ATHENS, TN – When the top East Tennessee drivers competing with the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series get a chance to race with the National Tour on their home turf, they always seem to show up and show out. They get that opportunity this Friday night and Saturday night for Rounds 20 and 21 of the 2015 season at I-75 Raceway in Sweetwater, TN.

The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series will make its first-ever visit to I-75 Raceway on Friday night on 9/11 for the $2,000-to-win First Responders 40, and then return to action at the McMinn County Speedplant on Saturday night with a $2,500-to-win 50-lap race.

While the NeSmith series will be making its first I-75 Raceway visit, many of the series’ top drivers are East Tennessee natives that will be revisiting the 3/8-mile clay oval this Friday night and Saturday night.

The defending and two-time NeSmith Late Model National Champion and current point leader Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN, second-place and Cruise With The Champions Rookie of the Year Ryan King of Seymour, TN, fourth-place Matt Henderson of Loudon, TN and John Ownbey of Cleveland, TN raced with the NeSmith Late Models’ sister series, the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series last month at I-75 Raceway.

Johnson will be looking for a steady run and his second NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series win of the season as he continues to make a bid for his unprecedented third straight National Championship. King and Henderson probably have the most experience of the NeSmith regulars on I-75 Raceway.

King will be looking for his third win of the season and Henderson will be looking his second NeSmith Late Model win of the season. But, when it comes to East Tennessee races, Johnson, King and Henderson seem to be always chasing Ownbey.

Ownbey has competed in just four of 19 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series races this season, and he has won three of them and finished fourth in the race he didn’t win. Those three wins have come at Tri-County Race Track, just over the mountain from I-75 Raceway in Brasstown, NC, 411 Motor Speedway in nearby Seymour, TN, and at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway in Calvert City, KY. That finishing record has Ownbey sitting 18th in the point standings.

Last month, Ownbey visited Victory Lane at I-75 Raceway after winning the Chevy Super Series race in the same race car with a different type of Chevrolet Performance Racing Engine. The NeSmith Late Models run the steel-block aluminum-head Chevrolet Performance 604 Racing Engine, while the Chevy Super Series cars run the LS3 production based all-aluminum Chevrolet Performance CT525 Racing Engine.

Chasing Ownbey to the checkered flag in the I-75 Raceway Chevy Super Series race last month was King, who was in his NeSmith Late Model. A couple of more laps and King might have been the winner of that race. Ownby and King will meet in middle ground again this weekend. Ownbey lives 30 minutes to the South of the track and King lives 30 minutes to the North.

Joining Johnson, King, Henderson and Ownbey will be several out of town drivers that are regulars with the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. Chase Edge of LaFayette, AL is third in the series’ point standings, and Ryan Crane of Panama City, FL holds the fifth spot, and is third in the Cruise With The Champions Rookie of the Year point standings.

Marcus Minga of Shannon, MS is sixth in the NeSmith Late Model National points chase and a Sunoco Young Guns Challenge Series driver, 13-year-old Will Roland of Jasper, GA, will be trying to race his way into the top ten in points from the 11th spot. The Sunoco Young Guns Challenge Series is for NeSmith Late Model drivers 18 years of age and younger.

Another NeSmith Late Model regular, Michael Blount of Sumrall, MS is 12th in the point standings and will also be looking to race his way into a top ten points fund-paying position. Several other drivers will be making the trip to the Volunteer State from Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Kentucky.

A tough local contingent of drivers will be led by Cory Hedge(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word) of Lenoir City, TN, and he will be joined by Jake Teague of Oliver Springs, TN, Justin Summers of Greenback, TN, Jimmy Elliott of Cleveland, TN, Forrest Trent of Talbott, TN, Rusty Ballenger of Sevierville, TN, Adam Beeler of Knoxville, TN, and William Overbey of Norris, TN.

On both Friday and Saturday, the pit gate opens at 4 p.m. with NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Pre-Race Registration and Technical Inspection from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Drivers Meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. with Hot Laps and Racing to follow.

I-75 Raceway is located three miles west of I-75 at Exit 60 at 1775 Highway 68. For more information call 423-438-3677, or visit the track web site at www.i75raceway.com. You can also like their Facebook page at I-75 Raceway.

For more information and rules 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.


NeSmith Chevrolet, Buick, GMC of Claxton, GA is the Title Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models. NeSmith Chevrolet, Buick, GMC is the nation’s number one GM Powertrain and Performance Dealer six years running, with free delivery anywhere in the Southeast. Chevrolet Performance Parts is an Official Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models. Hoosier Racing Tire is the Official Tire Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models. RockAuto.com is an Official Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models. Beyea Headers is the NeSmith Late Model Hard Charger Sponsor. Sunoco Race Fuels is the Official Race Fuel of the NeSmith Late Models. Panama City Cycles is the Official ATV Provider of the NeSmith Late Models. AR Bodies is an Associate Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models. NeSmith Late Model Contingency Sponsors for 2015 are CrateInsider.Com, Integra Racing Shocks, Image Screen Printing, and Gresham Race Parts. 2015 Chassis Sponsors are Trak-Star Race Cars, Warrior Race Cars, Rocket Chassis, GRT Race Cars, and CVR Race Cars.