Chevy Super Series To Double Down At Alabama State Championship Races

CARTERSVILLE, GA – The Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series is ready to step up onto its biggest stage yet with a pair of races this weekend for America’s first “Factory Backed and Factory Build” super late model series at the 36th Annual Alabama State Championship Races at East Alabama Motor Speedway in Phenix City, AL.

The Chevy Super Series will compete in a 30-lap $2,000-to-win race on Friday night at East Alabama Motor Speedway, and their second race at the Alabama State Championship Races will be on Saturday night with a 50-lap $3,000-to-win $300-to-start race. This new style of super late model racing has been riding a new wave of fan popularity driven by close racing and driver accessibility.

The Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series point leader is National Dirt Late Hall of Fame Inductee Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN, who has won three of the last four races. Johnson will be joined by a host of new young talent in super late model racing, and together they have been keeping the fans on the edge of their seats.

Tyler Crowder of Lamont, FL is second in the Chevy Super Series standings, 42 points behind Johnson. Second-generation driver Jake Knowles of Tyrone, GA is third in the battle for the $10,000 National Championship, and is ten points behind Crowder.

Knowles has a Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series East Alabama Motor Speedway win this season, scoring the victory in Round 2 of the season on April 12. Jacob Grizzle of Blairsville, GA is fourth in the standings and is 16 points behind Knowles.

Brent Barrett of Cleveland, MS is fifth in the Chevrolet Super Late Model Series point standings and leads a close battle for the 2014 Chevy Super Series Rookie of the Year award over 15-year-old Jadon Frame of Winchester, TN. Frame is sixth in the standings, and trails Barrett by just four points.

The “Mayor of the Chevy Fan Zone” Mark Dowdy of Waterloo, AL is seventh in the point standings, and is a fan favorite of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series for the courage and inspiration he displays. Dowdy was paralyzed from the waist down after a motorcycle accident six years ago.

He was a veteran late model driver before his highway accident, and doctors told Dowdy he would never race again. Dowdy would have nothing of it, and he drives his race car with hand controls. Dowdy makes it point to talk to the fans and convey the message that there is nothing they can’t do if they put their mind to it.

There are four drivers heading into the 36th Annual Alabama State Championship Races at East Alabama Motor Speedway this weekend that have been on a roll in Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series competition in the last couple of races.

Mack McCarter of Gatlinburg, TN won the 6th Annual Buddy Rogers Memorial 44 on September 13 at Tazewell Speedway in Tazewell, TN after an exciting duel with Johnson in one of East Tennessee’s most prestigious races. Third-generation driver Brandon Williams of Crossville, TN has gained some big attention in his first two Chevy Super Series races.

Williams made his maiden voyage with the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series at Tazewell Speedway by missing hot laps, and in his first two laps with the series qualified fourth fastest and then finished third in the Buddy Rogers Memorial 44 behind McCarter and Johnson.

In his second outing on September 20 at 411 Motor Speedway in Seymour, TN, Williams was the fast qualifier, led the first 44 laps of the 50-lap race, and finished second to Johnson, who had to throw every tick in the book at Williams to take the win.

The 2013 Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series National Championship Runner-Up Tim Busha of Boaz, AL started off the season with a string of bad luck in his first three races. Busha, who was a two-time winner in 2013, took some time off to regroup, and returned to the series at 411 Motor Speedway where he had a strong third-place finish.

David Brannon of Elora, TN also had a strong run at 411 Motor Speedway and is knocking on the door of the Top 10 in the point standings. Other Top 10 Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series drivers expected this weekend at EAMS are Lavon Sparks of Phenix City, AL and Rookie of the Year candidate Chase Edge of LaFayette, AL.

Also expected to compete with the Chevy Super Series this weekend in the Alabama State Championship Races are Dana Eiland of Salem, AL, J.R. Mosley of Columbus, GA, Ryan King of Anniston, AL, Dillon Tidmore of Glencoe, AL, Forrest Tent of Talbott, TN, and Matthew Summers of Estill Springs, TN.

With financial support from Chevrolet Performance, the Chevy Super Series is the first dirt late model series in the history of the sport to be backed by a major automobile manufacturer. The dirt late models in the series are powered by the all-aluminum Chevrolet Performance CT525 racing engine that is based off the Chevrolet production LS3 Engine.

The LS3 Engine comes under the hood of the Chevrolet Corvette, Chevrolet Camaro, and the Chevrolet SS available to the consumer at Chevrolet dealership worldwide. The Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series is the first dirt late model series in the history of the sport where the race cars are powered by the same factory built engine the fans can purchase in their passenger cars to get to the race track to watch them.

The Chevy built all-aluminum racing engine gives the super late model racer plenty of speed while not overpowering the track. Just about every driver that has driven a super late model powered by the CT 525 Engine has said the same thing about it: The engine gives the car more drivability and it easier to handle than a race car with a more expensive higher horsepower engine.

The CT 525 is basically a maintenance free engine. All the racers have to do is change the oil. This gives racers more time to work on the handling of their race cars. The speed, the drivability, the more work on handling all leads to giving the fans a new opportunity in watching a super late model race – close, side-by-side competition.

High horsepower engines lead to spinning tires, that leads to rubber being laid down on the track, and that leads to single-file racing. The CT 525 Engine is more based on torque than horsepower. This torque gives the cars forward bite without spinning the tires. This leads to multi-groove racing with drivers battling each other for position two and three-wide.

The Chevy Super Series brings the sport of dirt track racing up close and personal with new super late model innovations and opportunities. One of the first thing fans see when they arrive at the venue of a Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series Race is the Chevy Fan Zone.

The majority of fans that buy a ticket to a super late model race sit in the stands, and they see a car with a number on the door, and find out from the announcer the name of the driver in each numbered car. With the exception of a trackside interview where they can see the driver and his car from a distance, they rarely get the opportunity to visit with the driver, or see his race car up close.

Before the racing action gets underway at every Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model race, fans are invited to socialize with the drivers and get an up close look at their race cars in the Chevy Fan Zone. Just after the grandstand gates open, the Chevy Super Series drivers come to the fans in the grandstand area and bring their race cars with them.

The next thing fans will see in the Chevy Fan Zone is that the drivers and the fans get to know each other, as the drivers autograph “hero cards,” pose for photos, hand out coloring books to the kids. The drivers are more than willing to show the fans their race cars and the production-based Chevrolet CT 525 Engine under the hood.

The Chevy Fan Zone gives the fans more enjoyment and more involvement watching the race, as they not only are familiar with the race car by number, but also with the driver sitting in the seat.

On Friday at East Alabama Motor Speedway, the pit gate opens at 12 noon Eastern Time with Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series Pre-Race Registration and Technical Inspection from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. The Drivers Meeting is set for 6 p.m. with racing scheduled for 7 p.m.

On Saturday at East Alabama Motor Speedway, the pit gate opens at 8 a.m. Eastern time with Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series Pre-Race Registration and Technical Inspection from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The Drivers Meeting is set for 5 p.m. with the Chevy Fan Zone from 5:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Racing is scheduled for 7 p.m.

East Alabama Motor Speedway is on Eastern Daylight Time and is located at 4238 U.S. Highway 80 West, Phenix City, AL 36870. For more information call 334-297-2594, or visit the track web site at www.eamsdirt.com.

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. Schaeffer’s Oil Presented By Chad Wallace and Heather Newsome is the Official Oil of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series. AR Bodies is an Official Sponsor of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series. Cruise With The Champions is an Official Sponsor of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series. Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series Contingency Sponsors for 2014 are Modern Images, Mike Custom Tanks, KRC Power Steering, David Smith Carburetors, Kinser Air Filters, and Shorty’s Shock Service.