COLUMBUS, MS – Mike Boland of Cuba, MS held off a hard charging David Gentry of Lewisburg, TN to win the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series 40-lap main event on Sunday afternoon at Magnolia Motor Speedway. The race was held over from Saturday night when rain red flagged the race on lap four.
There were actually three celebrations in victory lane at the end of the race. While Boland celebrated his victory, Gentry was crowned the 2006 StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National Champion, as his second-place finish clinched the title. Frankie Beard clinched the C.J. Rayburn Rookie of the Year Award with a fourth-place finish.
Boland put his Ware Construction GRT in the lead on Saturday night by passing Gentry on lap three. Boland restarted the race on Sunday in the lead, and never looked back, but Gentry made it close at the checkered flag in his Dixon Plumbing Mastersbilt, but came up a car length short.
“I knew Gentry would charging to the front,” Boland said. “The track was a lot better today, and it was like driving on the interstate compared to yesterday and Friday, but the rough track was not the fault of the people preparing it because of all of the rain we had this week. They did a great job today, and it was a good race track.”
Gentry restarted in the race on Sunday in the third spot behind Boland and Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN in the Austin Trucking Mastersbilt. Gentry passed Johnson for the second spot on a lap 34 restart, changed his groove, and chased down Boland to challenge for the lead on the final turn of the final lap. Boland got just enough bite off the fourth turn to hold off Gentry for the win.
“I just spent too much time getting around Ronnie to get up to second,” Gentry said. “My car was tight, so I changed my groove, got up in the loose stuff going into the turns, and that freed up the car. It’s great to win this championship because my crew committed to run for it, and they really worked hard to get it.”
Gentry will pick up a check for $20,000 at the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series Awards Banquet in Tampa, FL on December 13, and he will also receive a new chassis from Mastersbilt Race Cars.
Johnson finished third, and Beard started his Old 29 Golf Carts Barry Wright from the 16th started spot, and raced up to the fourth position at the end of the race to earn the NeSmith Chevrolet Hard Charger of the Race Award.
“We set three goals at the beginning of the season, and that was to win the Rookie of the Year, win a race, and finish in the top five in points,” Beard said. “We won a race last month in Crossville, TN, now we’ve got the Rookie of the Year title, and we’re working on the top five finish in points.”
Beard’s fourth-place finish did move him up to fifth in the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National point standings with a slim two-point advantage over Zach Nichols of Cedartown, GA with one point race remaining in the 2006 season.
Rusty Hoge of Ooltewah, TN took the fifth spot in the H&H Powersports GRT, and Jeff Smith of Villanow, GA finished sixth in the All South Racing Products Warrior. Smith moved up to the second spot in the StormPay.com DLMS National point standings with a 14-point advantage over Shannon Buckingham of Morristown, TN, who did not compete at Magnolia Motor Speedway.
Mark Tice of Hollandale, MS was seventh in the TNT Graphix Mastersbilt, and Matt Wilson of Shelbyville, TN took the eighth spot in the Switcher Mastersbilt. Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, GA finished ninth in the Dixon Hauling and Grading Rocket, and Jeff Fields of Aragon, GA rounded out the top ten in the Summerville Junkyard Mastersbilt.
On Saturday night, Gentry took the early lead from the pole position he earned after winning the StormPay.com Lightning Quick 6 Dash on Saturday. Boland moved up from his fourth starting spot to challenge Gentry for the lead.
Boland got a run on Gentry coming off the second turn on lap three to take the lead going down the backstretch, bringing Johnson with him into the second spot. Just after the pass for the lead took place, rain began to fall, and the caution flag that waved on lap five for rain quickly gave way to a red flag, as the precipitation saturated the 3/8-mile dirt oval into unsafe racing conditions.
The remainder of the race was postponed until Sunday afternoon, and restarted on lap five. The rain induced rough race track on Friday night and Saturday night, gave way to a much smoother surface on Sunday afternoon.
Boland led the field down for the restart, and behind him, drivers got busy racing throughout the field. Chris Jimerson of Gilbertown, AL moved his Butler Auto Parts Mastersbilt by Tice on the restart to take over the fourth spot. Hoge passed Tice for fifth on lap seven.
Beard started the race on Saturday night in the 16th spot, and restarted the race on Sunday in the tenth position. The one-day delay didn’t slow down Beard, as moved up to eighth by lap eight. On lap 14, Beard got by Smith for the seventh spot.
Jimerson dropped out of the race on lap 16 while running fourth. The caution flag came out on lap 19 for debris. On the restart, Boland led Johnson, Gentry, Hoge, Tice, Beard, and Smith. When the green flag was displayed, Smith made an outside move in turn one on Beard to retake the sixth spot.
On lap 22, Beard dove to the bottom of the track in turn one, and passed Smith back for the sixth position. Beard reeled in Tice, passed him for the fifth spot on lap 24, and brought Smith with him into the sixth spot. Two more caution flags for debris on lap 33 and lap 34 bunched up the field for the dash to the finish.
On the lap 34 restart, Gentry stepped to the outside to challenge Johnson for the second spot. Gentry got a run on Johnson coming off the second turn, and took over the second position down the backstretch. Beard also made a move on the lap 34 restart, getting around Hoge for the fourth spot.
Gentry kept running the high line into the corners, and then cutting low coming off the turns. That brought him closer and closer to the race leader. On the last lap, Gentry pulled right up the Boland’s back bumper in turn four, but Boland was able to squeeze enough power out of his car to take the win.
In addition to the race win, Boland was also the fast qualifier on Friday night among the 45 entrants with a lap around the 3/8-mile dirt oval in 14.687 seconds. Boland also won the first ten-lap heat race on Friday night. The other three ten lap heat races were won by Gentry, Jimerson, and Johnson.
On Saturday night T.K. King of Columbus, MS in the King Motor Company GRT won the first 12-lap B-Main, and Beard won the second 12-lap B-Main. The StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series will return to Columbus, MS for the final points race of the 2006 season at Columbus Speedway on November 24-25.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 17 AT MAGNOLIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY IN COLUMBUS, MS ON 10/20-22/06:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 4 4 Mike Boland Cuba, AL 40 $3,000
2. 1 56 David Gentry Lewisburg, TN 40 $1,800
3. 3 16 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 40 $1,250
4. 16 21b Frankie Beard (R) Hartwell, GA 40 $1,200
5. 8 21 Rusty Hoge Ooltewah, TN 40 $1,000
6. 10 00 Jeff Smith Villanow, TN 40 $850
7. 6 77t Mark Tice Hollandale, MS 40 $750
8. 21 84 Matt Wilson Shelbyville, TN 40 $700
9. 19 87 Derrick Rainey Powder Springs, GA 40 $650
10. 12 16 Jeff Fields Aragon, GA 40 $600
11. 17 6 T.K. King Columbus, MS 40 $550
12. 14 44 Roger Rollison Meridian, MS 40 $500
13. 23 12 Zach Nichols Cedartown, GA 39 $450
14. 15 98 Mitch Cobb Edmonds, CO 38 $400
15. 20 25 Michael Keener Douglasville, GA 38 $350
16. 5 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 33 $300
17. 9 71 James Ussery Cottondale, FL 32 $280
18. 24 38 Tony Shelton Steens, MS 26 $250
19. 11 11 Anthony Hill Carrollton, GA 23 $250
20. 18 T1 Terry Mosley Gilbertown, AL 18 $250
21. 2 18 Chris Jimerson Gilbertown, AL 16 $250
22. 7 K9 Chad Thrash Meridian, MS 13 $250
23. 13 44c Curtis Cline Douglasville, GA 10 $250
24. 22 75 Carnell Parker III Clarksville, TN 4 $250
ENTRIES: 45
FAST QUALIFIER: Boland, 14.687 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: Nichols and Parker
1ST ALTERNATE: Shelton
LEAD CHANGES: 1
LAP LEADERS: Gentry, 1-2; Boland, 3-40
LAPS LED: Boland, 38; Gentry, 2
NeSMITH CHEVROLET HARD CHARGER: Beard (started 16th and finished 4th)
ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Beard
CAUTIONS: 4 (one red for rain)
HEAT RACES (10 Laps – Top 4 Transfer To The Main Event):
1ST HEAT: 1. Mike Boland; 2. Matthew Turner; 3. James Ussery; 4. Curtis Cline; 5. Thomas McReynolds; 6. Tony Shelton; 7. Derrick Rainey; 8. Terry Kelley; 9. Mike Pickard; 10. Rodney Weaver; 11. Joe Denby; 12. B.J. Denby DNS.
2ND HEAT: 1. David Gentry; 2. Mark Tice; 3. Jeff Smith; 4. Landon Frith; 5. Chase Washington; 6. Frankie Beard (R); 7. Mike Shirley; 8. Roy Newsome; 9. Reed Long; 10. Terry Mosley; 11. James Young.
3RD HEAT: 1. Chris Jimerson; 2. Chad Thrash; 3. Anthony Hill; 4. Mitch Cobb; 5. T.K. King; 6. Matt Wilson; 7. Pat Green; 8. Jamie Pickard; 9. John Maxey; 10. Darin Dorsey; 11. Ryan Gifford DNS.
4TH HEAT: 1. Ronnie Johnson; 2. Rusty Hoge; 3. Jeff Fields; 4. Roger Rollison; 5. Michael Keener; 6. Darrell Guess; 7. Zach Nichols; 8. Jerry Owens; 9. Carnell Parker III; 10. Cody Swink DNS; 11. Michael Leal DNS.
STORMPAY.COM LIGHTNING QUICK 6 LAP DASH: 1. Gentry; 2. Jimerson; 3. Johnson; 4. Boland.
B-MAINS (12 Laps – Top 3 Transfer To The Main Event):
1ST B-MAIN: 1. King: 2. Rainey; 3. Wilson; 4. Shelton; 5. Green; 6. Maxey; 7. McReynolds; 8. J. Denby; 9. Gifford; 10. J. Pickard; 11. B. Denby; 12. Kelley DNS; 13. M. Pickard DNS; 14. Weaver DNS; 15. Dorsey DNS.
2ND B-MAIN: 1. Beard (R); 2. Mosley; 3. Keener; 4. Nichols; 5. Shirley; 6. Long; 7. Guess; 8. Parker; 9. Washington; 10. Newsome DNS; 11. Owens DNS; 12. Swink DNS; 13. Young DNS; 14. Leal DNS.
STORMPAY.COM DIRT LATE MODEL SERIES NATIONAL POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 10/22/06:
++ - Clinched Rookie of the Year Award
R – Denotes C.J. Rayburn Race Cars Rookie of the Year Candidate
There were actually three celebrations in victory lane at the end of the race. While Boland celebrated his victory, Gentry was crowned the 2006 StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National Champion, as his second-place finish clinched the title. Frankie Beard clinched the C.J. Rayburn Rookie of the Year Award with a fourth-place finish.
Boland put his Ware Construction GRT in the lead on Saturday night by passing Gentry on lap three. Boland restarted the race on Sunday in the lead, and never looked back, but Gentry made it close at the checkered flag in his Dixon Plumbing Mastersbilt, but came up a car length short.
“I knew Gentry would charging to the front,” Boland said. “The track was a lot better today, and it was like driving on the interstate compared to yesterday and Friday, but the rough track was not the fault of the people preparing it because of all of the rain we had this week. They did a great job today, and it was a good race track.”
Gentry restarted in the race on Sunday in the third spot behind Boland and Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN in the Austin Trucking Mastersbilt. Gentry passed Johnson for the second spot on a lap 34 restart, changed his groove, and chased down Boland to challenge for the lead on the final turn of the final lap. Boland got just enough bite off the fourth turn to hold off Gentry for the win.
“I just spent too much time getting around Ronnie to get up to second,” Gentry said. “My car was tight, so I changed my groove, got up in the loose stuff going into the turns, and that freed up the car. It’s great to win this championship because my crew committed to run for it, and they really worked hard to get it.”
Gentry will pick up a check for $20,000 at the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series Awards Banquet in Tampa, FL on December 13, and he will also receive a new chassis from Mastersbilt Race Cars.
Johnson finished third, and Beard started his Old 29 Golf Carts Barry Wright from the 16th started spot, and raced up to the fourth position at the end of the race to earn the NeSmith Chevrolet Hard Charger of the Race Award.
“We set three goals at the beginning of the season, and that was to win the Rookie of the Year, win a race, and finish in the top five in points,” Beard said. “We won a race last month in Crossville, TN, now we’ve got the Rookie of the Year title, and we’re working on the top five finish in points.”
Beard’s fourth-place finish did move him up to fifth in the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National point standings with a slim two-point advantage over Zach Nichols of Cedartown, GA with one point race remaining in the 2006 season.
Rusty Hoge of Ooltewah, TN took the fifth spot in the H&H Powersports GRT, and Jeff Smith of Villanow, GA finished sixth in the All South Racing Products Warrior. Smith moved up to the second spot in the StormPay.com DLMS National point standings with a 14-point advantage over Shannon Buckingham of Morristown, TN, who did not compete at Magnolia Motor Speedway.
Mark Tice of Hollandale, MS was seventh in the TNT Graphix Mastersbilt, and Matt Wilson of Shelbyville, TN took the eighth spot in the Switcher Mastersbilt. Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, GA finished ninth in the Dixon Hauling and Grading Rocket, and Jeff Fields of Aragon, GA rounded out the top ten in the Summerville Junkyard Mastersbilt.
On Saturday night, Gentry took the early lead from the pole position he earned after winning the StormPay.com Lightning Quick 6 Dash on Saturday. Boland moved up from his fourth starting spot to challenge Gentry for the lead.
Boland got a run on Gentry coming off the second turn on lap three to take the lead going down the backstretch, bringing Johnson with him into the second spot. Just after the pass for the lead took place, rain began to fall, and the caution flag that waved on lap five for rain quickly gave way to a red flag, as the precipitation saturated the 3/8-mile dirt oval into unsafe racing conditions.
The remainder of the race was postponed until Sunday afternoon, and restarted on lap five. The rain induced rough race track on Friday night and Saturday night, gave way to a much smoother surface on Sunday afternoon.
Boland led the field down for the restart, and behind him, drivers got busy racing throughout the field. Chris Jimerson of Gilbertown, AL moved his Butler Auto Parts Mastersbilt by Tice on the restart to take over the fourth spot. Hoge passed Tice for fifth on lap seven.
Beard started the race on Saturday night in the 16th spot, and restarted the race on Sunday in the tenth position. The one-day delay didn’t slow down Beard, as moved up to eighth by lap eight. On lap 14, Beard got by Smith for the seventh spot.
Jimerson dropped out of the race on lap 16 while running fourth. The caution flag came out on lap 19 for debris. On the restart, Boland led Johnson, Gentry, Hoge, Tice, Beard, and Smith. When the green flag was displayed, Smith made an outside move in turn one on Beard to retake the sixth spot.
On lap 22, Beard dove to the bottom of the track in turn one, and passed Smith back for the sixth position. Beard reeled in Tice, passed him for the fifth spot on lap 24, and brought Smith with him into the sixth spot. Two more caution flags for debris on lap 33 and lap 34 bunched up the field for the dash to the finish.
On the lap 34 restart, Gentry stepped to the outside to challenge Johnson for the second spot. Gentry got a run on Johnson coming off the second turn, and took over the second position down the backstretch. Beard also made a move on the lap 34 restart, getting around Hoge for the fourth spot.
Gentry kept running the high line into the corners, and then cutting low coming off the turns. That brought him closer and closer to the race leader. On the last lap, Gentry pulled right up the Boland’s back bumper in turn four, but Boland was able to squeeze enough power out of his car to take the win.
In addition to the race win, Boland was also the fast qualifier on Friday night among the 45 entrants with a lap around the 3/8-mile dirt oval in 14.687 seconds. Boland also won the first ten-lap heat race on Friday night. The other three ten lap heat races were won by Gentry, Jimerson, and Johnson.
On Saturday night T.K. King of Columbus, MS in the King Motor Company GRT won the first 12-lap B-Main, and Beard won the second 12-lap B-Main. The StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series will return to Columbus, MS for the final points race of the 2006 season at Columbus Speedway on November 24-25.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 17 AT MAGNOLIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY IN COLUMBUS, MS ON 10/20-22/06:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 4 4 Mike Boland Cuba, AL 40 $3,000
2. 1 56 David Gentry Lewisburg, TN 40 $1,800
3. 3 16 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 40 $1,250
4. 16 21b Frankie Beard (R) Hartwell, GA 40 $1,200
5. 8 21 Rusty Hoge Ooltewah, TN 40 $1,000
6. 10 00 Jeff Smith Villanow, TN 40 $850
7. 6 77t Mark Tice Hollandale, MS 40 $750
8. 21 84 Matt Wilson Shelbyville, TN 40 $700
9. 19 87 Derrick Rainey Powder Springs, GA 40 $650
10. 12 16 Jeff Fields Aragon, GA 40 $600
11. 17 6 T.K. King Columbus, MS 40 $550
12. 14 44 Roger Rollison Meridian, MS 40 $500
13. 23 12 Zach Nichols Cedartown, GA 39 $450
14. 15 98 Mitch Cobb Edmonds, CO 38 $400
15. 20 25 Michael Keener Douglasville, GA 38 $350
16. 5 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 33 $300
17. 9 71 James Ussery Cottondale, FL 32 $280
18. 24 38 Tony Shelton Steens, MS 26 $250
19. 11 11 Anthony Hill Carrollton, GA 23 $250
20. 18 T1 Terry Mosley Gilbertown, AL 18 $250
21. 2 18 Chris Jimerson Gilbertown, AL 16 $250
22. 7 K9 Chad Thrash Meridian, MS 13 $250
23. 13 44c Curtis Cline Douglasville, GA 10 $250
24. 22 75 Carnell Parker III Clarksville, TN 4 $250
ENTRIES: 45
FAST QUALIFIER: Boland, 14.687 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: Nichols and Parker
1ST ALTERNATE: Shelton
LEAD CHANGES: 1
LAP LEADERS: Gentry, 1-2; Boland, 3-40
LAPS LED: Boland, 38; Gentry, 2
NeSMITH CHEVROLET HARD CHARGER: Beard (started 16th and finished 4th)
ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Beard
CAUTIONS: 4 (one red for rain)
HEAT RACES (10 Laps – Top 4 Transfer To The Main Event):
1ST HEAT: 1. Mike Boland; 2. Matthew Turner; 3. James Ussery; 4. Curtis Cline; 5. Thomas McReynolds; 6. Tony Shelton; 7. Derrick Rainey; 8. Terry Kelley; 9. Mike Pickard; 10. Rodney Weaver; 11. Joe Denby; 12. B.J. Denby DNS.
2ND HEAT: 1. David Gentry; 2. Mark Tice; 3. Jeff Smith; 4. Landon Frith; 5. Chase Washington; 6. Frankie Beard (R); 7. Mike Shirley; 8. Roy Newsome; 9. Reed Long; 10. Terry Mosley; 11. James Young.
3RD HEAT: 1. Chris Jimerson; 2. Chad Thrash; 3. Anthony Hill; 4. Mitch Cobb; 5. T.K. King; 6. Matt Wilson; 7. Pat Green; 8. Jamie Pickard; 9. John Maxey; 10. Darin Dorsey; 11. Ryan Gifford DNS.
4TH HEAT: 1. Ronnie Johnson; 2. Rusty Hoge; 3. Jeff Fields; 4. Roger Rollison; 5. Michael Keener; 6. Darrell Guess; 7. Zach Nichols; 8. Jerry Owens; 9. Carnell Parker III; 10. Cody Swink DNS; 11. Michael Leal DNS.
STORMPAY.COM LIGHTNING QUICK 6 LAP DASH: 1. Gentry; 2. Jimerson; 3. Johnson; 4. Boland.
B-MAINS (12 Laps – Top 3 Transfer To The Main Event):
1ST B-MAIN: 1. King: 2. Rainey; 3. Wilson; 4. Shelton; 5. Green; 6. Maxey; 7. McReynolds; 8. J. Denby; 9. Gifford; 10. J. Pickard; 11. B. Denby; 12. Kelley DNS; 13. M. Pickard DNS; 14. Weaver DNS; 15. Dorsey DNS.
2ND B-MAIN: 1. Beard (R); 2. Mosley; 3. Keener; 4. Nichols; 5. Shirley; 6. Long; 7. Guess; 8. Parker; 9. Washington; 10. Newsome DNS; 11. Owens DNS; 12. Swink DNS; 13. Young DNS; 14. Leal DNS.
STORMPAY.COM DIRT LATE MODEL SERIES NATIONAL POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 10/22/06:
- David Gentry – 1576+
- Jeff Smith – 1400
- Shannon Buckingham – 1386
- Jeff Fields – 1378
- Frankie Beard (R) – 1260++
- Zach Nichols – 1258
- Matthew Turner – 1118
- Carnell Parker III – 992
- Ronnie Johnson – 980
- Jeff Purvis – 768
- Michael Keener – 722
- Jordy Nipper – 686
- Ryan Gifford – 670
- Michael Page (R) – 500
- Curtis Cline – 488
++ - Clinched Rookie of the Year Award
R – Denotes C.J. Rayburn Race Cars Rookie of the Year Candidate
