.536 16.536
31 6h Jimmy Halford Atwood, TN Trak-Star 17.064 16.541 16.541
32 18 Cale Finley Athens, AL Pierce 16.984 17.208 16.984
33 11 Cruz Skinner Oxford, AL Mastersbilt 17.029 17.153 17.029
34 00c J.D. Pass Brandon, MS HRRC 17.711 17.332 17.332
35 5c Mike Combs Odenville, AL TSR 17.571 17.646 17.571

B-MAINS (12 Laps – Top 6 Transfer To Main Event):

1ST B-MAIN: 1. Johnson; 2. Stokes; 3. Morrow; 4. Adkins; 5. Clem; 6. Mitcham; 7. Rhodes; 8. Skinner; 9. Dykes; 10. Combs; 11. Blount; 12. Halford; 13. Mason.

2ND B-MAIN: 1. Barrett; 2. Dodgen; 3. Lucas; 4. Knowles; 5. Marchman; 6. Cooper; 7. Lewis; 8. Joiner; 9. Mosley; 10. Pass; 11. Minga; 12. Finley.

NeSMITH CHEVROLET DIRT LATE MODEL SERIES POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 7/4/14:

1. 5 Ronnie Johnson – 1,064
2. 51 Mack McCarter – 1,042
3. 56 Chris Noah (R) – 934
4. 87 Walker Arthur – 838
5. 121 Michael Blount – 740
6. 19m Josh Adkins – 696
7. 1 Johnny Stokes – 666
8. 110 Brent Barrett – 596
9. J39 Jimmy Elliott – 582
10. 18 Chase Edge – 558
11. 19 Marcus Minga – 546
12. 25 Justin McRee – 472
13. 18 Tait Davenport – 460
14. 17 Ronald Dunn – 420
15. 73 Ashley Newman – 418
16. 8a Todd Morrow – 412
17. 38 Chase Washington – 348
18. 55 Montana Dudley (R) – 338
19. 64 Jacob Anderson – 336
20. T35 Tanner Works - 310

R – Denotes Rookie of the Year Candidate