CARTERSVILLE, GA – The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour is set for Double Thunder in the Mountains this weekend with a 40-lap $2,000-to-win event on Friday night at Wartburg Speedway in Wartburg, TN, and a 50-lap $2,500-to-win race on Saturday night at Mountain Raceway Park in Maryville, TN, Rounds 13 and 14 of the 2009 season.
The weekend’s events will feature two different types of tracks and two different types of drivers battling for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Touring point lead.
Wartburg Speedway is a tight high-banked quarter-mile clay oval nestled in the Cumberland Mountains that lends itself to provide for high speeds and racing at close quarters. Mountain Raceway Park, also known as “The Mountain”, sits at the foot of the Smoky Mountains, and is a fast 4/10-mile clay oval with long fast straightaways, and tight challenging turns.
Both tracks are steeped in East Tennessee racing history, and when it comes to The Mountain, when one walks through the pit gate, they are walking in the footsteps of some of the greatest drivers in the history of motorsports.
In the 1960s and 70s, The Mountain, then known as Smoky Mountain Speedway, was a regular stop for NASCAR’s Grand National Division, now known as Sprint Cup. Richard Petty, David Pearson, Bobby and Donnie Allison, Cale Yarborough, and Buddy Baker have all competed at the track.
Drivers from eight different states are expected for this weekend’s NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National Touring events at Wartburg Speedway and Mountain Raceway Park. Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS leads two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion David Earl Gentry of Lewisburg, TN by ten points in the series standings.
This point battle is “The Kid” versus “The Seasoned Veteran.” Cooley is an 18-year-old driver in his sophomore season with the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS. Gentry will see his 45th birthday next month, and has been a Southeastern dirt late model favorite for over 25 years. In addition to his two series titles, Gentry has a pair of super late model titles and countless wins on his resume.
Cooley competed as a Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year candidate last season with the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS, finishing third in the Rookie point standings and seventh overall in the National point standings with two top five finishes and five top ten finishes in 14 starts. Cooley has gotten more aggressive with his racing program for 2009.
A chassis change put Cooley behind the wheel of a Victory Circle race car built by Hall of Fame dirt late model racer Billy Moyer, who has taken an interest in the teenage driver, and has been closely following his progress this season. Cooley is also attempting to become the first driver to win two NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS titles in one season.
In addition to its National Tour, the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS also has a Weekly Racing Series where drivers at weekly dirt tracks across the Southeast compete against each other for a Regional Championship using a point system that counts their top 16 finishes. Cooley currently has the highest Event Point Average in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series West Region.
After the first 12 events on the National Tour in 2009, Cooley has four top five finishes and eight top ten finishes in 12 starts. Cooley took over the point lead from Gentry in May. After 15 weeks of NeSmith Chevrolet WRS competition, Cooley has six wins, 12 top fives, and 13 top tens in 13 starts.
Gentry led the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National points chase early in the season, and in the last couple of events has kept Cooley within arm’s reach at the top of the standings in quest of his third series title in the last four seasons.
In the first 12 events of the 2009 NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS season, “Lewisburg Lightning” has five top fives, eight top tens, and one McLeod Construction Fast Time Award. Since 2006, Gentry has recorded eight series wins, and has earned over $100,000 in prize and point fund money with the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series.
There are several other drivers chasing Cooley and Gentry for the 2009 NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National Championship. Larry Boutwell of Baker, FL is in the third spot, and Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, GA holds down the fourth spot.
Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA is fifth in the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National points chase coming into the Wartburg Speedway and Mountain Raceway Park events this weekend, and is the Ironman of the series. Turner is the only driver that has competed in every NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS event ever held since the series’ inception in 2005.
Three other NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National title contenders expected for Double Thunder in the Mountains are also battling for the 2009 Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award. Ben McCreary of Baldwyn, GA, Chase Washington of Houlka, MS and Jason Wilson of Margaret, AL are seventh, eighth, and ninth respectively in the current National point standings.
National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame inductee Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN will be at Wartburg Speedway on Friday night and Mountain Raceway Park on Saturday night. Johnson leads the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS career win list with nine wins, and is the only driver to win an event in each of the last five seasons.
Also expected are Brad Hall of Knoxville, TN, Marcus Minga of Shannon, MS, and Aaron Ridley of Chatsworth, GA. The local contingent of NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series East Region drivers will be led by Josh Henry of Newport, TN, Hunter Best of Greenback, TN, Chris Ritchey of Maryville, TN, and Steve Jones of Maryville, TN, who all have wins at Mountain Raceway Park this season.
The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series events on Friday night at Wartburg Speedway and on Saturday night at Mountain Raceway Park will each have McLeod Construction Time Trials, heat races, B-mains, and a feature race. Gates open at 5 p.m. and racing is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. each night.
The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series will be bringing the “Ride For Life” two-seat dirt late model to Mountain Raceway Park on Saturday night in an effort to benefit the local chapter of the American Cancer Society.
Race fans will have an opportunity to bid in five special auctions to win a ride with a top driver at race speeds around Mountain Raceway Park. The five drivers participating in the “Ride For Life” Auctions will be Johnson, Hall, Kevin Coffey of Friendsville, TN, Henry, and Best. Hall won the season-opening Icebowl for the series at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL.
Coffey is the Owner/Promoter of Mountain Raceway Park, and a three-time Track Champion, who is coming out of retirement from competition to participate in the Ride For Life Program. Henry and Best are second-generation drivers that have four and three wins respectively this season at Mountain Raceway Park in NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series competition.
Donations will also be accepted at the track, and a drawing will be held with one donor winning a ride with the driver of their choice. All of the proceeds from the Auctions and the Donations will go to the local chapter of the American Cancer Society.
For more information about Wartburg Speedway call 423-346-6750, or visit the track web site at www.wartburgspeedway.net. For more information about Mountain Raceway Park call 865-856-8989, or visit the track web site at www.mountainraceway.net. For more information about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series, visit the series web site at www.nesmithracing.com.
The weekend’s events will feature two different types of tracks and two different types of drivers battling for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Touring point lead.
Wartburg Speedway is a tight high-banked quarter-mile clay oval nestled in the Cumberland Mountains that lends itself to provide for high speeds and racing at close quarters. Mountain Raceway Park, also known as “The Mountain”, sits at the foot of the Smoky Mountains, and is a fast 4/10-mile clay oval with long fast straightaways, and tight challenging turns.
Both tracks are steeped in East Tennessee racing history, and when it comes to The Mountain, when one walks through the pit gate, they are walking in the footsteps of some of the greatest drivers in the history of motorsports.
In the 1960s and 70s, The Mountain, then known as Smoky Mountain Speedway, was a regular stop for NASCAR’s Grand National Division, now known as Sprint Cup. Richard Petty, David Pearson, Bobby and Donnie Allison, Cale Yarborough, and Buddy Baker have all competed at the track.
Drivers from eight different states are expected for this weekend’s NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National Touring events at Wartburg Speedway and Mountain Raceway Park. Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS leads two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion David Earl Gentry of Lewisburg, TN by ten points in the series standings.
This point battle is “The Kid” versus “The Seasoned Veteran.” Cooley is an 18-year-old driver in his sophomore season with the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS. Gentry will see his 45th birthday next month, and has been a Southeastern dirt late model favorite for over 25 years. In addition to his two series titles, Gentry has a pair of super late model titles and countless wins on his resume.
Cooley competed as a Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year candidate last season with the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS, finishing third in the Rookie point standings and seventh overall in the National point standings with two top five finishes and five top ten finishes in 14 starts. Cooley has gotten more aggressive with his racing program for 2009.
A chassis change put Cooley behind the wheel of a Victory Circle race car built by Hall of Fame dirt late model racer Billy Moyer, who has taken an interest in the teenage driver, and has been closely following his progress this season. Cooley is also attempting to become the first driver to win two NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS titles in one season.
In addition to its National Tour, the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS also has a Weekly Racing Series where drivers at weekly dirt tracks across the Southeast compete against each other for a Regional Championship using a point system that counts their top 16 finishes. Cooley currently has the highest Event Point Average in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series West Region.
After the first 12 events on the National Tour in 2009, Cooley has four top five finishes and eight top ten finishes in 12 starts. Cooley took over the point lead from Gentry in May. After 15 weeks of NeSmith Chevrolet WRS competition, Cooley has six wins, 12 top fives, and 13 top tens in 13 starts.
Gentry led the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National points chase early in the season, and in the last couple of events has kept Cooley within arm’s reach at the top of the standings in quest of his third series title in the last four seasons.
In the first 12 events of the 2009 NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS season, “Lewisburg Lightning” has five top fives, eight top tens, and one McLeod Construction Fast Time Award. Since 2006, Gentry has recorded eight series wins, and has earned over $100,000 in prize and point fund money with the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series.
There are several other drivers chasing Cooley and Gentry for the 2009 NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National Championship. Larry Boutwell of Baker, FL is in the third spot, and Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, GA holds down the fourth spot.
Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA is fifth in the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National points chase coming into the Wartburg Speedway and Mountain Raceway Park events this weekend, and is the Ironman of the series. Turner is the only driver that has competed in every NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS event ever held since the series’ inception in 2005.
Three other NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National title contenders expected for Double Thunder in the Mountains are also battling for the 2009 Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award. Ben McCreary of Baldwyn, GA, Chase Washington of Houlka, MS and Jason Wilson of Margaret, AL are seventh, eighth, and ninth respectively in the current National point standings.
National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame inductee Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN will be at Wartburg Speedway on Friday night and Mountain Raceway Park on Saturday night. Johnson leads the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS career win list with nine wins, and is the only driver to win an event in each of the last five seasons.
Also expected are Brad Hall of Knoxville, TN, Marcus Minga of Shannon, MS, and Aaron Ridley of Chatsworth, GA. The local contingent of NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series East Region drivers will be led by Josh Henry of Newport, TN, Hunter Best of Greenback, TN, Chris Ritchey of Maryville, TN, and Steve Jones of Maryville, TN, who all have wins at Mountain Raceway Park this season.
The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series events on Friday night at Wartburg Speedway and on Saturday night at Mountain Raceway Park will each have McLeod Construction Time Trials, heat races, B-mains, and a feature race. Gates open at 5 p.m. and racing is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. each night.
The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series will be bringing the “Ride For Life” two-seat dirt late model to Mountain Raceway Park on Saturday night in an effort to benefit the local chapter of the American Cancer Society.
Race fans will have an opportunity to bid in five special auctions to win a ride with a top driver at race speeds around Mountain Raceway Park. The five drivers participating in the “Ride For Life” Auctions will be Johnson, Hall, Kevin Coffey of Friendsville, TN, Henry, and Best. Hall won the season-opening Icebowl for the series at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL.
Coffey is the Owner/Promoter of Mountain Raceway Park, and a three-time Track Champion, who is coming out of retirement from competition to participate in the Ride For Life Program. Henry and Best are second-generation drivers that have four and three wins respectively this season at Mountain Raceway Park in NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series competition.
Donations will also be accepted at the track, and a drawing will be held with one donor winning a ride with the driver of their choice. All of the proceeds from the Auctions and the Donations will go to the local chapter of the American Cancer Society.
For more information about Wartburg Speedway call 423-346-6750, or visit the track web site at www.wartburgspeedway.net. For more information about Mountain Raceway Park call 865-856-8989, or visit the track web site at www.mountainraceway.net. For more information about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series, visit the series web site at www.nesmithracing.com.
