NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 23 Preview

CARTERSVILLE, GA - Michael Arnold of Hattiesburg, MS has clinched the 2015 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series $10,000 National Champion, but there is still a lot to be decided in the final five weeks of the season. Drivers will be competing to see who will join Arnold at the NeSmith Racing Annual Awards Banquet in January at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in Dawsonville, GA.

The Top 10 drivers in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series point standings will collect a check out of the $20,000 point fund. The battle for the second spot in the points chase is a close one, and there are still drivers outside the top ten in the current points that could “come out of the weeds” in the closing weeks of the season to compete for a Top 10 spot.

Week 23 of the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series 2015 season will have seven races on the schedule of events in four different states. The Week 23 competition will begin on Friday night at Hattiesburg Speedway in Hattiesburg, MS.

A $1,000-to-win race at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS will highlight Saturday night NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 23 action. Southern Raceway in Milton, FL will host Round 13 of the 2015 NeSmith Panhandle Challenge Series this Saturday night, a series within the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series.

Also on the Saturday night Week 23 schedule of events for the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Late Models will be races at Battleground Race Park in Highlands, TX, Greenville, Speedway in Greenville, MS, Jackson Motor Speedway in Jackson, MS, and Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL.

Cruz Skinner of Oxford, AL is currently second in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with a best 14 week total of 689 points and seven wins on the season with six of them 50-point victories. Skinner celebrated his 14th birthday today, and he is the Sunoco Young Guns Challenger Series point leader for drivers 18 years of age and younger.

Skinner will be looking to net on a 47, which is the lowest weekly point total among his best 14 that count as his season total. In order to improve on his season point total, Skinner will have to finish third or better in Week 23 competition.

Robbie Starnes of Livingston, TX is third in the standings with a best 14 week total of 678 points, and he will be looking to net on a 41. Mike Palasini Jr. of Leland, MS is fourth with a best 14 week total of 675 points, and he will be trying to net on a 41. Palasini was the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Championship Runner-Up in 2013 and 2014.

The 2013 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Champion Noah Daspit of Kiln, MS is fifth in the standings with a best 14 week total of 673 points. Daspit will be trying to net on a 43. Shannon Lee of Lumberton, MS is sixth with a best 14 week total of 671 points, and he will be trying to net on a 46.

Greg Fore of Greenville, MS is seventh in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with a best 14 week total of 668 points, and he will be trying to net on a 42. Joseph Joiner of Milton, FL is eighth with a best 14 week total of 665 points, and he will be trying to net on a 45. Joiner also leads the NeSmith Panhandle Challenge Series point standings.

Cole Daffron of Pell City, AL is ninth in the standings with a best 14 week total of 654 points, and he will be trying to net on a 45. The 17-year-old is second in the Sunoco Young Guns Challenge Series points. Bobby Jordan of McCarley, MS rounds out the Top 10 in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with a best 14 week total of 644 points, and he will be trying to net on a 41.

There are still three drivers in the Top 20 of the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series point standings that are still earning full points and have two to three more weeks to do so. These will be the drivers to watch in the next two weeks, as they still have a mathematical chance to reach the Top 10.

Adam Cummings of Odenville, AL is 16th in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 569 points, and two more weeks to earn full points. Two 50-point wins over the next two weeks would give him a point total of 669 points.

The three-time NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series West Region Champion Lucky Keeton of Collinsville, MS is 18th in the standings with 550 points and two more weeks to earn full points. Two 50-point wins by Keeton would give him 650 points.

Kevin Sitton of Baytown, TX is currently 19th in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 527 points and three more weeks to earn full points. Three more 50-point wins would give him 677 points, and a chance at a series single-season record.

Sitton has won five straight races, and three more would give him eight. The 2014 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Champion Chris Holley of Dayton, TX set the single-season record of consecutive wins last season at seven. Arnold has a six-race win streak going, and he also has a chance to set a new record.

Arnold will also be looking to set a new NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series single-season record in the last five weeks of the season for posting wins at the most tracks. Arnold has won at six different tracks this season, and he currently shares the record with the 2012 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Champion Chase Washington of Houlka, MS.

Drivers in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series will compete against each other nationally using a points system that will count their best 14 weekly point totals over a 27-week season from March 23 through September 27. The $20,000 National point fund will pay $10,000 to the National Champion and pay back to the Top 10 drivers in the final point standings.

NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series competitors have the option of two different economical Chevrolet Performance Circle Track Engines to compete with. The aluminum-head 400 horsepower 604 engine costs $5,795 and the steel-head 350 horsepower Chevrolet Performance 602 Circle Track Engine with a 100-pound weight break costs $3,495.

Both of these Chevrolet Performance Racing Engines are in stock and available at NeSmith Chevrolet in Claxton, GA with free next day delivery anywhere in the Southeast. To place an order, call Tim Bland at 1-877-497-3624.

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.

NeSMITH CHEVROLET WEEKLY RACING SERIES WEEK 23 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

August 28:

HATTIESBURG SPEEDWAY – HATTIESBURG, MS

August 29:

BATTLEGROUND RACE PARK – HIGHLANDS, TX
GREENVILLE SPEEDWAY – GREENVILLE, MS
JACKSON MOTOR SPEEDWAY – JACKSON, MS
MAGNOLIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY – COLUMBUS, MS ($1,000-To-Win)
SOUTHERN RACEWAY – MILTON, FL (NeSmith Panhandle Challenge Series)
TALLADEGA SHORT TRACK – EASTABOGA, AL


NeSmith Chevrolet, Buick, GMC of Claxton, GA is the Title Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models. NeSmith Chevrolet, Buick, GMC is the nation’s number one GM Powertrain and Performance Dealer six years running, with free delivery anywhere in the Southeast. Chevrolet Performance Parts is an Official Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models. Hoosier Racing Tire is the Official Tire Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models. RockAuto.com is an Official Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models. Beyea Headers is the NeSmith Late Model Hard Charger Sponsor. Sunoco Race Fuels is the Official Race Fuel of the NeSmith Late Models. Panama City Cycles is the Official ATV Provider of the NeSmith Late Models. AR Bodies is an Associate Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models. NeSmith Late Model Contingency Sponsors for 2015 are CrateInsider.Com, Integra Racing Shocks, Image Screen Printing, and Gresham Race Parts. 2015 Chassis Sponsors are Trak-Star Race Cars, Warrior Race Cars, Rocket Chassis, GRT Race Cars, and CVR Race Cars.