BRUNSWICK, GA – Robert Diekemper of Bloomingdale, GA drove the Chatham Classic Homes Special to victory in the first of four ten-lap Heat Races to earn the pole position for Saturday night’s 60-lap $5,000-to-win Showdown On The Coast race for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series at Golden Isles Speedway.

The top four finishers in each of the four Heat Races earned a spot in the “Sweet 16” of the main event starting line-up filling the first eight rows of the 24-car field. Drivers that finished fifth on back in the four Heat Races will line-up in one of two B-Main Races that will be contested tomorrow night in which the first three finishers earn a spot in the Big Show.

Defending race champion Chase Edge of LaFayette, AL won the second Heat Race in the Edge’s Gas Company Special and will go for his second straight Showdown On The Coast win from the outside of the front row.

Kyle Bronson of Brandon, FL won the third Heat Race in the Brandon Ford Rocket and starts the main event on the inside of the second row. Ryan Crane of Panama City, FL will start the Big Show from the outside of the second row after driving the Panama City Cycles Rocket to victory in the fourth heat race.

Joining Diekemper in the Sweet 16 from the first Heat Race were Phillip Cobb of Dover, FL in the Dynamic Painting Special, Jason Fitzgerald of Middleburg, FL in the Taylor Pools GRT, and second-generation driver Travis Pennington of Stapleton, GA in the Milford Body Special.

Drivers earning a spot in the main event with Edge in the second Heat Race were Mark Whitener of Middleburg, FL in the AR Bodies Special, Ryan King of Seymour, TN in the Brian King Roofing Stinger, and Hunter Carter of Blackshear, GA in the Bud Light Special.

Second through fourth respectively behind Bronson in Heat three were the defending and two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion and current point leader Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN in the NeSmith Chevrolet Special, Mallory Harvey of Baxley, GA in the Rentz Farms Rocket, and Evan Ellis of Plantersville, MS in the Ellis Welding Special.

Finishing behind Crane in the fourth heat in second through fourth respectively and earning a spot in the Big Show were Justin McRee of Woodstock, AL in the Billy Riels Racing Special, Matt Henderson of Loudon, TN in the Rebel Diesel Rocket Duayne Hommel Tribute Car, and third-generation driver Jimmy Thomas of Phenix City, AL in the Five Star Hyundai Special.

Ryan Carter of Blackshear, GA out-timed the 33-car field with a lap around the 4/10-mile clay oval in 16.395 seconds in the Mark’s Auto and Collision Special to pick up $200 from Wholesale Automotive. Carter will have to try and race his way into the main event through a B-Main after crashing at the start of the first Heat Race.

There are four Top 15 point drivers still on the outside looking in of the Main Event starting in a Saturday night B-Main that are also Provisional Eligible. They are sixth-place Marcus Minga of Shannon, MS, tenth-place Rodgerick Dykes of Smith Station, AL, 11th-place Will Roland of Jasper, GA, and 12th-place Michael Blount of Sumrall, MS.

Minga starts fourth in the first B-Main, Dykes starts third in the first B-Main, Roland starts sixth in the first B-Main and Blount starts fifth in the second B-Main. The top three finishers in each B-Main transfer to the main event and fill in starting positions 17 through 22. Starting spots 23 and 24 are NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Provisional spots reserved for the Top 15 drivers in the point standings.

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.

PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF ROUND 21 AT GOLDEN ISLES SPEEDWAY IN BRUNSWICK, GA ON 10/16/15:

WHOLESALE AUTOMOTIVE GROUP QUALIFYING:

1ST GROUP:
POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS LAP 1 LAP 2 TIME
1 447 Justin McRee Woodstock, AL HRRC 16.801 16.742 16.742
2 10c Ryan Crane - R Panama City, FL Rocket 17.412 16.799 16.799
3 22t Jimmy Thomas Phenix City, AL Scorpion 17.109 16.924 16.924
4 22 Cecil Eunice Blackshear, GA Mastersbilt 17.071 16.984 16.984
5 H2 Matt Henderson - R Loudon, TN Rocket 17.500 17.117 17.117
6 311 Chase Washington Houlka, MS Barry Wright 17.510 17.414 17.414
7 45 Charlie Flowers Hortense, GA Barry Wright 17.968 17.504 17.504
8 1 Zach Lloyd Waycross, GA TNT 17.929 17.577 17.577
9 54 Tim Dixon Manchester, GA Barry Wright 18.232 17.608 17.608

2ND GROUP:
POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS LAP 1 LAP 2 TIME
1 40b Kyle Bronson Brandon, FL Rocket 16.913 16.718 16.718
2 29 Mallory Harvey Baxley, GA Rocket 17.084 16.982 16.982
3 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN Trak-Star 17.300 17.222 17.222
4 73 Evan Ellis Plantersville, MS Barry Wright 17.750 17.364 17.364
5 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS Rocket 17.595 17.413 17.413
6 28 Henry Carter Jr. Kite, GA GRT 17.450 17.458 17.450
7 22r Will Roland - Y Jasper, GA Warrior 18.728 17.589 17.589
8 J3 Paul Jorgensen Blackshear, GA Warrior 18.708 18.386 18.386

3RD GROUP:
POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS LAP 1 LAP 2 TIME
1 52 Ryan Carter - Y Blackshear, GA Larry Shaw 16.445 16.395 16.395
2 03 Phillip Cobb Dover, FL Barry Wright 16.941 16.713 16.713
3 48 Robert Diekemper Bloomingdale, GA Barry Wright 16.877 16.775 16.775
4 01 Travis Pennington Stapleton, GA Barry Wright 17.065 16.848 16.848
5 55n Terrence Nowell Phenix City, AL Warrior 17.077 16.996 16.996
6 9 Ches Chester Twin City, GA Barry Wright 17.293 17.039 17.039
7 5d Rodgerick Dykes Smith Station, AL Warrior 17.049 17.078 17.049
8 20 Jason Fitzgerald Middleburg, FL GRT 17.419 17.219 17.219

4TH GROUP:
POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS LAP 1 LAP 2 TIME
1 30 Ryan King - R Seymour, TN Stinger 16.890 16.595 16.595
2 18 Chase Edge LaFayette, AL Mastersbilt 16.658 16.689 16.658
3 5w Mark Whitener Middleburg, FL Barry Wright 16.875 16.844 16.844
4 25 Hunter Carter Blackshear, GA Mastersbilt 17.307 16.913 16.913
5 85 Tom Maddox Centre, AL Warrior 17.230 17.211 17.211
6 121 Michael Blount Sumrall, MS HRRC 17.524 17.329 17.329
7 M14 J.O. Nobles Nahunta, GA Rocket 17.717 17.626 17.626
8 5e Tom Egner Hinesville, GA Brown 17.836 17.706 17.706

HEAT RACES (10 Laps – Top 4 Transfer To Main Event):

1ST HEAT: 1. Diekemper; 2. Cobb; 3. Fitzgerald; 4. Pennington; 5. Chester; 6. Dykes; 7. Nowell; 8. R. Carter (Y).

2ND HEAT: 1. Edge; 2. Whitener; 3. King (R); 4. Hu. Carter; 5. Maddox; 6. Nobles; 7. Blount; 8. Egner.

3RD HEAT: 1. Bronson; 2. Johnson; 3. Harvey; 4. Ellis; 5. He. Carter; 6. Minga; 7. Roland (Y); 8. Jorgensen.

4TH HEAT: 1. Crane (R); 2. McRee; 3. Henderson (R); 4. Thomas; 5. Flowers; 6. Dixon; 7. Eunice; 8. Lloyd; 9. Washington.

“SWEET 16” FEATURE RACE LINE-UP:
ROW 1:
48 Robert Diekemper – 18 Chase Edge
ROW 2:
40b Kyle Bronson – 10c Ryan Crane (R)
ROW 3:
03 Phillip Cobb – 5w Mark Whitener
ROW 4:
5 Ronnie Johnson – 447 Justin McRee
ROW 5:
20 Jason Fitzgerald – 30 Ryan King (R)
ROW 6:
29 Mallory Harvey – H2 Matt Henderson (R)
ROW 7:
01 Travis Pennington – 25 Hunter Carter
ROW 8:
73 Evan Ellis – 22t Jimmy Thomas

B-MAIN LINE-UPS (Laps TBD – Top 3 Transfer To Main Event):

1ST B-MAIN:
9 Ches Chester – 28 Henry Carter Jr.
5d Rodgerick Dykes – 19 Marcus Minga
55n Terrance Nowell – 22r Will Roland (Y)
52 Ryan Carter (Y) – J3 Paul Jorgensen
311 Chase Washington

2ND B-MAIN:
85 Tom Maddox – 45 Charlie Flowers
M14 J.O. Nobles – 54 Tim Dixon
121 Michael Blount – 22 Cecil Eunice
5e Tom Egner – 1 Zach Lloyd

R – Denotes Cruise With The Champions Rookie of the Year Candidate

Y – Denotes Sunoco Young Guns Challenge Series Driver


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.