Columbus, MS - After a 5-year absence, the O'Reilly Auto Parts Southern All Star Super Late Model racing series returned to one of it's original home tracks, Columbus Speedway, on Saturday night July 30th. The highly-anticipated event would be the first time in many years that open-compound tires would be used at "The Baddest Bullring in the South", and many of those in attendance expected to see track records fall along with great racing action.
While the racing action certainly did not disappoint, the track record was never in jeopardy as the track slicked off quickly after a "hooked-up" hotlap session, surprising many drivers who struggled to find grip on very soft tires in qualifying. Chris "Smokey" Madden, on his second trip to "The Bullring", would set fast time with a 14.46. Jimmy Holland and Justin McRee would take B-Main wins before the 24-car feature race rolled off.
Prior to the 50-lap, $5,000-to-win "Homecoming 50" feature race, the O'Reilly Southern All Star series would honor "The Tupelo Flash" Don Hester and "The Mississippi Flyer" Jerry Inmon, the first two Southern All Star series champions (1983 and 1984, respectively. Hester and Inmon - Mississippi natives who, along with current Columbus Speedway track promoter Johnny Stokes were considered the "kingpins" of the infamous "Mississippi Mafia" - have a rich history of racing at Columbus Speedway.
With festivities over, the OSAS feature field readied for the green flag as the "Homecoming 50" was underway.
Madden would jump to the lead as Greg "Wild Thing" Johnson and Mike Boland dueled for second place ahead of a fanned-out field. Boland would dive under Madden and look for the lead in turns 3 and 4, then again in turns 1 and 2. Madden would hold on up front and Boland would give way to Johnson as the first of only three event cautions fell on lap 3 for a three-way mishap in turn 4. Madden, Boland, Johnson, Mike Head, and Scott Dedwylder would make up the top five for the restart.
Again, Boland would try the inside on rim-riding Madden, but Madden held on as Head went under Johnson for 3rd. Johnny Stokes would move in on Dedwylder to challenge for 5th place, the two racing door-to-door as Head and Johnson continued racing side-by-side for third. Johnson would come off of the rim ahead of Head and dive under Boland to challenge for second place as Ronnie Johnson moved up beside Stokes. The two veteran wheelmen would duke it out side-by-side for a long stretch of laps as action ahead of them continued to mix up with the laps ticking quickly away.
Ongoing battles between Boland and Johnson for second place and Dedwylder and Head for 4th allowed Madden to build a considerable lead, cutting through lapped traffic with ease on a track that allowed the drivers to drive their cars anywhere they needed to go. Dedwylder would finally break off the battle with Head to challenge Boland on lap 17, with Boland holding on as the two began to navigate heavy lapped traffic. The battles continued lap after lap with Madden well ahead of Greg Johnson, Boland now fighting with Dedwylder for third, and Stokes finally overtaking Ronnie Johnson for 6th before the second caution fell on lap 35. Madden, Johnson, Boland - who avoided a very close call to retain his position - Dedwylder, and Head would hold down the top five.
Boland would again challenge Johnson for second on the restart, and Stokes would go after Head for 5th. The final caution fell on lap 40 for Justin McRee, but Stokes would strike bad luck as the yellow flag waved. Stokes had taken over 5th place he and Head darted under the flagstand, checked up for the yellow, and the orange #1 collected the black #54, sending Stokes around and nose-first into the wall. Head would be able to continue but Stokes could not as his front bumper had folded under.
With 10 laps left on the board, Madden at first appeared to be on his way to completing a runaway win with Johnson trying to hold off Boland for second place. Johnson would come on strong in the final laps though, running away from Boland and chasing down Madden. On the final lap, Johnson pulled right up to Madden's bumper in turn 1, and just as he appeared to ready himself for a last-lap attempt to take over the lead, both would come into contact with a slowed lapped car in turn 2. The stroke of tough luck would end Johnson's chance of a dramatic win.
Madden would go on to take the checkers, the $5,000 winner's share, and a $500 bonus as part of a planned incentive for High Points over the weekend which had to be scratched as the Southern Thunder Tour event of Friday night was rained out. OSAS decided not to ditch the bonus (originally $1,000 for the two events) and would pay their part to the top three finishers. Johnson would come home in second place ahead of Boland, with Dedwylder and Ronnie Johnson completing the top five. Head, Rodney Martin, Jamie Elam, Greg Knight, and Mark Vineyard earned top-ten honors.
The Open-Wheel Modified event would start with a series of persistent cautions wrapped around short bursts of wild, 3-plus-side racing everywhere. After finally making it through the first series of laps, the racers would go green for a while, with Rusty Duncan fending of Greg Dedwylder for the lead, and Mike Bowers also dogging Dedwylder for second place. Bowers, Dedwylder, and Todd Gray would engage in a late-race war for second place as Duncan took control out front, and soon Jason Hollis would move in to join the battle.
Duncan went on to take his third Columbus Speedway victory of the year, with Bowers coming home in second in his first appearance at Columbus in an open-wheel machine. Dedwylder, Gray, and Hollis would round out the top five.
Mike Langford took over the Late Model Stock division lead early from Johnny Smith, with Chris Jimerson soon working his way into second place in a field that would cover the high-banked turns with racing action from top to bottom. Terry Mosley, Ruble Maxey, Jason Sanderford, and Smith would all vie for the same real estate as the laps passed by until Langford took the win over Jimerson. Smith, Maxey, and late-charger Jason Poole would shake down to complete the top five.
TK King would survive an early side-by-side duel with Richard West to take the win in the Street Stock division. Trey Bright would battle around West to take second place, with West, Dusty Robertson, and Benji Jones in the top five.
For the second time this season, the Minor clan would post a 1-2-3 finish in the Mini Stock division. Heath Minor would lead the Toyota-driving family across the line to take the win, with Mike Minor in second and Bo Minor in third. Austin Broadaway and Tim Ritter would finish out the top five.
Benji Jones & Curt Smith took the Two-Person Cruiser win, and Robbie Taylor would win the Hot Shot feature.
Next Saturday night, August 6th, Columbus Speedway is back in action with a Weekly Racing Series show featuring all local divisions. Stop by the Columbus Speedway website located at www.ColumbusSpeedway.com for details. Columbus Speedway would like to thank all of the fans and the great field of drivers who came out for the long-awaited return of the Southern All Star series to "The Bullring" and put on a spectacular show. Mississippi looks forward to hosting the O'Reilly Southern All Star series again in the future.
SUPER LATE MODEL
O'REILLY SOUTHERN ALL STAR SERIES
"HOMECOMING 50"
Pos. Driver
1ST 44 CHRIS MADDEN
2ND 19 GREG JOHNSON
3RD 222 MIKE BOLAND
4TH 33 SCOTT DEDWYLDER
5TH 1T RONNIE JOHNSON
6TH 54 MIKE HEAD
7TH 92 RODNEY MARTIN
8TH 12 JAMIE ELAM
9TH 5 GREG KNIGHT
10TH 4 MARK VINEYARD
11TH 32 MARK DODSON
12TH 15 JAMIE DACUS
13TH 51 DEAN CARPENTER
14TH 3 JAMES CLINE
15TH 2 MARK STOKES
16TH 9X GREG ALDRIDGE
17TH 9 DANNY HAYES
18TH TB1 TIM BENTON
19TH 1 JOHNNY STOKES
20TH 25 JUSTIN MCREE
21ST 1C CHAD THRASH
22ND 92 JIMMY HOLLAND
23RD C2 TIM COUCH
24TH 86 TERRELL STRIPLING
MODIFIED
Top 10
1ST 12 RUSTY DUNCAN
2ND 5 MIKE BOWERS
3RD G33 GREG DEDWYLDER
4TH 5 JASON HOLLIS
5TH 7 TODD GRAY
6TH 8 BRYAN BROCK
7TH 11 JIMMY BRASFIELD
8TH 4 JASON BROCK
9TH 35 TONY GRAY
10TH 31 BLAKE KOENIGSBERGER
LATE MODEL STOCK
Top 10
1ST 22 MIKE LANGFORD
2ND 18 CHRIS JIMERSON
3RD 39 JOHNNY SMITH
4TH 75M RUBLE MAXEY
5TH 27J JASON POOLE
6TH 5 RODNEY WEAVER
7TH 76 JASON SANDERFORD
8TH 65 BILLY FRANKLIN
9TH 1T TERRY MOSLEY
10TH 3 SHANNON DODSON
STREET STOCK
Top 5
1ST 6 TK KING
2ND 82 TREY BRIGHT
3RD 4 RICHARD WEST
4TH 8 DUSTY ROBERTSON
5TH 11 BENJI JONES
MINI STOCK
Top 5
1ST 21 HEATH MINOR
2ND 2 MIKE MINOR
3RD 1 BO MINOR
4TH 77 AUSTIN BROADWAY
5TH 16 TIM RITTER
TWO-PERSON CRUISER
Top 5
1ST K6 BENJI JONES & CURT SMITH
2ND 22 JOHN BEARD & JAMIE SUDDUTH
3RD 13 JACOB & BRAD STAPP
4TH 56 KEVIN MCWILLIAMS & ROBBY TILLEY
5TH 1 JEROD FINCH & BARRY PARKER
HOT SHOT
1ST 11 ROBBIE TAYLOR
2ND 8 BLAINE DAVIS
3RD 1 BUCKY JACOBS
4TH 98 JAMES SMITH
5TH 171 TREY WRIGHT
