CARTERSVILLE, GA – The Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series returns to the site where it all began last year, Penton Raceway in Penton, AL, for a 50-lap $3,000-to-win $300-to-start race this Saturday night. Since that first race last August, America’s first “Factory Backed and Factory Built” Super Late Model Series has seen growth in both participation and fan appeal.

A group of 17 drivers showed up for the first Chevy Super Series race last year, while another group of drivers looked on, taking a “wait and see” posture towards the new endeavor. A record crowd of race fans came through the gates at Penton Raceway, not really knowing what they were about to witness, but they looked on with enthusiastic curiosity.

Among the first group of drivers, Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN was well known on the national stage of dirt late model drivers, already having etched his name in history as a National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee. Johnson played an important part in the four-year development of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series.

Johnson put the economical engine that powered the race cars in the Chevy Super Series on the map through his R&D work on the all-aluminum Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine, a powerplant based off the production LS3 engine that comes in the Chevrolet Corvette, Chevrolet Camaro and the Chevrolet SS sold by Chevrolet dealerships worldwide.

Joining him was William Thomas of Phenix City, AL; a third generation driver who was well known in the Southeast, but had yet to reach his full potential on the national level of the sport. Tim Busha of Boaz, AL was a veteran dirt late model pilot, but had never ventured that far from his home track, Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL.

That hot August night last year at Penton Raceway was about to change the outlook of dirt late model racing for both the fans and competitors. As the Chevy Super Series comes full circle in its return to Penton Raceway this Saturday night, a lot has changed in less than a year.

Many of the drivers that took a wait and see attitude towards the Chevy Super Series didn’t wait long because they saw the benefits of the Chevy Super Series right away, and they are now a part of the series for the 2014 season. The fans’ curious enthusiasm turned into a feeding frenzy of what they hungered for; two and three-wide racing action.

The Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series continues its evolution of growth as it prepares for its third race of its second season Saturday night at Penton Raceway, where Thomas won the first-ever race for the series last August. Thomas went on to win three more races and took his place on the national stage by becoming the first Chevy Super Series National Champion.

Thomas has now gone on to become a traveling professional, competing in super late model races across the country. Thomas is quick to praise the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series for giving him the opportunity to enhance his racing career.

Johnson continues to be a top competitor in the Chevy Super Series, a series that has kept him in the sport and is keeping his name in the National spotlight. Johnson is once again a contender for the National Championship after finishing third in the standings last year. Busha is now well-known outside of Central Alabama, posting two wins last year and finishing second in the point standings.

For 2014, there is an outstanding mix of veterans from last season and new faces that are locked in a tight battle for the $10,000 Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series National Championship. Just 16 points separate the top five drivers in the point standings going into Saturday night’s race at Penton Raceway.

Second-generation driver Jake Knowles of Tyrone, GA leads the Chevy Super Series point standings with 194 points after a third-place finish and a win in the first two races of the 2014 season. Knowles is in the same position of notoriety that Thomas was in last season. Knowles is well-known among fans in the Southeast, but is currently making a name for himself nationwide.

Johnson is second in the standings with 192 points after a pair of second-place finishes. Dingus Griffin of Ohatchee, AL is third with 190 points after winning the season opener and taking the fifth spot in the second race of the season. Tyler Crowder of Lamont, FL is fourth with 186 points after a pair of top five finishes, and Josh Adkins of Talladega, AL is fifth with 178 points and leads the Rookie of the Year point standings.

Drivers that are sixth through tenth respectively in the Chevy Super Series point standings are Adam Martin of Talladega, AL, Lavon Sparks of Phenix City, AL, Jadon Frame of Winchester, TN, Frank Wilson of Harold, FL, and Jacob Grizzle of Blairsville, GA. There are six more drivers just outside the top ten in the point standings that have been to the first two races this season.

Chase Edge of LaFayette, AL will be looking for a successful night at his home track to race into the top ten of the standings, and Brent Barrett of Cleveland, MS is looking to get back on track after finishing fifth in the point standings last season. Busha will be looking a shake a string of bad luck in his first two races this season.

Mark Dowdy of Waterloo, AL continues to be an inspiration to everyone on and off the track. Dowdy has become a fan favorite on the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series, not for what he does on the race track, but by just being able to drive his race car around a race track. Dowdy is paralyzed from the waist down after a motorcycle accident six years ago severed his spinal cord.

Dowdy has become “The Mayor” of the Chevy Fan Zone where fans flock to him to hear his inspirational story of courage and determination. After his accident, Dowdy spent eight hours in the operating room having life-saving surgery and then spent three days in a coma. Dowdy makes fans feel comfortable around him as he openly discusses his life in a wheelchair, and he even has a sense of humor about it.

During his many weeks of recovery in the hospital, Dowdy began to come up with a plan to drive a race car again before he even learned how to get himself out of bed, or even how to get in the race car, let alone drive it. Dowdy developed a special steering unit with hand controls to drive his race car and power slide through the turns at over 100 miles per hour.

Dowdy will be looking for some revenge of sorts this Saturday night at Penton Raceway, as even though he was there in his race car last year, he did not compete. He was involved in an accident during hot laps that saw his race car execute several barrel rolls and come to rest on its roof. This led to a moment that the Penton Raceway Rescue Squad will never forget.

When the rescue personnel got to Dowdy, they began to instruct him unbuckle his safety harness and climb out of his overturned race car. Dowdy told them to just turn the car over with him in it so he could get out in what had become his tradition fashion of opening a hinged portion of the driver’s door and slide into his wheelchair, which had not yet arrived on the scene.

When the safety personnel asked Dowdy why he couldn’t get out while the car was upside-down, Dowdy told them he was paralyzed from the waist down. The safety people went silent and looked at each other in a way that they now had a very serious situation to deal with.

But, before it could all sink in, and Dowdy being Dowdy, he grinned at them and explained that he was paralyzed BEFORE he got in the race car!

Other drivers expected this Saturday night for the 50-lap $3,000-to-win Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series race at Penton Raceway are Jake Teague of Oliver Springs, TN, Ross Martin of Talladega, AL, Ted Lackey of Munford, AL, Dana Eiland of Salem, AL, Steve Kirk of Munford, AL, and Cord Dodgen of LaFayette, AL.

Race fans are invited to meet the drivers and see their race cars in the Chevy Fan Zone at Penton Raceway’s grandstand area from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. This has become a popular feature of the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series where the drivers bring their race cars to the fans in the grandstand area where they can see them up close before they hit the racing surface.

On Saturday at Penton Raceway, the pit gate opens at 3 p.m. with Chevrolet Performance Super Dirt Late Model Series Pre-Race Registration and Technical Inspection from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the Drivers Meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and Racing is set for 8 p.m.

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.