CARTERSVILLE, GA – Week 22 of the 2014 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series season unfolds the scenarios for the $10,000 National Championship. The addition of Double Feature races has put a number of drivers back in the mix with a mathematical chance to win the title, but they all have a long row to hoe to knock Chris Holley of Dayton, TX off the top of the list.

Four $1,000-to-win races will highlight Week 22 of the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series 27-week season, and a total of 11 races at ten tracks in seven different states make up the schedule of events.

Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, MS will host a pair of $1,000-to-win races with a Week 13 Make-Up Race on Friday night, and the regularly scheduled Week 22 event on Saturday night. These races will be held in conjunction with the 2nd Annual Southern Street Stock Nationals co-sanctioned by the NeSmith Performance Parts Street Stock Division Presented By AR Bodies and the Mississippi Street Stock Series.

Northwest Florida Speedway in Baker, FL will host a Friday night NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 22 event co-sanctioned by the South Eastern Crate Series. Salina Speedway in Salina, KS will also be in action on Friday night.

411 Motor Speedway in Seymour, TN will host a $1,000-to-win NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 22 race on Saturday night. Penton Raceway in Penton, AL will present the $1,000-to-win inaugural Duckie Ward Memorial Race this Saturday night. Southern Raceway in Milton, FL will be in action on Saturday night with a race co-sanctioned by the South Eastern Crate Series.

Also presenting Saturday night NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 22 races are Arkadelphia Speedway in Bremen, AL, Battleground Speedway in Highlands, TX, St. Tammany Raceway in Lacombe, LA, and Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL.

With six weeks left in the 2014 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series season, plus Double Feature Make-Up Races in three of the those weeks, there are nine opportunities available to earn points through the end of the season.

This has left ten drivers behind point leader Holley with a mathematical chance to beat him for the $10,000 2014 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Championship. In a nutshell, it’s Holley’s title to lose, as most of the challengers are going to have to post a win in each of the six weeks remaining in the season, plus win the Make-Up Feature Races.

Holley has a best 14 week total of 698 points after 12 wins and two second-place finishes in 14 races. Holley needs two more 50-point wins to bring his season total to 700 points, and become the second driver to record a “Perfect Season.” If Holley wins one more race, that will eliminate four of the six contenders from the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Championship hunt.

Drivers still alive for the title are Mike Palasini Jr. of Leland, MS, Ryan King of Seymour, TN, the defending NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Champion Noah Daspit of Kiln, MS, Michael Arnold of Hattiesburg, MS, Heath Minor of Ralph, AL, 12-year-old Cruz Skinner of Oxford, AL, Ashley Newman of Ripley, TN, Daniel Bridgmon of Meridian, MS, Adam Gauldin of Talladega, AL, and Delbert Smith of Wichita, KS.

Palasini, King, Daspit, Arnold, Minor and Newman can win out by taking victories in six of the remaining weeks of the season, plus win the three Make-Up events to earn 700 points and a perfect season. If Holley doesn’t earn any more points the rest of the season, they can lose one race and still earn the title.

A Holley win and two losses by Palasini, King, Daspit, Arnold, Minor and Newman will clinch the title for Holley. Two Holley wins and one loss by Palasini, King, Daspit, Arnold, Minor and Newman clinches the 2014 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Championship for Holley.

Bridgmon and Smith can win out and end up with 699 points. They can also lose one race and tie Holley’s current point total, and then the tie-breaker would come into play for the National Championship.

Skinner and Gauldin can win out for the remainder of the season and earn up to 698 points. Again, the tie-breaker would come into play, and by winning out, Skinner could win that tie-breaker with more wins, and Gauldin could win the tie-breaker with more second-place finishes. Of course, that’s not likely, as Holley would have to sit out for the remainder of the season.

One loss in the remainder of the season for Skinner and Gauldin eliminates them from title contention. A Holley win eliminates Skinner and Gauldin. A Holley win and a loss by Bridgmon and Smith eliminates them from title contention.

The battle for the 2014 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Championship is going to require some road trips for many of the title contenders. The Make-Up Races that come into play begin this weekend with the Week 13 Make-Up Race at Whynot Motorsports Park this Friday night.

Week 23 will see a pair of Week 21 Make-Up races on August 30 at Battleground Speedway and at RPM Speedway in Hays, KS in conjunction with Salina Speedway. Talladega Short Track will host double features on September 13 with a Week 20 Make-Up race.

The battle for the Top 10 points fund paying positions is even more competitive, as 17 points separate second through tenth and 32 points separate tenth through 20th in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series point standings. All but one driver in the Top 20 of the point standings has reached the 14 week of their respective seasons and are netting points.

King is second in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 282 points and he will be trying to net on a 46 in his next race. Bridgmon is third with 680 points and will be trying to net on a 47. Shannon Lee of Lumberton, MS is fourth with 679 points and will be trying to net on a 46. Gauldin is fifth with 678 points and will be trying to net on a 46.

Daspit is sixth with 676 points and will be trying to net on a 45. Rusty Ballenger of Sevierville, TN is seventh with 675 points and will be trying to net on a 42. Arnold is eighth in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 670 points and will be trying to net on a 41. Skinner is ninth with 669 points and will be trying the net on a 44. Smith rounds out the Top 10 with 665 points and will be trying to net on a 39.

Palasini is 18th in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with 637 points, but he still has one more week to earn full points. A 50-point win this weekend would shoot the third-generation driver all of the way up to the second spot in the point standings.

Newman is way back in the 41st spot of the standings with 550 points, but he has two more weeks to earn full points. He can pick up 100 points with two 50-point wins before he starts trying to net points. Newman has two 39s, two 40s, a 43, and a 49 to net on between now and the end of the season.

Drivers participating at NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series sanctioned tracks compete against each other through a points system that counts their 14 best weekly point totals over the 27-week season that runs through September 28.

The 2014 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Champion will earn $10,000 and the Top 10 drivers in the final National point standings will also receive cash awards from the point fund. Drivers will also compete for an additional point fund at each series sanctioned track.

The dirt late model race cars in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series are powered by the economical Chevrolet Performance Circle Track Engines that are built and sealed at the factory to prevent any expensive modifications. There are two engines to choose from, the 400 horsepower aluminum-head 604 engine and the 350 horsepower steel-head 602 engine that gets a 100-pound weight break.

These engines are in stock and ready for free next day delivery anywhere in the Southeast from NeSmith Chevrolet in Claxton, GA. The Chevrolet Performance 604 Engine is $5,495 and the Chevrolet Performance 602 Engine is $3,295 at NeSmith Chevrolet in Claxton, GA. To place an order, call Tim Bland at 1-877-497-3624.

NeSmith Race Control will be providing live updates of NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 22 action this Friday night and Saturday night beginning at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time each night. These live updates will be available on the series’ Facebook page at NeSmith Racing as the tracks provide them.

Complete Week 22 results and updated point standings for the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series will be available on Monday with the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Round Up. For more information about the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series sanctioned tracks, visit the Weekly Racing Series all-new web site at www.nesmithracing.com.

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.

NeSMITH CHEVROLET WEEKLY RACING SERIES WEEK 22 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

August 22:

NORTHWEST FLORIDA SPEEDWAY – BAKER, FL (Co-Sanctioned by the SEC)
SALINA SPEEDWAY – SALINA, KS
WHYNOT MOTORSPORTS PARK – MERIDIAN, MS ($1,000-To-Win - Week 13 Make-Up Race)

August 23:

411 MOTOR SPEEDWAY – SEYMOUR, TN ($1,000-To-Win)
ARKADELPHIA SPEEDWAY – BREMEN, AL
BATTLEGROUND SPEEDWAY – HIGHLANDS, TX
PENTON RACEWAY – PENTON, AL ($1,000-To-Win)
SOUTHERN RACEWAY – MILTON, FL (Co-Sanctioned by the SEC)
ST. TAMMANY RACEWAY – LACOMBE, LA
TALLADEGA SHORT TRACK – EASTABOGA, AL
WHYNOT MOTORSPORTS PARK – MERIDIAN, MS ($1,000-To-Win)