HORTON POWERS TO EAST BAY NeSMITH CHEVROLET DLMS WIN

jdearing

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TAMPA, FL – Doug Horton of Bruceton Mills, WV drove the locally owned Adams Used Auto Parts Warrior to victory on Thursday night in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series 40-lap feature race at East Bay Raceway Park. Horton took the lead on the opening lap after starting on the outside of row one, and never looked back to lead wire-to-wire.

“I’ve got to thank Sanford Goddard at Warrior Race Cars for building a great race car, and my car owner Ken Nosbisch with his experience at the this race track, for the win tonight,” Horton said. “We came down here in December and missed the show, but everyone pulled together, worked hard, and we got it figured out.”

Steve Mathis of Plant City, FL finished second in the Mathis Farms Rayburn and Rick Rickman of Columbus, MS in the Rickman Trucking Mastersbilt took the third spot. Keith Nosbisch of Valrico, FL drove the Miller Lite Rocket to a fourth-place finish, and Jason Wilson of Margaret, AL rounded out the top five in the Tommy Pope Construction Warrior.

Wilson was awarded the Race Car Engineering Fifth-Place Award when the Cardinal Paint and Body Warrior of apparent fifth-place finisher David Schmauss of Tampa, FL was found light at the scales during the post-race weigh-in. Wilson was the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Race and moved on top of the RoY point standings, and fifth overall in the National points chase.

Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS took the sixth spot in the 78 Towing and Recovery Victory Circle, and Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, GA took a provisional, started 24th, and charged to a seventh-place finish in the Hays Family Racing/Barto Enterprises Warrior to earn the Mechanix Wear Hard Charger of the Race Award.

Jeff Fields of Aragon, GA won the Race Car Engineering Eighth-Place Award in the Summerville Junkyard Mastersbilt, and Larry Boutwell of Baker, FL won the Maximum Signs Ninth-Place Award in the McLeod Construction Rocket. Jeff Mathews of Dover, FL in the Night Hawk Towing Rocket rounded out the top ten.

Two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion David Gentry of Lewisburg, TN was the McLeod Construction Fast Qualifier among the 44 entrants with a lap around the 1/3-mile clay oval in 16.503 seconds driving the Eades Farms Warrior. That earned Gentry the pole position for the feature race.

When the green flag fell to start the race, Horton took the lead from Gentry in turn two, and brought Mathis with him up into the second spot, with Gentry settling into the third position, followed by Rickman and Nosbisch. Gentry ran into problems on lap 12 when he spun in turn two. Horton led Mathis, Rickman, Shanon Buckingham of Morristown, TN, and Nosbisch down for the restart.

Buckingham was put ahead of Nosbisch for the restart, as Nosbisch was penalized for jumping a lap 11 restart. When the field went green, point leader Brad Hall of Knoxville, TN was on the move driving a Rocket chassis powered by a steel-head GM Performance 602 engine. Hall has made headlines after winning the season opener, and finished second in round two.

Hall has become the ultimate economy racer having success with a two-year-old $3,000 engine with the original sealing bolts in it, and towing it ten hours to Tampa, FL on an open trailer. Hall didn’t qualify well, or run well in his heat race. His car came to life in the B-main to earn the 22nd starting spot for the main event for his new sponsor Pilot Oil.

By lap 13, Hall had used the outside groove to advance up to the tenth spot. Gentry brought out the caution flag on lap 13 with a cut tire, and on lap 14, Chris McElhenney of Lake, MS spun the G&M Trucking GRT in turn four while running ninth to bring out the fourth caution flag of the race.

Horton led Mathis, Rickman, Buckingham in the Rusty Wallace Toyota Bloomquist, Nosbisch, Schmauss, Wilson, Cooley, Hall, and Boutwell down for the restart. After the field went green, Hall’s charge and the mystic of his 602 engine ended when it overheated coming down the front straightaway, and he coasted to a stop in turn two.

That earned Hall the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award, but despite being credited with the 22nd finishing position, Hall hung on to the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National point lead with a 14-point margin over Boutwell. Rainey and Cooley are tied for third.

Hall said he had an aluminum-head 604 engine in the back of his ten-year-old cube van as a backup to put in the car for the rest of the week, but he wished it was a 602.

Also running into problems during the caution period for Hall was Buckingham, who gave up the fourth spot, and went to the pit area. That shuffled the top ten running order for the restart, as Horton led Mathis, Rickman, Nosbisch, Schmauss, Wilson, Cooley, Boutwell, David Pollen Jr. of Tampa, FL in the B&D Trucking Rocket, and Hunter Peacock of Macon, GA in Nasworthy Mechanical Bullet down for the restart.

By the halfway point, nothing much had changed in the top eight, as Horton had opened up a full straightaway lead over Mathis. Peacock passed Pollen to move up to the ninth spot, and brought Phillip Cobb of Riverview, FL with him up into the tenth spot in the Coastal Trucking GRT. Rainey had dusted off a groove on the outside and was closing in on the top ten.

The only that slowed Horton down during the second half of the race were a pair of single car spins on lap 27 and 34 that brought out the caution flag. After each restart, Horton was able to pull out to big lead over Mathis. Rainey charged up to the eighth spot by lap 30, and Mathews climbed into the top ten in the closing laps of the race.

In preliminary action on Thursday night, the four eight-lap heat races were won by Wilson, Buckingham, Peacock, and Schmauss. The two 12-lap B-Main races were won by Josh Peacock of Dover, FL in the Fribob Fruit Floats Warrior, and Bryan Bernhardt of Clearwater, FL in the B&B Precision Mowing Rocket.

The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series returns to action at East Bay Raceway Park on Friday night with another 40-lap $2,500-to-win main event, and again on Saturday night for a 50-lap $3,000-to-win show.

OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 3 AT EAST BAY RACEWAY PARK IN TAMPA, FL ON 2/19/09:

POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 2 11 Doug Horton Bruceton Mills, WV 40 $2,500
2. 4 95 Steve Mathis Plant City, FL 40 $1,250
3. 3 86 Rick Rickman Columbus, MS 40 $850
4. 5 102 Keith Nosbisch Valrico, FL 40 $700
5. 7 22 Jason Wilson (R) Margaret, AL 40 $650
6. 12 33c Eric Cooley Fulton, MS 40 $550
7. 24 87 Derrick Rainey Powder Springs, GA 40 $500
8. 13 16 Jeff Fields Aragon, GA 40 $450
9. 16 58 Larry Boutwell Baker, FL 40 $400
10. 15 33 Jeff Mathews Dover, FL 40 $375
11. 14 88 David Pollen Jr. Tampa, FL 40 $350
12. 20 B69 Bryan Bernhardt Clearwater, FL 40 $300
13. 9 12 Hunter Peacock Macon, GA 40 $280
14. 17 49 Jeremy Hines Seymour, IN 40 $260
15. 18 32 Phillip Cobb Riverview, FL 40 $250
16. 6 28 Chris McElhenney Lake, MS 40 $240
17. 23 38c Chip Brindle Chatsworth, GA 27 $320
18. 11 8s Steve Miller Tampa, FL 26 $200
19. 21 11x Steven Roberts Sylvester, GA 26 $200
20. 1 2 David Gentry Lewisburg, TN 18 $300
21. 8 50 Shanon Buckingham Morristown, TN 13 $200
22. 22 47 Brad Hall Knoxville, TN 13 $200
23. 19 21p Josh Peacock Dover, FL 7 $200
24. 10 105 David Schmauss Tampa, FL 40 $200(DQ-LT)

ENTRIES: 44
McLEOD CONSTRUCTION FAST QUALIFIER: Gentry, 16.503 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: Brindle and Rainey
LEAD CHANGES: None
LAP LEADER: Horton, 1-40
DOMINATOR RACE PRODUCTS HARD LUCK AWARD: Hall
MECHANIX WEAR HARD CHARGER: Rainey (started 24th and finished 7th)
SUNOCO RACE FUELS ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Wilson
RACE CAR ENGINEERING 5TH-PLACE AWARD: Wilson
RACE CAR ENGINEERING 8TH-PLACE AWARD: Fields
MAXIMUM SIGNS 9TH-PLACE AWARD: Boutwell
CAUTIONS: 8
TIME OF THE RACE: 32 Minutes and 1.103 Seconds

McLEOD CONSTRUCTION QUALIFYING:
POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS LAP 1 LAP 2 TIME
1 2 David Gentry Lewisburg, TN Warrior 16.520 16.503 16.503
2 11 Doug Horton Bruceton Mills, WV Warrior 16.750 16.542 16.542
3 86 Rick Rickman Columbus, MS Mastersbilt 16.821 16.562 16.562
4 95 Steve Mathis Plant City, FL Rayburn 17.083 16.632 16.632
5 102 Keith Nosbisch Valrico, FL Rocket 16.715 16.639 16.639
6 28 Chris McElhenney Lake, MS GRT 17.903 16.673 16.673
7 8s Steve Miller Tampa, FL Rocket 16.932 16.714 16.714
8 50 Shanon Buckingham Morristown, TN Bloomquist 16.732 16.904 16.732
9 12 Hunter Peacock Macon, GA Bullet 16.753 16.741 16.741
10 16B Daniel Baggerly Rural Retreat, VA Barry Wright 16.775 16.793 16.775
11 22 Jason Wilson - R Margaret, AL Warrior 16.785 16.981 16.785
12 33c Eric Cooley Fulton, MS Victory Circle 16.791 16.872 16.791
13 16 Jeff Fields Aragon, GA Mastersbilt 17.357 16.868 16.868
14 105 David Schmauss Tampa, FL Warrior 17.274 16.875 16.875
15 33 Jeff Mathews Dover, FL Rocket 16.954 16.876 16.876
16 58 Larry Boutwell Baker, FL Rocket 16.930 17.033 16.930
17 38 Chase Washington - R Houlka, MS GRT 16.976 16.952 16.952
18 32 Phillip Cobb Riverview, FL GRT 17.235 16.960 16.960
19 2h Shane Hitt Buckhannon WV Rocket 17.272 16.969 16.969
20 44 Roger Rolison Meridian, MS HOH 17.227 17.000 17.000
21 68 Eddie Rickman Columbus, MS Mastersbilt 17.095 17.044 17.044
22 B69 Bryan Bernhardt Clearwater, FL Rocket 17.077 17.153 17.077
23 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA DWB 17.097 17.162 17.097
24 00 Kyle Berry - R Poplar Bluff, MO GRT 17.881 17.106 17.106
25 41 Travis Varnadore Dover, FL Rayburn 17.130 17.182 17.130
26 F9 Frank Ingram Woodstock, GA Rocket 17.214 17.426 17.214
27 2x Jay Blair Angie, LA Mastersbilt 17.264 17.249 17.249
28 21 Mike Allen Oak Hill, WV Rocket 17.752 17.252 17.252
29 38c Chip Brindle Chatsworth, GA Mastersbilt 17.979 17.262 17.262
30 47 Brad Hall Knoxville, TN Rocket 17.273 17.390 17.273
31 90 Brian Rickman Columbus, MS Mastersbilt 17.321 17.355 17.321
32 22p Danny Peoples Margaret, AL Warrior 17.388 17.449 17.388
33 49 Jeremy Hines Seymour, IN Rayburn 17.639 17.461 17.461
34 8m Matt Miller Tampa, FL Rocket 18.180 17.620 17.620
35 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS Mastersbilt 17.793 18.152 17.793
36 87 Derrick Rainey Powder Springs, GA Warrior 17.934 17.796 17.796
37 11x Steven Roberts Sylvester, GA Rocket 17.882 19.502 17.882
38 7 Frankie Erskine Jr. Lutz, FL TnT 18.086 17.904 17.904
39 91L Chuck Laney Sevierville, TN Rocket 18.376 18.017 18.017
40 91 Guy Robinson - R Rockmart, GA TnT 18.094 18.273 18.094
41 21p Josh Peacock Dover, FL Warrior 64.762 39.140 39.140
42 88 David Pollen Jr. Tampa, FL Rocket NT NT NT
43 21m Ben McCreary - R Baldwyn, MS Mastersbilt NT NT NT
44 24 Dennis Williams Zephyrhills, FL TnT NT NT NT

HEAT RACES (8 Laps – Top 3 Transfer To Main Event):

1ST HEAT: 1. Wilson (R); 2. S. Miller; 3. Mathews; 4. Blair; 5. Hitt; 6. Turner; 7. McCreary (R); 8. Laney; 9. B. Rickman; 10. Minga.

2ND HEAT: 1. Buckingham; 2. Cooley; 3. Boutwell; 4. Rolison; 5. Peoples; 6. Berry (R); 7. Allen; 8. Williams; 9. Robinson (R); 10. Rainey.

3RD HEAT: 1. H. Peacock; 2. Fields; 3. Hines; 4. J. Peacock; 5. Brindle; 6. Varnadore; 7. Roberts; 8. Washington; 9. E. Rickman.

4TH HEAT: 1. Schmauss; 2. Pollen; 3. Cobb; 4. Bernhardt; 5. Ingram; 6. M. Miller; 7. Hall; 8. Erskine; 9. Baggerly.

B-MAINS (12 Laps – Top 2 Transfer To Main Event):

1ST B-MAIN: 1. J. Peacock; 2. Roberts; 3. Blair; 4. Turner; 5. Laney; 6. E. Rickman; 7. B. Rickman; 8. Hitt; 9. Varnadore; 10. McCreary (R); 11. Minga; 12. Washington (R); 13. Brindle.

2ND B-MAIN: 1. Bernhardt; 2. Hall; 3. Ingram; 4. Baggerly; 5. Berry (R); 6. Rolison; 7. Rainey; 8. Williams; 9. Allen; 10. Robinson; 11. Peoples DNS; 12. M. Miller DNS; 13. Erskine DNS.

NeSMITH CHEVROLET DIRT LATE MODEL SERIES NATIONAL POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 2/19/09:

1. 47 Brad Hall – 252
2. 58 Larry Boutwell – 238
3. 87 Derrick Rainey – 220
3. 33c Eric Cooley – 220
5. 22 Jason Wilson (R) – 214
6. 38c Chip Brindle – 210
7. 2 David Gentry – 204
8. 2x Jay Blair – 202
9. 12 Hunter Peacock – 198
10. 5 Ronnie Johnson – 186
11. 16 Jeff Fields – 178
12. 22p Danny Peoples – 174
13. F9 Frank Ingram – 170
14. 3c James Cline – 166
15. 00 Kyle Berry (R) – 160
16. 1 Jason Hiett – 156
17. 86 Rick Rickman – 146
18. 19 Marcus Minga – 138
19. 21 Ben McCreary (R) – 136
20. 68 Eddie Rickman - 124

R – Denotes Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year Candidate
 




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