CARTERSVILLE, GA – Week 22 of the 2014 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series season has set up the scenario that the road to the $10,000 National Champion will run right through Battleground Speedway in Highlands, TX. That’s the home track of Chris Holley of Dayton, TX, who won his 13th race of the season on Saturday night in the Land Bridge Transportation Special.

Holley was able to net one point, which brings his best 14 week season to 699 points, one point away from a 700 point perfect season. Holley needs one more win to reach that mark, but the question remains, will it be enough to clinch the 2014 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Championship?

Going into NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 22 competition, there were ten drivers that still had a mathematical chance to defeat Holley for the championship. Holley’s Saturday night win took five of them out of contention.

Mike Palasini Jr. of Leland, MS, Ryan King of Seymour, TN, and Michael Arnold of Hattiesburg, MS did what they had to do to stay alive in the championship hunt, and that was pick up a win over the weekend. The defending NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Champion Noah Daspit of Kiln, MS stays alive, as does Heath Minor of Ralph, AL.

Palasini drove the MP Trucking Special to his ninth NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series win of the 2014 season on Saturday night at Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, MS in his final week to earn full points. Palasini made a big jump in the point standings to leap from 18th to second with 687 points.

If Palasini can win out in the remaining five weeks of the 2014 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series season, including two double feature events on the schedule, he has the potential for a perfect season of 700 points. One of those double feature races is this weekend at Battleground Speedway, where they will make up a Week 21 event.

A trip to Highlands, TX is Palasini’s shortest route to the 2014 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Championship. Palasini already has a Week 21 win and wouldn’t be able to net any points, but he might keep Holley from getting win number 14 and 700 points.

If Holley wins both races Saturday night, and Palasini wins a Week 23 race at another track, it would at best for Palasini set up a possible tie for the title with some interesting tie-breaker scenarios that are yet to be played out. If Holley goes on in the last few weeks of the season to win 16 races, it’s all over and Holley wins the championship.

King, Arnold, Daspit and Minor are in a little bit more desperate position than Palasini. They need to win out the remaining races, including the double features, left in the season, with Holley staying out of the winner’s circle. So one week without a win or another win by Holley takes King, Arnold, Daspit and Minor out of the championship picture.

King took his seventh NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series win of the season on Saturday night at 411 Motor Speedway in Seymour, TN driving the Brian King Roofing Stinger. King is third in the standings with a best 14 week total of 686 points after netting four points with the win.

Arnold picked up win number eight on the season at Whynot Motorsports Park on Friday night driving The Strength Center Special and after netting nine points moves up to fourth in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with a best 14 week total of 684 points.

Adam Gauldin of Talladega, AL, Delbert Smith of Wichita, KS, Cruz Skinner of Oxford, AL, Daniel Bridgmon of Meridian, MS, and Ashley Newman of Ripley, TN are no longer in contention for the title, but they are very much in the heat of the tight battle for the runner-up spot and the remaining Top 10 points fund paying positions.

Gauldin and Smith did what they had to do in NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 22 competition, and that was win to stay alive with the possibility of maxing out the season with 698 points. Skinner could have also reached 698 by winning out the remainder of the season, but the 12-year-old sensation did not reach the winner’s circle this weekend.

Holley’s win to take him to 699 points, eliminated all three drivers from title contention. A Week 22 win by Bridgmon would have kept him in contention with the possibility of winning out and reaching a possible 699 points. Bridgmon missed a win by two spots, and his title opportunity was gone. Newman had the potential of a perfect season, but he did not compete in Week 22 action, so he is done for a title shot.

Gauldin drove the Adam Gauldin Racing GRT to his fifth NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series win of the season on Saturday night at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL to net four points. Gauldin is among a three-way tie for the fifth in the standings with a best 14 week total of 682 points.

Bridgmon in the Robinson Electric Supply Special, who netted one point this weekend, and Rusty Ballenger of Sevierville, TN are also among the fifth-place trio. Ballenger finished second to King on Saturday night at 411 Motor Speedway driving the Rehel Diesel/East TN Metals Special to net seven points. Gauldin has the tie-breaker advantage with five wins to four wins each for Bridgmon and Ballenger.

Shannon Lee of Lumberton, MS is eighth in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with a best 14 week total of 679 points. Lee finished eighth on Friday night at Whynot Motorsports Park in the Billy Riels Racing GRT, and did not net any points in Week 22 competition.

Daspit and Smith are tied for the ninth spot in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with a best 14 week total of 676 points apiece. Daspit has the tie-breaker advantage with six wins to five wins for Smith.

That fifth win for Smith came on Friday night at Salina Speedway in Salina, KS driving the BSB Manufacturing Special and netted him 11 points. Daspit was able to net one point in NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 22 competition after a fifth-place finish on Friday night at Whynot Motorsports Park driving the Cacee Brown Racing Trak-Star.

In other NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 22 action, the 2010 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series East Region Champion Chase Edge of LaFayette, AL picked up the $1,000 top prize by winning the Duckie Ward Memorial Race on Saturday night at Penton Raceway in Penton, AL driving the Edge’s Gas Company Special.

Joseph Joiner of Milton, FL drove the Joiner Racing Special to a pair of wins over the weekend in races co-sanctioned by the South Eastern Crate Series. The first win came on Friday night at Northwest Florida Speedway in Baker, FL and the second win, and his fourth of the season came on Saturday night at Southern Raceway in Milton, FL.

The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Rookie of the Year point leader Chris Noah of Rainbow City, AL used his night off of the traveling circuit to pick up a NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series win on Saturday night at Arkadelphia Speedway in Bremen, AL driving the Old Man’s Garage Special.

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.