RAINEY BUMP DRAFTS TO MOUNTAIN RACEWAY PARK NeSMITH CHEVROLET DLMS RACE WIN

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MARYVILLE, TN – Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, GA won his second NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Touring race of the season on Saturday night at Mountain Raceway Park in the Barto Enterprises/C&S Auto Electric/Hays Family Racing Warrior.

Rainey started eighth in the race, and took the high line of the speedway in his route to the front of the pack. Rainey also found out that with the long straightaways at Mountain Raceway Park, he could bump draft to get an advantage on his competitors. Rainey took the lead from Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN on lap 34.

“That was a thrill for me to race for the lead side-by-side with my idol Ronnie Johnson,” Rainey said. “Ronnie is one of the best there is, and it looked like he had us covered tonight, so this is a very special win for me and my crew.”

Johnson finished second in the Miller Brothers Coal Warrior after leading 31 laps of the 50 lap race. In true Ronnie Johnson fashion, he arrived at the track late, unloaded the car, which was a car Johnson had never sat in before Saturday night, pulled out on the track without hot laps at the tail of the qualifying line, took one lap, and set the third fastest time.

Aaron Ridley of Chatsworth, GA posted his second-straight top three finish of the weekend with a third-place effort in the True Temp Heating and Air Barry Wright. Ridley finished second on Friday night in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Touring event at Wartburg Speedway in Wartburg, TN.

The top three finishers had GM Performance Crate Engines with the original factory-sealed bolts, and Rainey’s win marked the 12th win in 14 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Touring races this season that have been won by engines right out of the crate equipped with the original factory sealed bolts. Only Mike Boland’s two wins were with a rebuilt engine.

Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA picked up his first career McLeod Construction Fast Time Award with a lap around the historic 4/10-mile clay oval in 17.666 seconds, started the race from the pole position, led the first two laps of the race, and finished fourth in the Turner Excavating DWB.

Jensen Ford of Piney Flats, TN started the TNT Race Cars house car 14th and drove it to a fifth-place finish to earn the Race Car Engineering Fifth-Place Award. Point leader Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS took the sixth spot in the 78 Towing and Recovery Victory Circle.

Chase Washington of Houlka, MS was seventh in the Jerry Inmon Race Cars GRT to earn the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Race Award, and he also took over the lead in the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year point standings.

Tom Maddox of Centre, AL was looking for his second win in as many nights after taking the victory Friday night at Wartburg Speedway. Maddox crashed his primary in qualifying, and started teammate Gathan Burns’ qualified Burns Timber Warrior at the tail of the 22-car field and finished eighth to earn the GM Performance Parts Hard Charger Award and the Race Car Engineering Eighth-Place Award.

Josh Henry of Newport, TN took the ninth spot in the Henry Trucking TNT to earn the Maximum Signs Ninth-Place Award. Hunter Best of Greenback, TN came back from an early race spin to round out the top ten in the Robin Myrick Realty Executives Warrior.

Side-by-side and sometimes three-wide racing, along with NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS-style bump drafting was common-place from green to checkered in the 50-lap race. Turner took the lead from the pole position at the start of the race followed by Johnson, Best, Marcus Minga of Shannon, MS in the B&M Salvage Mastersbilt, and Ridley.

Johnson went to the inside of Turner coming off the fourth turn on lap three to take the lead. Best brought out the first of seven caution flags on lap five when he spun in turn four. When the field went back to green flag action, they went three-wide although the pack. Ridley and Minga got around Turner to take the second and third spots respectively.

Weston Gantte of Dandridge, TN spun the Gantte Appraisals Rayburn down the backstretch on lap six to light the caution bulb for the second time. On the restart, Turner got back around Minga to take over the third spot, and Rainey moved up from seventh to fifth.

By the eighth lap, Minga had faded back to the ninth spot, while Cooley and Ford raced their way into the top ten, settling into the seventh and eighth spots respectively. Meanwhile up at the front of the pack, Johnson had checked out to a half-straightaway lead by lap ten. Brent Hensley of Russellville, TN spun the Henry Trucking TNT in turn two on lap 12 for the third caution flag.

After a caution flag on the restart for debris on the backstretch, the restart saw Maddox move up into the top ten, racing from 11th to ninth after starting 22nd. Johnson had once again pulled out to a half-straightaway lead over Ridley by lap 15.

Chris Ritchey of Maryville, TN spun the Stanley Best Heating and Air GRT in turn two on lap 18 to bring out caution flag number five. Johnson led Ridley, Turner, Rainey, Washington, defending NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National Champion Chip Brindle of Chatsworth, GA, Cooley, Ford, Maddox and Henry down for the green flag.

Rainey went to the outside on the restart, and passed Turner for the third spot in turn four. Minga brought out the sixth caution flag on lap 21 when he cut down a right-rear tire. Minga started fourth, ran as high as third, and was having his career best night. The cut tire sent Minga to the pits and earned him the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award.

Rainey once again went upstairs on the restart to challenge Ridley for second, and Brindle went even higher on the track trying to improve on his sixth position. Brindle smacked the second turn wall and had to bring his CSC Trailer Repair Mastersbilt to the pits.

By the 28th lap, Ridley, Rainey and Turner were waging a tight battle for the second spot, while Johnson pulled away on the point. With the long straightaways at Mountain Raceway Park, Rainey was able to keep the heat on Ridley by bump drafting him into the corners. Ridley and Turner worked the bottom groove, while Rainey was a high flyer up on the cushion in the turns.

Another war was being waged for the fifth spot between Washington and Ford behind the trio of Ridley, Rainey and Turner. Rainey was able to get by Ridley for the second spot on lap 31, and then got some help catching Johnson on lap 33 when Jacob France spun his Rio Grande Fence Company Mastersbilt in turn two to bring out the sixth and final caution flag.

Rainey wasted no time on the restart, as he immediately went to work on his bump drafting to challenge Johnson for the lead. Rainey drove under Johnson coming off the fourth turn on lap 34 to take the lead. Johnson tried to keep his ground, as the two cars made slight contact on the front straightaway, but Rainey held on to the lead, and then began to pull away.

The last 15 laps of the race saw the top four cars of Rainey, Johnson, Ridley, and Turner hold their positions, but the battle for the fifth spot raged on among Washington, Ford, and Cooley. By lap 43, Cooley had passed both Ford and Washington to take the fifth position.

Lap 44 saw Ford pass Washington for sixth, and then he moved up to battle Cooley side-by-side for the fifth spot on lap 45. With four laps to go, Ford got around Cooley to record a top five finish.

After the race, Johnson, Cooley, Henry, and Best participated in the Ride For Life by giving race fans with a highest bids during a special silent auction a six-lap ride around Mountain Raceway Park in a two-seat dirt late model race car. The auctions raised over $1,000 for the local chapter of the American Cancer Society.

OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 14 AT MOUNTAIN RACEWAY PARK IN MARYVILLE, TN ON 7/18/09:

POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 8 87 Derrick Rainey Powder Springs, GA 50 $2,500
2. 3 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 50 $1,250
3. 5 81 Aaron Ridley Chatsworth, GA 50 $850
4. 1 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 50 $800
5. 14 83 Jensen Ford Piney Flats, TN 50 $650
6. 13 33c Eric Cooley Fulton, MS 50 $550
7. 10 38 Chase Washington (R) Houlka, MS 50 $500
8. 22 19x Tom Maddox Centre, AL 50 $550
9. 7 B00 Josh Henry Newport, TN 50 $400
10. 2 007 Hunter Best Greenback, TN 50 $375
11. 12 58 Larry Boutwell Baker, FL 50 $350
12. 11 21 Ben McCreary (R) Baldwyn, MS 50 $300
13. 15 2 David Gentry Lewisburg, TN 50 $280
14. 16 9x Jacob France (R) Mount Juliet, TN 49 $260
15. 18 99 Justin Summers Maryville, TN 49 $250
16. 20 16 Jeff Fields Aragon, GA 40 $240
17. 6 38c Chip Brindle Chatsworth, GA 21 $320
18. 17 5r Chris Ritchey Maryville, TN 21 $200
19. 4 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS 20 $200
20. 19 70 Brent Hensley Russellville, TN 11 $200
21. 9 14 Weston Gantte Dandridge, TN 5 $200
22. 21 9 Gathan Burns Piedmont, AL 4 $200

ENTRIES: 22
McLEOD CONSTRUCTION FAST QUALIFIER: Turner, 17.666 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: None
LEAD CHANGES: 2
LAP LEADERS: Turner, 1-2; Johnson, 3-33; Rainey, 34-50
LAPS LED: Johnson, 31; Rainey, 17; Turner, 2
SUNOCO RACE FUELS ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Washington
GM PERFORMANCE HARD CHARGER: Maddox (started 22nd and finished 8th)
DOMINATOR RACE PRODUCTS HARD LUCK AWARD: Minga
RACE CAR ENGINEERING FIFTH-PLACE AWARD: Ford
RACE CAR ENGINEERING EIGHTH-PLACE AWARD: Maddox
MAXIMUM SIGNS NINTH-PLACE AWARD: Henry
CAUTIONS: 7

McLEOD CONSTRUCTION QUALIFYING:
POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS LAP 1 LAP 2 TIME
1 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA DWB 17.874 17.666 17.666
2 007 Hunter Best Greenback, TN Warrior 17.870 17.855 17.855
3 22 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN Warrior 17.886 NT 17.886
4 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS Mastersbilt 18.144 17.915 17.915
5 81 Aaron Ridley Chatsworth, GA Barry Wright 18.112 17.927 17.927
6 38c Chip Brindle Chatsworth, GA Mastersbilt 18.541 17.949 17.949
7 B00 Josh Henry Newport, TN TnT 17.959 18.066 17.959
8 87 Derrick Rainey Powder Springs, GA Warrior 17.968 18.216 17.968
9 14 Weston Gantte Dandridge, TN Rayburn 17.981 17.981 17.981
10 38 Chase Washington - R Houlka, MS GRT 18.144 18.119 18.119
11 21m Ben McCreary - R Baldwyn, MS Mastersbilt 18.193 18.254 18.193
12 58 Larry Boutwell Baker, FL Rocket 18.232 18.260 18.232
13 33c Eric Cooley Fulton, MS Victory Circle 18.484 18.242 18.242
14 83 Jensen Ford Piney Flats, TN TnT 18.627 18.275 18.275
15 2 David Gentry Lewisburg, TN Mastersbilt 19.213 18.455 18.455
16 19 Gathan Burns Piedmont, AL Warrior 18.534 18.556 18.534
17 9x Jacob France - R Mount Juliet, TN Mastersbilt 18.983 18.549 18.549
18 5r Chris Ritchey Maryville, TN GRT 18.602 18.579 18.579
19 99 Justin Summers Maryville, TN TnT 19.042 19.021 19.021
20 70 Brent Hensley Russellville, TN Stinger 19.370 NT 19.370
21 16 Jeff Fields Aragon, GA Mastersbilt 18.787 NT DQ-LT
22 9 Tom Maddox Centre, AL Mastersbilt NT NT NT

NeSMITH CHEVROLET DIRT LATE MODEL SERIES NATIONAL POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 7/18/09:

1. 33c Eric Cooley – 1172
2. 2 David Gentry – 1146
3. 58 Larry Boutwell – 1128
4. 87 Derrick Rainey – 1078
5. 10 Matthew Turner – 1022
6. 38 Chase Washington (R) – 908
7. 21 Ben McCreary (R) – 898
8. 2x Jay Blair – 774
9. 19 Marcus Minga – 660
10. 22 Jason Wilson (R) – 654
11. 38c Chip Brindle – 600
12. 81 Aaron Ridley – 520
13. 47 Brad Hall – 506
14. 86 Rick Rickman – 466
15. 4 Cliff Williams – 414
16. F9 Frank Ingram – 406
17. 16 Jeff Fields – 382
18. 90 Brian Rickman – 374
19. 12 Hunter Peacock – 340
20. 68 Eddie Rickman - 326

R – Denotes Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year Candidate
 




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