Don O’Neal Takes $25,006 Magnolia State 100 Victory

jdearing

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Columbus, MS - Saturday night marked the running of the 17th Annual Premier Ford Magnolia State 100 at Columbus Speedway. The second night of the two-day event drew a huge crowd of spectators as nearly all of the 83 Super Late Model competitors and 236 total race cars returned to chase the $25,006 prize.

Earl Pearson, Jr. would start the 100-lap main event on the pole inside of Anthony Burroughs. As Pearson shot into the lead at the drop of the green flag, Don O'Neal would move around Burroughs to take over second place with Jimmy Owens in tow as O'Neal began to run the rim outside of low-running Pearson, Chris Wall would move around Burroughs and dive low to challenge Owens for 3rd place.

O'Neal would move into the lead outside Pearson on lap 5, with Pearson not quite ready to give up the spot and driving back in on O'Neal in turns 3 and 4. O'Neal would hold on as Owens and Wall continued to battle. A lap 7 caution brought out by Jamie Elam. marked the first pause of the event with O'Neal leading Pearson, Owens, Wall, and Burroughs.

Owens would drive below Pearson on the restart, then the pair would go three-wide with O'Neal through turns 3 and 4. O'Neal would rocket down the frontstretch to solidify his lead with Owens moving into second place on lap 8 before the three went three-wide once again. O'Neal then stretched out his lead a bit as Wall joined the race and went after Pearson.

Caution fell on lap 12 for Stephen Brantley with O'Neal ahead of Owens, Pearson, Wall, and now Wendell Wallace in 5th. Ronny Lee Hollingsworth would have trouble on the restart with no new laps in the books, and the race would restart with Pearson driving outside of Owens in a bid to reclaim second place. Owens would drive below both Pearson and O'Neal in turns 3 and 4 in a failed bid for the lead as Clint Smith, who started 12th, moved into 6th place on lap 14. O'Neal would then begin to distance himself from Pearson, now in second place as Wallace and Owens battled for third.

Wall would make it a three-wide fight for third place, then fall slightly back to watch Wallace and Owens run side-by-side through the turns for several laps. Wallace would take the position on lap 20, leaving Wall to pick up the door-to-door battle with Owens as O'Neal moved into lapped traffic. Wallace quickly chased down Pearson and began to challenge for second place before a caution for Jay Blair flew. O'Neal led Pearson, Wallace, Owens, and Wall in the top five for the restart.

Wallace would take second at the drop of the green, then charge after O'Neal. The two would race side-by-side around the track, with Wallace briefly grabbing first place before O'Neal blasted off the rim of turn 4 back to a more comfortable lead. Wall, now with Owens behind him, started working on Pearson for third as Anthony Rushing moved into the top five around Owens on lap 27.

Wall took over third place on lap 28, but Pearson moved right back in and retook the position on lap 31. Rushing and Owens continued fighting over 5th place, with Rushing once again taking over before a lap 33 caution for Michael England froze the field once again with O'Neal, Wallace, Pearson, Wall, and Rushing leading the way.

Wallace and Pearson swapped positions twice after the restart, with a lap 35 caution for Hollingsworth stopping the action once again. A six-car mishap in turn 4 on the restart brought out a brief red flag as Jeff Taylor, David Breazeale, Brad Neat, Freddy Smith, Jamie Elam, and Ray Cook blocked the corner.

Pearson dove below O'Neal and Wallace through 3 and 4 following the restart, but fell back to 3rd place and into a fresh battle with Wallace as O'Neal moved ahead. Wall would shake off Rushing, then engage in a door-to-door battle with Pearson that started on lap 39 and lasted until lap 54. By then, Wallace had run down O'Neal in traffic, but the final caution for Garrett Durrett would bring the pace back down with O'Neal over Wallace, Pearson, Wall, and Owens, who had worked his way back into the top five.

O'Neal led the way as Wallace raced Pearson down the backstretch, through the turns, then back down the frontstretch before retaining sole possession of second place. Wall and Pearson then picked back up where they left off, racing door-to-door for third place each lap as Clint Smith began to battle with Owens for 5th. The races for 3rd and 5th would still be going strong as O'Neal moved into lapped traffic on lap 65.

Pearson and Wall would close in on Wallace by lap 70 as O'Neal forged ahead. The three would run in close order through lapped cars until Clint Smith joined the race, going outside Wall on lap 76 and taking over 4th. O'Neal's lead grew to nearly a full straightaway by lap 83, when Wall renewed the race with Smith for 4th place. Wall would make up ground in turns 1 and 2 only to lose it again in 3 and 4 .

Smith would shrug off Wall and swoop around Pearson, but Pearson drove right back under to retake third place. Wall continued to dog Smith, driving in low in each turn up until lap 98.

O'Neal of Martinsville, Indiana was far ahead of the pack when he took the checkered flag and the $25,006 victory. Wallace would bring home second place over Pearson, followed by the dueling Smith and Wall. Owens, 20th-starting Shane Clanton, Rushing, David Ashley, and Breazeale would round out the top ten.

In Etheridge Race Parts Open-Wheel Modified action, Jason Brock would take the lead from Lee Ray on the first lap with Jay Burchfield on his tail. Bryan Brock would move around Burchfield shortly thereafter, and the three would battle for the lead until Jonathan Russell moved in.

The Brock brothers would separate themselves a bit from the rest of the field as the laps wore on, with Bryan dogging older brother Jason at every turn. Jeremy Shaw moved around Burchfield into 4th by lap 15, when a caution set up a 5-lap dash.

Jason Brock would come out on top with the win over Bryan Brock, with Russell, Shaw, and Lee Ray in the top five. Burchfield, Shane Stephens, Danny Gentry, Jason Hollis, and Greg Fanning rounded out the top ten.

Terry King would take the Mills Morris Carquest Late Model Stock/Crate Late Model feature win in a race that started with a massive 19-car pileup entering turn 1. Most cars were only lightly damaged, and the race had no further cautions. Mark Tice would bring home second place in a Crate Late Model ride, with Ben McCreary, Billy Franklin, and Ruble Maxey in the top five.

Dusty Robertson took the win in Gator Trax Boats Street Stock action, with Trey Bright coming across the line in second. Danny Gable charged up to take 3rd place, followed by Jason Smith and Mark Thrash.

Magnolia State 100
Super Late Model
83 Entries

Pos. ## Driver (Started)

1ST 71 DON O'NEAL (4)
2ND 88 WENDELL WALLACE (7)
3RD 1 EARL PEARSON, JR (1)
4TH 44 CLINT SMITH (12)
5TH 71 CHRIS WALL (3)
6TH 20 JIMMY OWENS (6)
7TH 25 SHANE CLANTON (20)
8TH 70 1/2 ANTHONY RUSHING (8)
9TH 14 DAVID ASHLEY (23)
10TH 54 DAVID BREAZEALE (9)
11TH 53 RAY COOK (5)
12TH 00 FREDDY SMITH (17)
13TH 222 MIKE BOLAND (19)
14TH 58¢ GARRETT DURRETT (16)
15TH 6X ROB LITTON (25)
16TH 121 ANTHONY BURROUGHS (2)
17TH 12 JAMIE ELAM (22)
18TH 5 JEFF TAYLOR (24)
19TH 41 BRAD NEAT (14)
20TH 18 RONNY LEE HOLLINGSWORTH (18)
21ST 5E MICHAEL ENGLAND (13)
22ND I4 DAMON ELLER (15)
23RD 02 STEPHEN BRANTLEY (10)
24TH 2X JAY BLAIR (21)
25TH 12 JASON SMITH (26)
26TH 1A RONNY ADAMS (11)

Open Wheel Modified
57 Entries

1ST 4 JASON BROCK
2ND 8 BRYAN BROCK
3RD 06 JONATHAN RUSSELL
4TH 1S JEREMY SHAW
5TH 2 LEE RAY
6TH 25 JAY BURCHFIELD
7TH 15 SHANE STEPHENS
8TH 115 DANNY GENTRY
9TH 5 JASON HOLLIS
10TH 2 GREG FANNING
11TH 12 CHAD WINKLES
12TH 17 MATT PRICE
13TH 3 SHAY KNIGHT
14TH 51 RODNEY WING
15TH 007 BRAD QUALLS
16TH 59 DAVID GRIFFIN
17TH 12 BRENT BURNS
18TH 36 RON GRANDEL
19TH W7 GREG WILHITE
20TH 34 BEN STEPHENS
21ST 07 BEN REED
22ND 90 BRIAN RICKMAN
23RD 6R JEREMY RUSSELL
24TH 8J JASON BREELAND

Late Model Stock/Crate Late Model
46 Entries

1ST 6 TERRY KING
2ND 77T MARK TICE
3RD 21 BEN MCCREARY
4TH 65 BILLY FRANKLIN
5TH 75M RUBLE MAXEY
6TH 4B BRAD BANES
7TH 50 LANDON FRITH
8TH 7 STACY TYLER
9TH 5 SCOTT FULGHAM
10TH 33C ERIC COOLEY
11TH 11 TIM TURNER
12TH 17 DARRELL GUESS
13TH 1 COREY DOYLE
14TH 22 ANDY ROBINSON
15TH 33 JUSTIN CARTER
16TH 84 MICHAEL BRITT
17TH KD1 B.B. DYE
18TH 327J JAMIE TOLLISON
19TH 82 JASON SANDERFORD
20TH 69 BRAD TOMLINSON
21ST 24 JODY GUEST
22ND C15 CLINT PATTERSON
23RD 8 JASON DOWNS
24TH 38 CHASE WASHINGTON

Street Stock
50 Entries

1ST 8 DUSTY ROBERTSON
2ND 00 TREY BRIGHT
3RD 47 DANNY GABLE
4TH 23 JASON SMITH
5TH 02 MARK THRASH
6TH 06 CHAD NICKOLES
7TH 45 JAMES ELFRING
8TH 67 KEVIN MCWILLIAMS
9TH 28 STAN LEE
10TH 11 BILL SUDDUTH & JAMIE SUDDUTH
11TH 97 LEE RAY
12TH 4 ED PHELKS
13TH 48 CRAIG BARHAM
14TH 7X KYLE RUTLEDGE
15TH 28 LUKE RIDDLE
16TH 83 KEVIN MONAHAN
17TH 7 MARK WEST
18TH 19 MICHAEL WILLIAMS
19TH F87 BRAD FORTNER
20TH 14 KRIS MONAHAN
21ST 13 JOHNNY COOK
22ND 69 JEREMY ROBERTSON
23RD K24 TONY SYLVESTRI
24TH 7 ASHLEY HERRON



Friday Night Preliminary action results:



In Super Late Model Former Possum Town Grand Prix winner Michael England would set fast time in pole qualifying with a 13.87-second lap over Ray Cook. The six heat races would line up with a 4-car inversion.

Chris Wall would earn the first 15-lap heat race win after taking the lead from Jason Smith on lap 6, then holding off a late charge by Wendell Wallace. Wall, Wallace, and England would transfer to the main event, with Mike Boland coming home in 4th to earn a great B-Main starting spot.

Ray Cook would be moved up to the front row of heat 2 after a jumped start charged to Brad Neat, hold off Anthony Rushing, then go on to an impressive win. Rushing would battle with Brad Neat and Shane Clanton before getting a more solid grasp on second place. Cook, Rushing, and Neat would transfer with Clanton in 4th.

David Breazeale raced into the lead in heat 3 over Daniel Miller ahead of a wild pack of cars, then check out to a comfortable lead running the bottom of the track. Breazeale's comfort was unwarranted as Jimmy Owens picked up momentum on the very rim of the track, reeled in the leader, and blasted by into the lead on lap 10. Owens went on take the win over Breazeale and Damon Eller , with Jay Blair coming home 4th.

Don O'Neal would take the lead of heat 4 from Dane Dacus in the early laps with a blast off of turn 4, then set sail over a hard race for second place. Garrett Durrett would charge in toward the end of the race, then pass Dacus and Kenny Merchant in one move as O'Neal went on to take the checkers. Stephen Brantley and Durrett would transfer ahead of Dacus.

Freddy Smith would lead the early laps in heat 5 over Jamie Elam and Eddie Rickman, with Earl Pearson, Jr. wasting little time joining the battle. Pearson would work his way into the lead on lap 6 with Elam running wild on the rim outside of Smith. Elam would be left in the infield as a result of hard racing on lap 14 as Pearson went on to win over late-charging Ronny Adams and Smith. David Ashley would finish 4th.

The sixth and final heat saw Anthony Burroughs hold on up front as Clint Smith and Jeff Whtie battled hard for second place. Ronny Lee Hollingsworth would charge up from the back of the pack, move into 4th on lap 5, and soon join in the race up front. Smith began to make a pass for the lead coming to the checkers, but Burroughs held on to take the win with Smith on his right flank. Hollingsworth took 3rd place over White.

Modified heat races were won by Lee Ray, Jay Burchfield, Jason Brock, Bryan Brock, Ben Reed, and Ben Stephens. Jeremy Glasgow and Justin Carter would earn front-row starting spot in for the Late Model Stock/Stormpay.com Crate Late Model feature, and Dusty Robertson and Trey Bright will share the front row for the Street Stock main event.
 




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