OCALA, FL – Mark Whitener of Middleburg, FL earned the pole position for Saturday night’s $10,000-to-win 100-lap 8th Annual Chevrolet Performance World Championship Race for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series at Bubba Raceway Park.

In Friday night preliminary action, three Florida drivers and four Florida cars won the four 15-lap heat races to take the top four starting spots for Saturday night’s big show. The four preliminary races were highlighted by three and four-wide racing.

Whitener, the 2012 Bubba Raceway Park Late Model Champion, drove the B&B Produce/Dave’s Towing Special to fast time honors and then won the first 15-lap heat race in dominating fashion to earn the inside front row starting spot.

Kyle Bronson of Tampa, FL was the second quick qualifier and won the second 15-lap heat race on Friday night in the Brandon Ford Warrior to earn the outside front row starting spot for the 8th Annual Chevrolet Performance World Championship Race.

Ivedent Lloyd Jr. of Ocala, FL drove the Snow Brothers Special to third quick time and won the third heat race on Friday night, and will start on the inside of row two for Saturday night’s big show.

The 2010 Chevrolet Performance World Championship Race winner, Doug Horton of Bruceton Mills, WV, drove the Tampa, FL-based and Ken Nosbisch-owned Mainland Transport Warrior to a win in the fourth 15-lap heat race to start the Saturday night main event from the outside of row two.

In Friday night’s Group Qualifying, Whitener out-timed the 45-car field with a lap around the 3/8-mile clay oval in 15.477 seconds. That gave him the pole position for the first heat race, which he went on to win. The top four finishers in each of the four heat races on Friday night transferred into Saturday night’s World Championship Race.

Joining Whitener as transfer drivers out of the first heat race were Greg Martin of Oliver Springs, TN in the Biff Motorsports Special, Keith Nosbisch of Valrico, FL in the Transportation Specialist Warrior, and two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Champion David Earl Gentry of Murfreesboro, TN in the Eads Farms/Hardy & Associates Warrior.

Following Bronson in second heat race transfer spots were Jason Fitzgerald of Middleburg, FL in the M&M Transport Refrigeration GRT, Don O’Neal of Martinsville, IN in the Jim Beeman Lumber Special, and the 2012 VP Racing Fuels Rookie of the Year Chris Cantrell of Chester, SC in the CANCO Rocket.

Second through fourth in the third heat race behind Lloyd were Dennis “Rambo” Franklin of Gaffney, SC in the AES Racing Special, Justin McRee of Cottondale, AL in the High Roller Race Cars Special, and Chris Wilson of Crossville, TN in the Dale’s Auto Sales GRT.

Taking the transfer spots in the fourth heat race behind Horton were Mack McCarter of Sevierville, TN in the CVR Race Cars Special, Ryan Montgomery of Fairmont, WV in the T.J. Contracting Warrior, and David Smith of Inman, SC in the McCarter Towing TNT.

Drivers that finished fifth on back in their respective heat races on Friday night will have one more opportunity on Saturday night to make the $10,000-to-win 100 lap main event through one of two 20-lap B-Main races where the top three finishers will transfer to the big show.

Among the 29 drivers still on the outside looking in is the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series point leader Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA.

Turner arrived at the last race of the season this weekend with a 16-point lead over David Earl Gentry. Turner’s night started off well in the Hedman Husler Special, as he was the fourth fastest qualifier, and started on the pole position for the fourth heat race. An ill-handling race car dropped him to a sixth-place finish. Turner will start fourth in the first 20-lap B-Main.

At best, a B-Main win would see Turner starting 17th, and Gentry starting 13th. That would give Turner an eight-point lead going into the main event. Turner is the first driver eligible for the 23rd provisional starting spot. That’s where Turner would start if he fails to transfer out of the B-Main race. This scenario would give Gentry a four point lead starting the big show.

Other top ten NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series drivers still on the outside looking in are third-place Larry Harrod of Plains, GA, fourth-place Chase Edge of Lafayette, AL, fifth-place Johnny Stokes of Columbus, MS, seventh-place Michael Blount of Sumrall, MS, and eighth-place Cody Kierre of Beebe, AR.

Others that will trying to race their way into the World Championship Race through a B-Main race on Saturday night include National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN, Rodney Wing of Meridian, MS, and Jeff Mathews of Tampa, FL.

The action gets underway on Saturday night with Hot Laps at 7 p.m. Bubba Raceway Park is located north of Ocala, FL at 9050 N.W. Gainesville Road, Ocala, FL 34482. For more information call 352-622-9400, or visit the track web site at www.bubbaracewaypark.com and on Facebook at Bubba Raceway Park.

For more information 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 22 AT BUBBA RACEWAY PARK IN OCALA, FL ON 11/30/12:

GROUP QUALIFYING:
1ST GROUP:
POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS LAP 1 LAP 2 TIME
1 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA DWB 15.938 15.746 15.746
2 J4 John Garvin Jr. Sarver, PA Rocket 16.409 15.787 15.787
3 11 Doug Horton Bruceton Mills, WV Warrior 16.226 15.823 15.823
4 71 Mack McCarter Sevierville, TN CVR 15.856 15.874 15.856
5 12 Ryan Montgomery Fairmont, WV Warrior 15.975 15.880 15.880
6 18 Chase Edge Lafayette, AL Mastersbilt 16.203 15.962 15.962
7 111 Steven Roberts Jesup, GA Barry Wright 16.390 16.039 16.039
8 11s David Smith Inman, SC TNT 16.366 16.191 16.191
9 2 Joey Coulter Charlotte, NC Rocket 16.424 16.409 16.409
10 19 Josh Adkins Talladega, AL Barry Wright 16.499 17.046 16.499
11 4g Bob Gardner Germantown Hills, IL Rayburn 16.858 16.611 16.611
12 17k Cody Kierre – R Beebe, AR GRT 17.032 17.356 17.032

2ND GROUP:
POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS LAP 1 LAP 2 TIME
1 58 Mark Whitener Middleburg, FL Barry Wright 15.712 15.477 15.477
2 5n Keith Nosbisch Valrico, FL Warrior 15.744 15.734 15.734
3 11k Austin Kirkpatrick Ocala, FL Barry Wright 16.396 16.052 16.052
4 24 Greg Martin Oliver Springs, TN Bloomquist 16.528 16.140 16.140
5 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN Mastersbilt 16.288 16.146 16.146
6 33 Carter Stokes New Smyrna, FL Rocket 16.346 17.091 16.346
7 17ss Shan Smith Dade City, FL GRT 16.358 16.589 16.358
8 56 David Earl Gentry Murfreesboro, TN Warrior 16.543 16.728 16.543
9 25 Dalton Myers Riverview, FL Barry Wright 16.551 16.877 16.551
10 10w Rodney Wing Meridian, MS Rocket 16.584 17.038 16.584
11 11r Stacey Roberts Sylvester, GA Rocket 17.010 16.716 16.716

3RD GROUP:
POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS LAP 1 LAP 2 TIME
1 21 Ivedent Lloyd Jr. Ocala, FL Snow Bros. 15.814 15.721 15.721
2 B17 Justin McRee Cottondale, AL HRRC 15.842 15.981 15.842
3 27c Dennis Franklin Gaffney, SC Barry Wright 16.436 16.005 16.005
4 23 Chris Ferguson Mt. Holly, NC Longhorn 16.034 16.176 16.034
5 10cw Chris Wilson Crossville, TN GRT 16.304 16.382 16.304
6 27 Larry Harrod Plains, GA Scorpion 16.801 16.588 16.588
7 87 Walker Arthur Forest, VA Rocket 17.005 16.739 16.739
8 38c John Gardner Jr. Creve Coeur, IL Rayburn 16.953 16.976 16.953
9 5d Rodgerick Dykes Smith Station, AL Warrior 17.201 16.995 16.995
10 47 Shannon Lee Lumberton, MS GRT 17.076 17.148 17.076
11 8a Todd Morrow East Ridge, TN GRT 17.265 17.511 17.265

4TH GROUP:
POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS LAP 1 LAP 2 TIME
1 40b Kyle Bronson Tampa, FL Warrior 15.744 15.597 15.597
2 7f Jason Fitzgerald Middleburg, FL GRT 16.177 16.803 16.177
3 7 Don O’Neal Martinsville, IN Mastersbilt 16.187 16.360 16.187
4 54 Brandon Overton Appling, GA Mastersbilt 16.243 16.881 16.243
5 33 Jeff Mathews Valrico, FL Rocket 16.408 16.579 16.408
6 69 Tony Lawson Laurel, MS Scorpion 16.866 16.523 16.523
7 110 Brent Barrett Cleveland, MS GRT 16.600 16.705 16.600
8 114 Chris Cantrell – R Chester, SC Rocket 16.640 16.657 16.640
9 121 Michael Blount Sumrall, MS GRT 17.001 16.718 16.718
10 10c Ronnie Cooper McKenzie, TN GRT 17.252 16.781 16.781
11 1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS GRT 16.826 17.013 16.826

HEAT RACES (15 Laps – Top 4 Transfer To Main Event):

1ST HEAT: 1. Whitener; 2. Martin; 3. Nosbisch; 4. Gentry; 5. Johnson; 6. Kirkpatrick; 7. Sta. Roberts; 8. C. Stokes; 9. Myers; 10. S. Smith; 11. Wing.

2ND HEAT: 1. Bronson; 2. Fitzgerald; 3. O’Neal; 4. Cantrell (R); 5. Blount; 6. Mathews; 7. Cooper; 8. Barrett; 9. Lawson; 10. J. Stokes; 11. Overton.

3RD HEAT: 1. Lloyd; 2. Franklin; 3. McRee; 4. Wilson; 5. Arthur; 6. Dykes; 7. Harrod; 8, Lee; 9. Ferguson; 10. Morrow; 11. J. Gardner.

4TH HEAT: 1. Horton; 2. McCarter; 3. Montgomery; 4. D. Smith; 5. Coulter; 6. Turner; 7. B. Gardner; 8. Adkins; 9. Ste. Roberts; 10. Edge; 11. 17k Kierre (R); 12. Garvin.

“SWEET 16 FEATURE RACE LINE-UP:

ROW 1:
58 Mark Whitener – 40 Kyle Bronson
ROW 2:
21 Ivedent Lloyd Jr. – 11 Doug Horton
ROW 3:
24 Greg Martin – 7f Jason Fitzgerald
ROW 4:
27c Dennis Franklin – 71 Mack McCarter
ROW 5:
5n Keith Nosbisch – 7b Don O’Neal
ROW 6:
B17 Justin McRee – 12 Ryan Montgomery
ROW 7:
56 David Earl Gentry – 114 Chris Cantrell (R)
ROW 8:
10w Chris Wilson – 11s David Smith

B-MAIN LINE-UPS (20 Laps – Top 3 Transfer To Main Event):

1ST B-MAIN:
5 Ronnie Johnson – 87 Walker Arthur
11k Austin Kirkpatrick – 5d Rodgerick Dykes
11r Stacey Roberts – 27 Larry Harrod
33 Carter Stokes – 47 Shannon Lee
25 Dalton Myers – 23 Chris Ferguson
17ss Shan Smith – 8a Todd Morrow
11w Rodney Wing – 38c John Gardner Jr.

2ND B-MAIN:
121 Michael Blount – 2 Joey Coulter
33 Jeff Mathews – 10 Matthew Turner
10c Ronnie Cooper – 4g Bob Gardner
110 Brent Barrett – 19 Josh Adkins
69 Tony Lawson – 111 Steven Roberts
1 Johnny Stokes – 18 Chase Edge
54 Brandon Overton – 17k Cody Kierre
4 John Garvin Jr.

R – Denotes VP Racing Fuels Rookie of the Year Candidate

NeSmith Chevrolet, Buick, GMC of Claxton, GA is the Title Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. NeSmith Chevrolet, Buick, GMC is the nation’s number one GM Powertrain Dealer four years running, with free delivery anywhere in the Southeast. Chevrolet Performance Parts is an Official Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. Hoosier Racing Tire is the Official Tire Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. VP Racing Fuel is the Official Racing Fuel of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. Hedman Hedders is the Official Hedder of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series and the Hedman Husler Award sponsor. Bilstein Shocks is the Official Spec Shock of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. RockAuto.com is an Official Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Contingency Sponsors for 2012 are Dominator Race Products, Race Car Engineering, KRC, QA 1 Precision Products, Modern Images, Mike Custom Tanks, Shorty’s Shock Service, Schoenfeld Headers, Integra Racing Shocks, J.T. Kerr Racing Equipment, Kinser Air Filters, Trak-Star Race Cars, Warrior Race Cars, Rocket Chassis, GRT Race Cars, TNT Race Cars, and Stinger Race Cars.