Rambo Draws Second Blood With NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS East Bay Win

[crusapr]

TAMPA, FL – Dennis “Rambo” Franklin of Gaffney, SC drove the AES Racing Special to his second straight win on Saturday night in the 50-lap main event for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Tour at East Bay Raceway Park. After a race-long duel with Doug Watson of Plant City, FL, Franklin took the lead on lap 47 and then cruised to a 2.401 second victory.

The 36th Annual Winternationals was a good one for Franklin, as he finished second on Thursday night and followed that up with wins on Friday and Saturday night. Franklin leads the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series point standings with 296 points and holds a 24-point advantage over Jack Nosbisch Jr. of Riverview, FL.

“I kept working the inside on Watson and he finally made a bobble in turn two where we got by him at the end of the race,” Franklin said. “I’ve got to thank Steve Cooke and the AES Racing Team for letting drive this car here. It was a great race car all week.”

Watson held off a late-race charge from Doug Horton of Bruceton Mills, WV to finish second in the Brandon Auto Services Rocket. Horton overcame fuel problems early in the night to take the third spot in the Mainland Transport Warrior. Horton won the first 15-lap B-Main race, started 16th in the main event and earned the Hedman Husler of the Race Award.

Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA was fourth in the Hedman Husler Special and William Thomas of Phenix City, AL finished fifth in the Harrod Logging Special. Dave Schmauss of Dover, FL drove the Cardinal Paint and Body Warrior to a sixth-place finish and Mark Tice of Avon, MS was seventh in the Precision Marine Trak-Star.

Walker Arthur of Forest, VA finished eighth in the Cecil B. Arthur Beef Farms Rocket and Nosbisch took the ninth spot in the Buddy’s Home Furnishings Rocket. Phillip Cobb of Apollo Beach, FL rounded out the top ten in the Mathis Farms Special and was the VP Racing Fuels Rookie of the Race.

The four 12-lap heat races were won by Franklin, Watson, Austin Hubbard of Sanford, DE in the AES Racing Special and Steve Cooke of Mt. Airy, NC in the AES Racing Special. The 15-lap B-Main races were won by Horton and Nosbisch. Franklin made it a clean sweep of the program by setting fast time honors among the 45 entrants with a lap around the 1/3-mile clay oval in 15.708 seconds.

Franklin took the lead at the start of the race when Watson jumped the cushion in turn two. That enabled Hubbard to move up to second, but when the field got to turn four, several cars got tangled up midway in the pack, and Chris Cantrell of Chester, SC flipped the CANCO Rocket and collect several other cars to bring out the red flag.

Cantrell was uninjured, but his race car was done for the evening. His misfortune earned Cantrell the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award. The field lined back up for a complete restart, and Watson took the lead followed by Franklin, Hubbard, Cooke, and Devin Dixon of Apollo Beach, FL in the Mathis Farms Special.

Horton was working through the field, and charged from 16th to tenth by lap four. Lap seven saw Franklin looking inside to challenge Watson for the lead. Dixon and Turner got by Cooke on lap nine to take over the fourth and fifth spots respectively.

The second of seven caution flags came out on lap ten when Shannon Lee of Lumberton, MS spun the Billy Riels Racing Trak-Star. Watson led the doubled-up field down for the restart followed by Franklin, Hubbard, Dixon, Turner, Cooke, Chase Edge of Lafayette, AL in the Edge’s Gas Company Special, Tice, Horton and Thomas.

Dixon spun on the restart in turn two and collected ten other cars for the third caution flag. After the restart, Hubbard spun out of the third spot with a spin in turn two on lap 11 for the fourth caution flag. Watson led for the restart with Franklin, Turner, Cooke, Edge, Tice, Horton, Thomas, Arthur and Blount doubled up behind him.

Horton passed Tice for the sixth spot on the restart, and Schmauss moved into the top ten on lap 12. Horton closed in on Edge to battle for the fifth spot on lap 18, while up front, Franklin worked to the inside of Watson to challenge for the lead. For the next five laps, Watson and Franklin raced side-by-side for the lead while Edge and Horton raced side-by-side for fifth.

Lap 23 saw Horton made the pass on Edge for the fifth spot. Up front, Watson and Franklin continued their battle for the lead as they approached lapped traffic at the halfway point in the race. Edge slammed the backstretch wall on lap 27 to light up the caution bulb for the fifth time. The 2011 VP Racing Fuels Rookie of the Year was uninjured, but his car was done for the night.

After the field went back to green flag racing, Franklin again camped out on the inside of Watson. Franklin could gain on Watson entering the corners, but Watson was faster getting off the turns to keep the lead. Thomas passed Tice for the sixth spot on lap 28.

Franklin got a good run on Watson in turn one on lap 36, and stayed alongside the leader down the backstretch. Watson used the “sweet spot” he found on the high side of turn four to keep Franklin behind him. The race was slowed by the sixth caution flag on lap 38 when Blount spun in turn two.

Two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Champion David Earl Gentry of Murfreesboro, TN stalled in turn four on lap 41 with an overheating problem for the seventh caution flag. Watson lined up for the single-file restart followed by Franklin, Horton, Turner, Thomas, Cooke, Tice, Schmauss, Arthur and Nosbisch.

Franklin put the inside pressure on Watson for the next five laps, as the lead pair raced side-by-side. Watson slipped slightly on the high side of turn two on lap 47, which opened the door for Franklin, who made the best of his opportunity to take the lead going down the backstretch. Once he cleared Watson, Franklin opened up a 2.401 second lead at the checkered flag.

The next event for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series will be on April 6-7 with a $5,000-to-win two-day show at Greenville Speedway in Greenville, MS highlighted with a 75-lap main event.

For more information 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.

[johnE]

Whose engine was in the winner's car? http://www.aesracing.net/

I wonder how much it would cost to buy that $5,000 crate engine.

[white32]

Whose engine was in the winner's car? http://www.aesracing.net/

I wonder how much it would cost to buy that $5,000 crate engine.

604 crate engine right out of the crate, call Steve Cook and he will make you a price. BTW, this particular AES Racing stands for Advanced Electronic Systems of Mt. Airy, NC not the AES of engine building fame.

[johnE]

604 crate engine right out of the crate, call Steve Cook and he will make you a price. BTW, this particular AES Racing stands for Advanced Electronic Systems of Mt. Airy, NC not the AES of engine building fame.

Thanks for the clarification on AES.

Are you saying that RAMBO was running a straight out of the crate 604? No blueprinting, etc?

[skinnyracer39]

Thanks for the clarification on AES.

Are you saying that RAMBO was running a straight out of the crate 604? No blueprinting, etc?

from what i read i would say no too that question !

[white32]

Thanks for the clarification on AES.

Are you saying that RAMBO was running a straight out of the crate 604? No blueprinting, etc?

That is correct. Installed cooling fan, carb and distributor, set the timing, adjusted the valves and went racing. The key components in the wins were the Barry Wright chassis and JRI shocks. Do you think that NeSmith would let ANYONE win two out of three races and run second in the third and not closely tech the engine? In the third race Doug Watson (07) held Rambo off for 47 laps. Watson made a driving error coming off turn 2 that allowed Rambo to pass him. I will also add that Rambo was under Watson numerous times in that race and the two cars never touched. Watson stated in a post race interview "he drove me clean, I slipped coming of 2 and couldn't hold him off".

[white32]

from what i read i would say no too that question !

And you would be wrong.

[white32]

Thanks for the clarification on AES.

Are you saying that RAMBO was running a straight out of the crate 604? No blueprinting, etc?

I made an error in defining AES. It stands for Advanced Electronic SERVICES. Sorry.

http://www.aesintl.com/

[skinnyracer39]

And you would be wrong.

not a full blown G M engine "untouched"

[johnE]

I'm sure looking forward to seeing RAMBO in next month's big races at Cherokee & Lancaster! There are big crate purses in the support events for 15K & 20K to win SLM races. I wonder who besides Rambo will race crates & SLM?

[white32]

I'm sure looking forward to seeing RAMBO in next month's big races at Cherokee & Lancaster! There are big crate purses in the support events for 15K & 20K to win SLM races. I wonder who besides Rambo will race crates & SLM?

I don't know if any other tracks is running a big race the same weekend as Cherokee but Volunteer Speedway at Bulls Gap is paying $10,000 to win the same weekend as Lancaster. Jimmy Owens, Bloomer, Vic Hill, etc. will probably go there in almost their backyard.

Rambo's shop is in Gaffney. If you want to come by and look things over I will give you directions.

[johnE]

I've had conversations with Rambo every year for 10 or more years, he's certainly a nice guy & one of the most accesable to us fans. He's hard to miss!