CARTERSVILLE, GA – The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series will return to Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, MS for a pair of events this Friday and Saturday nights. Round 16 on Friday night will be a $2,000-to-win 40-lap event, and Round 17 on Saturday night will feature a $2,500-to-win 50-lap main event.
Three and four-wide racing around the Whynot Motorsports Park 3/8-mile clay oval is the rule rather than the exception, and it is usually a good mix of the traveling regulars of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour and the top Mississippi talent that competes every Saturday night at WMP in NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series action.
Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS leads the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National point standings by 62 points over two-time series champion David Gentry of Lewisburg, TN, who is looking for his third title in the last four seasons. In Round 8 that was held on May 2 at WMP, Cooley led 13 laps of that 50-lap event before finishing second.
Cooley has 1,262 points and is still looking for his first win of the season to go with his six top five finishes and 11 top ten finishes in 15 starts this season. Cooley also leads the GM Performance Parts Hard Charger point standings with 67 points. A driver earns one hard charger point for every position he improves from the start of the race to the end of the race.
Gentry has also had success at WMP, as he finished second in Round 7 at WMP on May 1. Gentry has 1,200 points with six top fives, nine top tens, and one McLeod Construction Fast Time Award in 15 starts.
Larry Boutwell of Baker, FL is third in the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National points, just six points behind Gentry, with 1,194 points. Boutwell has three top fives and eight top tens in 15 starts, and one of those top fives came at WMP with a third-place showing on May 1. The 2008 National Championship Runner-Up has also completed the laps of competition this season with 654 of a possible 660.
Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, GA is fourth in the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National points chase, and is another series regular that has shown his speed at Whynot Motorsports Park this season. Rainey grabbed one of his series-leading four McLeod Construction Fast Time Awards at Whynot Motorsports Park on May 1, and finished fifth in the race. Rainey has 1,162 points with two wins, five top fives, and eight top tens in 15 starts.
Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA is fifth in the National points chase with 1,094 points after five top fives, eight top tens and one McLeod Construction Fast Time Award. Turner was the most consistent of the series regulars in the last two WMP stops on the National Tour with a fourth and a fifth-place finish.
A pair of Mississippi drivers are battling for both the sixth spot in the National standings, and the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year Award that pays $5,000 to the top tyro driver at the end of the season. Ben McCreary of Baldwyn, MS is currently sixth with 994 points, and Chase Washington of Houlka, MS is just 22 points behind with 972 points.
McCreary, a Junior Accounting Major at Mississippi State University, was the second-quick qualifier at WMP on May 1 and led 31 laps of the 40-lap race before a broken front end part ended his evening. He came back the next night to finish ninth in the 50-lap main event. Washington turned in a seventh-place effort at WMP on May 1.
Other top NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Touring regulars expected for the Whynot Motorsports Park double-header are Marcus Minga of Shannon, MS, Aaron Ridley of Chatsworth, GA and Jeff Fields of Aragon, GA.
A threat to win any race at Whynot Motorsports Park is seven-time Mississippi State Late Model Champion Mike Boland of Cuba, AL. Boland is fourth all-time on the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS career win list, and four of those have come at Whynot Motorsports Park. Boland took the win on May 2 at WMP.
Two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series West Region Champion and current West Region point leader Lucky Keeton of Toomsuba, MS is fresh off a WMP win last Saturday night in the John Lightsey Memorial Race. Keeton has multiple feature wins this season in WMP NeSmith Chevrolet WRS competition.
Defending Whynot Motorsports Park NeSmith Chevrolet WRS Track Champion Larry Murphy of Meridian, MS picked up the McLeod Construction Fast Time Award at Round 8 on May 2, and led six laps in the 50-lap main event before finishing fourth. Justin McRee of Woodstock, AL led 24 laps of the May 2 race at WMP.
Bub McCool of Vicksburg, MS started 14th in the May 1 race, charged through the field and led the last nine laps of the race to post the win. Also look for the defending NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series West Region Champion Jim McDuffie of Meridian, MS to defend his home turf this Friday and Saturday nights at Whynot Motorsports Park.
Other top local entries expected include Randy Boyd of Marion, MS, Wiley Williams of Stonewall, MS, Tody Ratcliff of Meridian, MS, Greg Dedwylder of Vossburg, MS, James Dean of Chunky, MS, Chris Jimmerson of Gilbertown, AL, Chris McElhenney of Lake, MS, and Roger Rolison of Meridian, MS.
Whynot Motorsports Park will host a practice session on Thursday night from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS will compete in McLeod Construction Qualifying, heat races, and a feature race on both Friday night and Saturday night.
Race fans will have an opportunity to win a chance to ride around Whynot Motorsports Park at race speed with their favorite driver in the “Ride For Life” program to benefit the local chapter of the American Cancer Society on Saturday night.
A special auction will be held on Saturday night with the highest bidder winning a six-lap ride, and there will also be a chance for fans to purchase raffle tickets to win a three-lap ride. The NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS American Cancer Society Ride For Life car is an actual dirt late model race car modified with a passenger seat to the right of the driver.
Fans will have an opportunity to see racing from a view they rarely see. Sitting next to the driver, the winning fans will be able to see the driver wrestling the steering wheel, feel the g-forces as the car slides through the corners, and smell the burning rubber at speeds over 100 miles per hour.
Whynot Motorsports Park is located Southeast of Meridian, MS on State Road 19. For more information call 601-644-3010, or visit the track web site at www.whynotmotorsportspark.com. For more information about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series visit the series web site at www.nesmithracing.com.
Three and four-wide racing around the Whynot Motorsports Park 3/8-mile clay oval is the rule rather than the exception, and it is usually a good mix of the traveling regulars of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour and the top Mississippi talent that competes every Saturday night at WMP in NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series action.
Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS leads the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National point standings by 62 points over two-time series champion David Gentry of Lewisburg, TN, who is looking for his third title in the last four seasons. In Round 8 that was held on May 2 at WMP, Cooley led 13 laps of that 50-lap event before finishing second.
Cooley has 1,262 points and is still looking for his first win of the season to go with his six top five finishes and 11 top ten finishes in 15 starts this season. Cooley also leads the GM Performance Parts Hard Charger point standings with 67 points. A driver earns one hard charger point for every position he improves from the start of the race to the end of the race.
Gentry has also had success at WMP, as he finished second in Round 7 at WMP on May 1. Gentry has 1,200 points with six top fives, nine top tens, and one McLeod Construction Fast Time Award in 15 starts.
Larry Boutwell of Baker, FL is third in the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National points, just six points behind Gentry, with 1,194 points. Boutwell has three top fives and eight top tens in 15 starts, and one of those top fives came at WMP with a third-place showing on May 1. The 2008 National Championship Runner-Up has also completed the laps of competition this season with 654 of a possible 660.
Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, GA is fourth in the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National points chase, and is another series regular that has shown his speed at Whynot Motorsports Park this season. Rainey grabbed one of his series-leading four McLeod Construction Fast Time Awards at Whynot Motorsports Park on May 1, and finished fifth in the race. Rainey has 1,162 points with two wins, five top fives, and eight top tens in 15 starts.
Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA is fifth in the National points chase with 1,094 points after five top fives, eight top tens and one McLeod Construction Fast Time Award. Turner was the most consistent of the series regulars in the last two WMP stops on the National Tour with a fourth and a fifth-place finish.
A pair of Mississippi drivers are battling for both the sixth spot in the National standings, and the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year Award that pays $5,000 to the top tyro driver at the end of the season. Ben McCreary of Baldwyn, MS is currently sixth with 994 points, and Chase Washington of Houlka, MS is just 22 points behind with 972 points.
McCreary, a Junior Accounting Major at Mississippi State University, was the second-quick qualifier at WMP on May 1 and led 31 laps of the 40-lap race before a broken front end part ended his evening. He came back the next night to finish ninth in the 50-lap main event. Washington turned in a seventh-place effort at WMP on May 1.
Other top NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Touring regulars expected for the Whynot Motorsports Park double-header are Marcus Minga of Shannon, MS, Aaron Ridley of Chatsworth, GA and Jeff Fields of Aragon, GA.
A threat to win any race at Whynot Motorsports Park is seven-time Mississippi State Late Model Champion Mike Boland of Cuba, AL. Boland is fourth all-time on the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS career win list, and four of those have come at Whynot Motorsports Park. Boland took the win on May 2 at WMP.
Two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series West Region Champion and current West Region point leader Lucky Keeton of Toomsuba, MS is fresh off a WMP win last Saturday night in the John Lightsey Memorial Race. Keeton has multiple feature wins this season in WMP NeSmith Chevrolet WRS competition.
Defending Whynot Motorsports Park NeSmith Chevrolet WRS Track Champion Larry Murphy of Meridian, MS picked up the McLeod Construction Fast Time Award at Round 8 on May 2, and led six laps in the 50-lap main event before finishing fourth. Justin McRee of Woodstock, AL led 24 laps of the May 2 race at WMP.
Bub McCool of Vicksburg, MS started 14th in the May 1 race, charged through the field and led the last nine laps of the race to post the win. Also look for the defending NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series West Region Champion Jim McDuffie of Meridian, MS to defend his home turf this Friday and Saturday nights at Whynot Motorsports Park.
Other top local entries expected include Randy Boyd of Marion, MS, Wiley Williams of Stonewall, MS, Tody Ratcliff of Meridian, MS, Greg Dedwylder of Vossburg, MS, James Dean of Chunky, MS, Chris Jimmerson of Gilbertown, AL, Chris McElhenney of Lake, MS, and Roger Rolison of Meridian, MS.
Whynot Motorsports Park will host a practice session on Thursday night from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS will compete in McLeod Construction Qualifying, heat races, and a feature race on both Friday night and Saturday night.
Race fans will have an opportunity to win a chance to ride around Whynot Motorsports Park at race speed with their favorite driver in the “Ride For Life” program to benefit the local chapter of the American Cancer Society on Saturday night.
A special auction will be held on Saturday night with the highest bidder winning a six-lap ride, and there will also be a chance for fans to purchase raffle tickets to win a three-lap ride. The NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS American Cancer Society Ride For Life car is an actual dirt late model race car modified with a passenger seat to the right of the driver.
Fans will have an opportunity to see racing from a view they rarely see. Sitting next to the driver, the winning fans will be able to see the driver wrestling the steering wheel, feel the g-forces as the car slides through the corners, and smell the burning rubber at speeds over 100 miles per hour.
Whynot Motorsports Park is located Southeast of Meridian, MS on State Road 19. For more information call 601-644-3010, or visit the track web site at www.whynotmotorsportspark.com. For more information about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series visit the series web site at www.nesmithracing.com.
