By Robert Walden
BULLS GAP, Tenn. (May 30) – After a day of pausing to remember and honor the men and women who lost their lives or are missing in action from defending our country during wartime in the past and present, race fans and drivers from all around the East Tennessee region came out Monday evening at Volunteer Speedway for Ramey Ford Night at the Races.
As we all know, freedom is not free! And with the military conflict in the Middle East, Memorial Day has taken on an extra-special meaning for all United States citizens with loved ones and friends abroad.
Vic Hill of Morristown thrilled the holiday crowd by winning his second straight 35-lap “Don Smith Ford” Super Late Model feature over a stellar, 27-car field.
Jimmy Owens appeared headed towards victory, but as he closed in on the back bumper of Rick Norris to put him a lap down between turns one and two on lap 27, misfortune struck the race leader. The j-bar broke under Norris’ rear end, which in turn snapped the driveshaft, leaving Owens nowhere to go but into the back of Norris. Both cars spun to bring out the caution.
At the drop of the green, Hill won the drag race into the first turn over pole-sitter Kerry Jones to take the lead, with Mark Douglas, Owens and Norris in tow. The event’s first caution waved on the second lap when Damon Eller and Terry Owens spun in the fourth turn.
With Hill slowly bringing the field back up to speed, Jones accelerated past Hill as they raced off into the first turn. But Hill stormed back past Jones into the lead as they raced off the second turn down the backstretch, also bringing Owens along for the ride into the runner-up position. Jones lost third to Douglas on the fifth lap, and with the door open as they raced off turn four, Norris momentarily moved past Jones into fourth. But on the other end of the track as they raced off the second turn, Jones got a good bite on the bottom to drop Norris back to the fifth spot.
Meanwhile out front, Hill had his hands full working heavy lapped, while also trying to keep his advantage over the hard-charging Owens. The battle for positions five through eleven between Norris, Anthony White, Steve Smith, Brett Miller, Michael Jackson, Tommy Kerr and Travis Greer was heated, with action three-wide. Norris’ top-five run got sidetracked when White got into the back of his car on lap 15 racing off turn two, sending the defending track champion spinning down the backstretch to bring out the caution.
The top five in the running order going back green were Hill, Owens, Douglas, Jones and White. While Hill had a rear view mirror full of Owens, Smith and White were battling hard for fifth. Still mounting a charge towards the front, Smith passed Jones for fourth on lap 17.
With Hill running the bottom groove, Owens was riding the high-line around the corners and pressuring “The Thrill” for the point. Getting a strong run down the backstretch into the third turn on lap 20 to pull alongside Hill, Owens was hooked up and hauling up top on the cushion as he drove around Hill into the lead as they raced off turn four onto the front straightaway.
White drove under Jones to take over the fifth spot on lap 21 racing into the first turn, while Miller began pressuring Jones for sixth. With Owens riding with the cruise control on up front, his night ended prematurely on lap 27 after tangling with Norris.
Going back green for an eight-lap dash to the checkers, Hill had Douglas, Smith, White and Jones glued to his rear bumper. Hill, driving the Landair Transport Inc./Peterson Fluid Systems/RaceQuest/Vic Hill Racing Engines/MacDaddy Motorsports/GRT Race Cars/No. 1 Grand Prix, sprinted away as the laps wound down to take his second win of the season over Smith, who worked his way up from the 13th-starting position to record a strong second-place finish. Rounding out the top five at the checkers were Douglas, White and Kerr. Kerr advanced into the top-five after starting the feature from outside the eighth row.
Completing the top-10 finishers were Jones, Miller, Jackson, Michael Smith and Jeff Maupin.
Shannon Buckingham of Morristown flexed his muscle out front from green-to-checkers to win his first-ever “Ramey Ford” Limited Late Model feature. Buckingham grabbed the lead on the opening lap over Allen Champ, Jimmy Owens, Bobby Mays and Damon Eller. Dave Burks, Larry Rowe and Stephen Martin spun between turns three and four on the second lap to bring out the caution.
Back under green, Buckingham quickly began to put some distance between his S & S Millright/Malar Lighting/Volunteer Performance/Swaggerty Farm Sausage/Lakeway Auto/Vietnam Vets MC/Barry Wright Race Cars/No. 44 Monte Carlo and Champ, while Owens and Mays were battling for the third spot. Owens passed Mays for third place on the fourth lap as they raced door-to-door off the fourth turn, but the hard-charging Mays fought back to reclaim the position on the other end of the track as they raced off turn two. Owens rode the cushion up top to once again drive around Mays for third on the sixth circuit.
Buckingham had powered out into an eight car-length advantage over Champ by lap 10, and on the next trip around the high-banked, 4/10-mile oval … Owens got loose in turn four which allowed both Mays and Eller to move past into third and fourth in the running order. Lee Tipton brought out the caution on lap 12 when he looped his mount in the fourth turn, and only one lap back green flag racing the yellow was unfurled again when Kelly Glass spun in turn four, also collecting Brad Kenyon.
Buckingham would not be denied his first trip to victory lane, as he captured the win over Champ, Mays, Owens and Eller. Rounding out the top-10 at the finish were Skimp Henry, Randy Taylor, “Hammerin’ ” Hank Hall, Jeff Surber and Glass.
Greeneville’s “Rockin’” Rodney Kiker, a two-time UMP (Open-Wheel) Modified track champion, making his first racing start this season showed he still has the “right stuff” as he held off Shawn Henry, Joey Allen, Brent Hensley and Randy Lane for the “Allied Home Mortgage” Mini Stock victory.
Duke Bare of Meadowview, Va., rolled to his first “Bachman Bernard” Hobby Stock feature win of the season over R.J. Mayes, Mike Kelley, Dustin Shaver and Todd Brooks.
Kingsport’s Terry McMurray held off Timmy Seay, William Knight, Clinton Taylor and Robert Darnell for the “Renegade” Front Wheel Drive” victory.
Volunteer Speedway will host an exciting six-division racing program on Saturday, June 4 with Super Late Model, Limited Late Model, UMP (Open-Wheel) Modified, Mini Stock, Hobby Stock and Front Wheel Drives in action. For more information, call the track at (423) 235-5020
“DON SMITH FORD” SUPER LATE MODEL (35 laps)
1. Vic Hill #1-Morristown, TN
2. Steve Smith #3-Powell, TN
3. Mark Douglas #52-Knoxville, TN
4. Anthony White #2-Clinton, TN
5. Tommy Kerr #4T-Maryville, TN
6. Kerry Jones #6-Bristol, TN
7. Brett Miller #25-Asheville, NC
8. Michael Jackson #Q3-Greeneville, TN
9. Michael Smith #4-Rogersville, TN
10. Jeff Maupin #32w-Greeneville, TN
11. Clint Solomon #30-Mosheim, TN
12. Evan Harrell #28-Franklin, NC
13. Dale Ball #2-Johnson City, TN
14. Travis Greer #11g-Marion, VA
15. Greg Burchett #17-Church Hill, TN
16. Randy Davidson #28-Morristown, TN
17. Lloyd Osborne #11-Johnson City, TN
18. Damon Eller #i4-Crumpler, NC
19. Dennis Alverson #71-Kingsport, TN
20. Dennis Stiles #00-Jonesborough, TN
21. Jimmy Owens #20-Newport, TN
22. Rick Norris #15-Kingsport, TN
23. Herman Goddard #22-Knoxville, TN
24. Scott Curtis #61-Loudon, TN
25. John Tweed #1t-Greeneville, TN
26. Terry Owens #83-Morristown, TN
27. Sandy Goddard #20th-Knoxville, TN
DNS: Jason McCall #59-Maryville, TN
“RAMEY FORD” LIMITED LATE MODEL (25 laps)
1) Shannon Buckingham #44; 2) Allen Champ #11c; 3) Bobby Mays #19; 4) Jimmy Owens #T15; 5) Damon Eller #i4; 6) Skimp Henry #25; 7) Randy Taylor #94; 8) Hank Hall #117; 9) Jeff Surber #37; 10) Kelly Glass #01; 11) Brian Woodward #18; 12) Brad Kenyon #98; 13) Larry Rowe #R0; 14) Brad Partin #1; 15) Lee Tipton #2; 16) Stephen Martin #46; 17) Dave Burks #B1
“BACHMAN BERNARD” HOBBY STOCK (20 laps)
1) Duke Bare #52; 2) R.J. Mayes #6m; 3) Mike Kelley #8; 4) Dustin Shaver #7; 5) Todd Brooks #1; 6) Mike Mays #30; 7) Dale Reed #52; 8) Chad Garretson #82; 9) Troy Thompson #T12; 10) Mark Hawkins #44; 11) Jim Canning #31; 12) Chris Gregg #73; 13) Nasty Jones #13; 14) Aaron Guinn #87; 15) Hugh “Wishbone” Scalf #56; 16) Robert “Monk” Ledford #41; 17) Patrick Flannary #38 – DNS: D.J. Harrison #44
“ALLIED HOME MORTGAGE” MINI STOCK (20 laps)
1) Rodney Kiker #17; 2) Shawn Henry #25; 3) Joey Allen #A00; 4) Brent Hensley #70; 5) Randy Lane #7; 6) Runah Henry #39; 7) Frank Dice #44; 8) Ernie Stubblefield #21; 9) Allen Carrier #57; 10) Danny Bland #52; 11) Jonathan Ward #77; 12) Chad Goins #15; 13) Brandon James #F8; 14) Stevie Wykle #97; 15) Cheyenne Kite #9; 16) William Travis #36; 17) Kenny Absher #11; 18) Tom Trivett #5 – DNS: Jimmy Seay #6, Brandon McClure #0
“RENEGADE” FRONT WHEEL DRIVE (15 laps)
1) Terry McMurray #19; 2) Timmy Seay #s7; 3) William Knight #00; 4) Clinton Taylor #22; 5) Robert Darnell #38; 6) Keith Helton #9; 7) Garney Rice #47; 8) Dennis Dean #99; 9) Kevin Darnell #29; 10) Clifford Stoops #37; 11) Scotty McMurray #11; 12) Eddie Smith #8
Volunteer Speedway: (423) 235-5020 www.volunteerspeedway.com
BULLS GAP, Tenn. (May 30) – After a day of pausing to remember and honor the men and women who lost their lives or are missing in action from defending our country during wartime in the past and present, race fans and drivers from all around the East Tennessee region came out Monday evening at Volunteer Speedway for Ramey Ford Night at the Races.
As we all know, freedom is not free! And with the military conflict in the Middle East, Memorial Day has taken on an extra-special meaning for all United States citizens with loved ones and friends abroad.
Vic Hill of Morristown thrilled the holiday crowd by winning his second straight 35-lap “Don Smith Ford” Super Late Model feature over a stellar, 27-car field.
Jimmy Owens appeared headed towards victory, but as he closed in on the back bumper of Rick Norris to put him a lap down between turns one and two on lap 27, misfortune struck the race leader. The j-bar broke under Norris’ rear end, which in turn snapped the driveshaft, leaving Owens nowhere to go but into the back of Norris. Both cars spun to bring out the caution.
At the drop of the green, Hill won the drag race into the first turn over pole-sitter Kerry Jones to take the lead, with Mark Douglas, Owens and Norris in tow. The event’s first caution waved on the second lap when Damon Eller and Terry Owens spun in the fourth turn.
With Hill slowly bringing the field back up to speed, Jones accelerated past Hill as they raced off into the first turn. But Hill stormed back past Jones into the lead as they raced off the second turn down the backstretch, also bringing Owens along for the ride into the runner-up position. Jones lost third to Douglas on the fifth lap, and with the door open as they raced off turn four, Norris momentarily moved past Jones into fourth. But on the other end of the track as they raced off the second turn, Jones got a good bite on the bottom to drop Norris back to the fifth spot.
Meanwhile out front, Hill had his hands full working heavy lapped, while also trying to keep his advantage over the hard-charging Owens. The battle for positions five through eleven between Norris, Anthony White, Steve Smith, Brett Miller, Michael Jackson, Tommy Kerr and Travis Greer was heated, with action three-wide. Norris’ top-five run got sidetracked when White got into the back of his car on lap 15 racing off turn two, sending the defending track champion spinning down the backstretch to bring out the caution.
The top five in the running order going back green were Hill, Owens, Douglas, Jones and White. While Hill had a rear view mirror full of Owens, Smith and White were battling hard for fifth. Still mounting a charge towards the front, Smith passed Jones for fourth on lap 17.
With Hill running the bottom groove, Owens was riding the high-line around the corners and pressuring “The Thrill” for the point. Getting a strong run down the backstretch into the third turn on lap 20 to pull alongside Hill, Owens was hooked up and hauling up top on the cushion as he drove around Hill into the lead as they raced off turn four onto the front straightaway.
White drove under Jones to take over the fifth spot on lap 21 racing into the first turn, while Miller began pressuring Jones for sixth. With Owens riding with the cruise control on up front, his night ended prematurely on lap 27 after tangling with Norris.
Going back green for an eight-lap dash to the checkers, Hill had Douglas, Smith, White and Jones glued to his rear bumper. Hill, driving the Landair Transport Inc./Peterson Fluid Systems/RaceQuest/Vic Hill Racing Engines/MacDaddy Motorsports/GRT Race Cars/No. 1 Grand Prix, sprinted away as the laps wound down to take his second win of the season over Smith, who worked his way up from the 13th-starting position to record a strong second-place finish. Rounding out the top five at the checkers were Douglas, White and Kerr. Kerr advanced into the top-five after starting the feature from outside the eighth row.
Completing the top-10 finishers were Jones, Miller, Jackson, Michael Smith and Jeff Maupin.
Shannon Buckingham of Morristown flexed his muscle out front from green-to-checkers to win his first-ever “Ramey Ford” Limited Late Model feature. Buckingham grabbed the lead on the opening lap over Allen Champ, Jimmy Owens, Bobby Mays and Damon Eller. Dave Burks, Larry Rowe and Stephen Martin spun between turns three and four on the second lap to bring out the caution.
Back under green, Buckingham quickly began to put some distance between his S & S Millright/Malar Lighting/Volunteer Performance/Swaggerty Farm Sausage/Lakeway Auto/Vietnam Vets MC/Barry Wright Race Cars/No. 44 Monte Carlo and Champ, while Owens and Mays were battling for the third spot. Owens passed Mays for third place on the fourth lap as they raced door-to-door off the fourth turn, but the hard-charging Mays fought back to reclaim the position on the other end of the track as they raced off turn two. Owens rode the cushion up top to once again drive around Mays for third on the sixth circuit.
Buckingham had powered out into an eight car-length advantage over Champ by lap 10, and on the next trip around the high-banked, 4/10-mile oval … Owens got loose in turn four which allowed both Mays and Eller to move past into third and fourth in the running order. Lee Tipton brought out the caution on lap 12 when he looped his mount in the fourth turn, and only one lap back green flag racing the yellow was unfurled again when Kelly Glass spun in turn four, also collecting Brad Kenyon.
Buckingham would not be denied his first trip to victory lane, as he captured the win over Champ, Mays, Owens and Eller. Rounding out the top-10 at the finish were Skimp Henry, Randy Taylor, “Hammerin’ ” Hank Hall, Jeff Surber and Glass.
Greeneville’s “Rockin’” Rodney Kiker, a two-time UMP (Open-Wheel) Modified track champion, making his first racing start this season showed he still has the “right stuff” as he held off Shawn Henry, Joey Allen, Brent Hensley and Randy Lane for the “Allied Home Mortgage” Mini Stock victory.
Duke Bare of Meadowview, Va., rolled to his first “Bachman Bernard” Hobby Stock feature win of the season over R.J. Mayes, Mike Kelley, Dustin Shaver and Todd Brooks.
Kingsport’s Terry McMurray held off Timmy Seay, William Knight, Clinton Taylor and Robert Darnell for the “Renegade” Front Wheel Drive” victory.
Volunteer Speedway will host an exciting six-division racing program on Saturday, June 4 with Super Late Model, Limited Late Model, UMP (Open-Wheel) Modified, Mini Stock, Hobby Stock and Front Wheel Drives in action. For more information, call the track at (423) 235-5020
“DON SMITH FORD” SUPER LATE MODEL (35 laps)
1. Vic Hill #1-Morristown, TN
2. Steve Smith #3-Powell, TN
3. Mark Douglas #52-Knoxville, TN
4. Anthony White #2-Clinton, TN
5. Tommy Kerr #4T-Maryville, TN
6. Kerry Jones #6-Bristol, TN
7. Brett Miller #25-Asheville, NC
8. Michael Jackson #Q3-Greeneville, TN
9. Michael Smith #4-Rogersville, TN
10. Jeff Maupin #32w-Greeneville, TN
11. Clint Solomon #30-Mosheim, TN
12. Evan Harrell #28-Franklin, NC
13. Dale Ball #2-Johnson City, TN
14. Travis Greer #11g-Marion, VA
15. Greg Burchett #17-Church Hill, TN
16. Randy Davidson #28-Morristown, TN
17. Lloyd Osborne #11-Johnson City, TN
18. Damon Eller #i4-Crumpler, NC
19. Dennis Alverson #71-Kingsport, TN
20. Dennis Stiles #00-Jonesborough, TN
21. Jimmy Owens #20-Newport, TN
22. Rick Norris #15-Kingsport, TN
23. Herman Goddard #22-Knoxville, TN
24. Scott Curtis #61-Loudon, TN
25. John Tweed #1t-Greeneville, TN
26. Terry Owens #83-Morristown, TN
27. Sandy Goddard #20th-Knoxville, TN
DNS: Jason McCall #59-Maryville, TN
“RAMEY FORD” LIMITED LATE MODEL (25 laps)
1) Shannon Buckingham #44; 2) Allen Champ #11c; 3) Bobby Mays #19; 4) Jimmy Owens #T15; 5) Damon Eller #i4; 6) Skimp Henry #25; 7) Randy Taylor #94; 8) Hank Hall #117; 9) Jeff Surber #37; 10) Kelly Glass #01; 11) Brian Woodward #18; 12) Brad Kenyon #98; 13) Larry Rowe #R0; 14) Brad Partin #1; 15) Lee Tipton #2; 16) Stephen Martin #46; 17) Dave Burks #B1
“BACHMAN BERNARD” HOBBY STOCK (20 laps)
1) Duke Bare #52; 2) R.J. Mayes #6m; 3) Mike Kelley #8; 4) Dustin Shaver #7; 5) Todd Brooks #1; 6) Mike Mays #30; 7) Dale Reed #52; 8) Chad Garretson #82; 9) Troy Thompson #T12; 10) Mark Hawkins #44; 11) Jim Canning #31; 12) Chris Gregg #73; 13) Nasty Jones #13; 14) Aaron Guinn #87; 15) Hugh “Wishbone” Scalf #56; 16) Robert “Monk” Ledford #41; 17) Patrick Flannary #38 – DNS: D.J. Harrison #44
“ALLIED HOME MORTGAGE” MINI STOCK (20 laps)
1) Rodney Kiker #17; 2) Shawn Henry #25; 3) Joey Allen #A00; 4) Brent Hensley #70; 5) Randy Lane #7; 6) Runah Henry #39; 7) Frank Dice #44; 8) Ernie Stubblefield #21; 9) Allen Carrier #57; 10) Danny Bland #52; 11) Jonathan Ward #77; 12) Chad Goins #15; 13) Brandon James #F8; 14) Stevie Wykle #97; 15) Cheyenne Kite #9; 16) William Travis #36; 17) Kenny Absher #11; 18) Tom Trivett #5 – DNS: Jimmy Seay #6, Brandon McClure #0
“RENEGADE” FRONT WHEEL DRIVE (15 laps)
1) Terry McMurray #19; 2) Timmy Seay #s7; 3) William Knight #00; 4) Clinton Taylor #22; 5) Robert Darnell #38; 6) Keith Helton #9; 7) Garney Rice #47; 8) Dennis Dean #99; 9) Kevin Darnell #29; 10) Clifford Stoops #37; 11) Scotty McMurray #11; 12) Eddie Smith #8
Volunteer Speedway: (423) 235-5020 www.volunteerspeedway.com
