By Robert Walden
VolunteerSpeedway Media/Public Relations

BULLS GAP,Tenn.(Oct. 22) — Following Friday night’s opener of the 2011 Fastrak Racing Series Pro Late Model $250,000 Grand Nationals at Volunteer Speedway, Brian Connor of Martinez, Ga., was a man on a mission Saturday night at “The Gap” because he felt like he had let one slip away. Connor led Friday’s event until just past the halfway point before allowing Lee Cooper to get around him on a restart, and once out front Cooper cruised to victory.

Connor decided to do a little house-cleaning Saturday, bringing out the broom to pull off the “clean-sweep.” For the second straight night, Connor paced the field during Shell Racing Solutions Top Gun Time Trials. He then proceeded to win the first heat and, more impressively led flag-to-flag to record the 50-lap main event Pro Late Model feature victory.

But without a doubt the driver with the biggest smile on his face at the conclusion of the race was Mike Pegher Jr. ofCranberry Township,Pa., as he captured the 2011 Fastrak Racing Series Pro Late Model Grand Nationals championship worth $30,000 from the $250,000 point fund.

Besides Connor winning a heat race, others wereGreer,S.C.’s Cooper, Jensen Ford of Piney Flats,Tenn., and Pegher. David Smith ofInman,S.C., and Dan Angelicchio of New Stanton, Pa., won the B-mains.

Pegher stood atop the Grand Nationals point leaderboard entering the final night, and following his victory in the fourth heat race he stood primed-and-ready to capture the $30,000 for winning the Fastrak Racing Series Pro Late Model national championship.

Connor and Cooper brought the 24-car field to the green flag, and the duo raced side-by-side down the front straightaway into the first turn. But Connor assumed the point racing off turn two down the backstretch, followed by Cooper, Ford, Pegher and David Watts.

Rob Blair quickly moved up from his eighth-place starting position to passWattsfor the fifth spot racing off the fourth turn on lap 5. With the race running clean-and-green and Connor setting sail out front, he caught the tail of the field to begin lapping cars on the 15th circuit.

With Connor methodically picking off the slower cars, Cooper narrowed the distance between himself and Connor to four car lengths. Ford lost a couple of positions when both Pegher and Blair got around him, dropping Ford back into the fifth spot.

Just outside the top-five in the running order Watts, Blake Bentley, Daniel Baggerly, Brandon Umberger, Kenny Peeples Jr., Bobby Mays and Ryan Atkins were battling for position around the East Tennesseehigh-banked oval. The caution waved on lap 23 when Dan Angelicchio looped his car in turn two.

Connor chose the inside on the double-file restart which put Cooper on the outside of row one. Directly behind them were Pegher and Blair in the second row. Back up to speed Connor was still riding out front on the point followed by Cooper, Blair, Pegher andWatts, who had gotten past Ford for fifth. Ford lost the sixth spot to Baggerly racing off turn two on lap 27.

By lap 35, Connor had strolled out to a 10 car-length advantage over Cooper when he closed to cars running at rear of the field. Even though Connor was riding a strong mount, overtaking cars that were racing for position among themselves directly ahead of him proved difficult, with two- and even three-wide action through the corners.

Cooper momentarily closed the gap to within a couple of car lengths on Connor, but the leader finally got past Trent Ivey and Joel Prosser on lap 38 to put them between himself and Cooper. While Connor was in command out front, the last thing he wanted to see was a late race caution because that would allow Cooper to pull up to his rear bumper for the restart. But that’s what happened – on two occasions, with the yellow first appearing for a spin on lap 46 to set up a four-lap dash to the finish.

However, only two laps back green and the caution waved on lap 48 when Steven Hendren and Jake Eaton spun between turns three and four, this setting up a green-white-checkered finish.

But the 32-year-old Connor, driving the Lazar’s Trailers/C.W. Hayes Mechanical/Cushman Paint & Body/Envy Suspension/Connor Enterprises/Hendren Racing Engines/FK Rod Ends/Hoosier Racing Tire/Simpson/VP Racing Fuels/Barry Wright Race Cars/No. 77 Chevrolet Impala SS, would not be denied a trip to victory lane as he won over Cooper, Rob Blair, Pegher and a strong fifth-place run for Bentley.

Finishing sixth through tenth were Baggerly, Umberger, Ford, Peeples and Mays.

”It feels good to seal the deal and get the win tonight, because we definitely let that one (race) last night slip through our grasp” said Connor while standing around watching his car go through post-race technical inspection. “To be able run as well as we did on back-to-back nights and contend for the win, that’s just awesome, especially when you consider the overall caliber of competition assembled here for these ‘Grand Nationals’ events. There’s no doubt about it, you’ve got to get comfortable racing here at Volunteer Speedway with the banking this place has and the speeds you’re running. I’ve raced here now four or five times, and I’ve finally gotten to the point where I really like this track.

“We had a really good car for both nights, and I guess it showed with us having quick time in qualifying and winning our heat races each night. I believe some things we learned back in the spring when we ran the ‘Late Model Showdown at The Gap’ Fastrak Racing Series Southeast regional touring event and finished sixth really helped us this weekend. But still yet, after having a good strong run tonight and winning – it’s kind of tough knowing that if we just hadn’t let Lee (Cooper) get by us on that restart last night we could’ve won both races. Hey, with Lee and I both winning in Barry Wright Race Cars, that’s a cool deal for Barry and Lance and the guys who build these awesome cars. Plus, Lee and I each have Kirk Loudy at Envy Suspension helping us out on our shocks. So when you look at what he and I both did this weekend, I believe what we accomplished speaks for itself.”

Jamie Whitt rode out front for the first 14 circuits of the “Gunslingers ofKingsport” Hobby Stock feature before Duke Bare ofMeadowview,Va., passed him for the lead between turns one and two. Once out front, Bare, driving the Real Tree Specialist of Abingdon,Va./Dowell Paint & Body Inc. ofMarion,Va./Carter’s Pharmacy of Saltville, Va./420 Emporium/Benny’s Pipe & Muffler/Friends of Coal/Smitty Smith/TNT Graphics/No. 62 Chevrolet Camaro, never looked back en route to victory over Whitt, Mike Keith, Dale Reed and Jesse Wilder. Whitt had the highest average finishing position for both nights of racing to capture the coveted Hobby Stock Grand Nationals Cup title.

A close three-car battle racing off the fourth turn to the checkered flag saw Bart Baxter of Dandridge win the Classic feature over Phillip Sands, Joe Keck, Phillip Shockley and Matt Shockley. Baxter had the highest average finishing position over the two nights to claim the Classic Grand Nationals Cup title.

FASTRAK RACING SERIES PRO LATE MODEL $250,000 “GRAND NATIONALS” – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22 – VOLUNTEERSPEEDWAY– BULLS GAP, TN

Showing Finish Position, Starting Position In Parentheses, Driver Name, Car #, Hometown

1. (1) Brian Connor #77-Martinez, GA
2. (2) Lee Cooper #57-Greer, SC
3. (8) Rob Blair #WON11-Centerville,PA
4. (4) Mike Pegher Jr. #1c-Cranberry Township,PA
5. (5) Blake Bentley #27-Duncan, SC
6. (7) Daniel Baggerly #16-Rural Retreat, VA
7. (9) Brandon Umberger #54b-Rural Retreat, VA
8. (3) Jensen Ford #83-Piney Flats, TN
9. (11) Kenny Peeples Jr. #k22-Rural Retreat, VA
10. (10) Bobby Mays #19m-Jonesborough,TN
11. (12) Ryan Atkins #9-Mount Airy, NC
12. (16) Ryan Montgomery #12-Fairmont, WV
13. (14) Max Blair #111-Centerville, PA
14. (21) Steve Hendren #29-Rutherfordton, NC
15. (20) Tim Byrd #24-Jonesborough, TN
16. (18) Dan Angelicchio #14-NewStanton,PA
17. (17) David Smith #11-Inman, SC
18. (15) Dale Ball #2-Johnson City, TN
19. (13) Matt Long #25-Concord, NC
20. (6) David Watts #04-Buchanan, VA
21. (19) Bobby Whitling #7w-Franklin,PA
22. (22) Trent Ivey #88-Union, SC
23. (24) Joel Prosser #77-NewMartinsville,WV
24. (23) Jake Eaton #29e-Bland, VA

HEAT #1 (Top 4 Finishers Transfer – 10 Laps): 1) Brian Connor, 2) Blake Bentley, 3) Brandon Umberger, 4) Matt Long, 5) David Smith, 6) Jake Eaton, 7) Chris Steele, 8) Shawn Jett, 9) Josh Holtgraver – Did Not Start: Mike Smith

HEAT #2 (Top 4 Finishers Transfer – 10 Laps): 1) Lee Cooper, 2) David Watts, 3) Bobby Mays, 4) Max Blair, 5) Tim Byrd, 6) Trent Ivey, 7) Teddy Tate, 8) Joel Prosser, 9) Bobby Rohrer

HEAT #3 (Top 4 Finishers Transfer – 10 Laps): 1) Jensen Ford, 2) Daniel Baggerly, 3) Kenny Peeples Jr., 4) Dale Ball, 5) Bobby Whitling, 6) Steve Hendren, 7) Bill Cunningham, 8) Ashley Brewster, 9) David Fieber

HEAT #4 (Top 4 Finishers Transfer – 10 Laps): 1) Mike Pegher Jr., 2) Rob Blair, 3) Ryan Atkins, 4) Ryan Montgomery, 5) Dan Angelicchio, 6) Jerry Broyles, 7) Travis Blackwell, 8)Joel Bennett, 9)JordanDill

B-MAIN #1 (Top 4 Finishers Transfer – 10 Laps): 1) David Smith, 2) Bobby Whitling, 3) Steve Hendren, 4) Jake Eaton, 5) Chris Steele, 6) Shawn Jett, 7) Bill Cunningham, 8) David Fieber, 9) Josh Holtgraver, 10) Ashley Brewster – Did Not Start: Mike Smith

B-MAIN #2 (Top 4 Finishers Transfer – 10 Laps): 1) Dan Angelicchio, 2) Tim Byrd, 3) Trent Ivey, 4)Joel Prosser, 5)JordanDill, 6) Travis Blackwell, 7) Joel Bennett, 8) Bobby Rohrer, 9) Jerry Broyles, 10) Teddy Tate

“GUNSLINGERS OFKINGSPORT” HOBBY STOCK (20 laps)

1) Duke Bare #63; 2) Jamie Whitt #1; 3) Mike Keith #80; 4) Dale Reed #52; 5) Jesse Wilder # 79; 6) Brian Mock #18; 7) Blake Kelley #K5; 8) Scotty Johnson #87; 9) Mike Kilian #94 – Did Not Start: Chuck Kilian #96, Shannon Davidson #4

CLASSIC (20 laps)

1) Bart Baxter #7; 2) Phillip Sands #5; 3) Joe Keck #7k; 4) Phillip Shockley #34; 5) Matt Shockley #6; 6) Jim Yeary #8; 7) Logan Dukes #20

Fastrak Racing Series Office: (678) 935-7304 www.FastrakRacing.com
Stan Lester – Fastrak Racing Series CEO/President: (706) 244-2732

Volunteer Speedway (Recording Only): (423) 235-5020 www.VolunteerSpeedway.com
Track Office – (Weekdays Only 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.): (423) 378-5942
Phyllis Loven (Track Owner): (423) 676-9081
Robert Walden – Media/Public Relations: (423) 928-9644

_______________________________________________________

Cooper streaks to Volunteer Speedway Fastrak Racing Series ‘Grand Nationals’ victory

By Robert Walden
VolunteerSpeedway Media/Public Relations

BULLS GAP,Tenn.(Oct. 21) — Lee Cooper of Greer, S.C., has three Fastrak Racing Series Pro Late Model regional touring championships to his credit, but his sights this weekend in East Tennessee are set much higher – winning the $250,000 Grand Nationals at Volunteer Speedway and pocketing the $30,000 champion’s payout.

With 40 Fastrak Racing Pro Late Models representing nine states in attendance at “The Gap” for Shell Racing Solutions Top Gun Time Trials, Brian Connor ofMartinez,Ga., was quickest with a lap at 13.780 seconds.

Winning the four respective heat races were Connor, Johnson City, Tenn.’s Dale Ball, Daniel Baggerly of Rural Retreat, Va., and Cooper. Steve Hendren of Rutherfordton, N.C., and fellow Tar Heel state racer Ryan Atkins of MountAirywon the B-mains.

Connor and Ball led the stellar 24-car field to the green flag, with Connor grabbing the lead over Ball on the opening lap racing off turn two, with Cooper, Baggerly and Vic Chandler in tow. Cooper got around Ball to move into second racing off the fourth turn on lap 3, and just two circuits later the event’s first caution waved when Wisconsin chauffeur David Fieber’s engine went up in smoke entering the first turn.

Connor chose the inside and Cooper the outside of row one for the double-file restart, and back up to speed Connor powered back into the lead over Cooper and Ball. At the end of the backstretch racing into turn three on lap 7, Mike Smith got to the inside of Chandler to take over the fifth spot, and with the door open Jensen Ford waltzed right in and moved to sixth, dropping Chandler back into seventh place. The caution waved on lap 12, when Matt Long slowed at end of the front straightaway with a flat left-rear tire.

On the ensuing restart, several cars including Chandler, David Watts, Mike Smith, Dan Angelicchio, Ryan Montgomery, Brandon Umberger, Jerry Broyles, Ryan Atkins, Bobby Whitling, Blake Bentley and Josh Holtgraver got together in turn two and wrecked to immediately see the yellow wave once more. All continued with damaged sheet-metal except for Chandler, Smith and Broyles, who saw their race end parked in the pits.

Back under green Connor still was showing the way out front over Cooper, Ball, Baggerly and the hard-charging Mike Pegher Jr. Hendren used the high-line to get around Kenny Peeples Jr. between turns three and four on lap 18 to move into sixth in the running order. A strong fourth-place run for Baggerly ended in disappointment when his car experienced driveline issues and slowed to a stop on the backstretch on lap 26 to bring out the caution.

With the green flag waving Connor and Cooper raced off into the first turn, but carrying the momentum off the high-side exiting turn two onto the backstretch, Cooper powered into the lead on lap 26 over Connor. The caution appeared on lap 30, when Umberger and Montgomery tangled in the fourth turn.

Poised for yet another double-file restart, Cooper and Connor brought the field up to speed from the front row. Just behind Cooper and Connor in the running order, Pegher passed Ball between turns three and four on lap 39 to move into the third spot, while a spirited battle for position involving Rob Blair and Hendren was taking place behind 2011 Volunteer Speedway Pro Late Model champion Ball.

While Pegher closed to the rear bumper to challenge Connor for the runner-up spot, out front the race belonged to Cooper, driving the Excel Racing Solutions/McCarter Towing/Gault’s Used Cars/Southeastern Converters/Envy Suspension/Big A’s Custom Graphics/LeCo Motorsports/Kelcar Motorsports Media/Barry Wright Race Cars/No. 57 Chevrolet Camaro SS, as he recorded the victory over Connor, Pegher, Ball and Rob Blair.

Finishing sixth through tenth were Hendren, Watts, David Smith (started 24th and finished eighth), Peeples and Max Blair.

”Well that’s one down and we’ve got another race tomorrow night and hopefully we can get us another win,” said Cooper following the event as the top finishers were going through post-race technical inspection. “There’s a lot of very good race cars here for these final two rounds of the ‘Grand Nationals’ and a lot of money is at stake, and you’ve just got to get up on the wheel and take care of business. I’ve been fortunate to win a Fastrak touring event here in the past, and I really like racing at Volunteer Speedway, but for some reason the last three or four times we’ve just not ran all that great when we’ve been here.

“But we had a really good car tonight, and I could basically drive it anywhere on the track I needed – either down low, in the middle or up top around the cushion. Kirk (Loudy) at Envy Suspension has helped us out with our shocks, and I believe they really played a key part in the handling of the car tonight. This win puts us inside the top 10 in points entering tomorrow night’s final round, and anything can happen. As a racer all you can do is just take care of business behind the wheel and then let the cards fall where they land, and with a little luck hopefully we can get another win and take the $30,000 and big trophy back home toSouth Carolinaonce the points are tallied up.”

Shannon Davidson of Mooresburg passed Mike Keith for the lead on lap 5 of the “Gunslingers ofKingsport” Hobby Stock feature and never looked back en route to recording his second victory this season. Davidson was chased to the checkers by Jamie Whitt, Keith, Jon Cook and Jesse Wilder.

With the Classic cars making their first-ever appearance on the high banks at Volunteer Speedway, Phillip Sands of Knoxville captured the win over Bart Baxter, Phillip Shockley, Joe Keck and Bobby Pressley.

FASTRAK RACING SERIES PRO LATE MODEL $250,000 “GRAND NATIONALS” – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21 – VOLUNTEERSPEEDWAY– BULLS GAP, TN

Showing Finish Position, Starting Position In Parentheses, Driver Name, Car #, Hometown

1. (4) Lee Cooper #57-Greer, SC

2. (1) Brian Connor #77-Martinez, GA

3. (15) Mike Pegher Jr. #1c-Cranberry Township,PA

4. (2) Dale Ball #2-Johnson City, TN

5. (16) Rob Blair #WON11-Centerville,PA

6. (17) Steve Hendren #29-Rutherfordton, NC

7. (9) David Watts #04-Buchanan, VA

8. (24) David Smith #11-Inman, SC

9. (8) Kenny Peeples Jr. #k22-Rural Retreat, VA

10. (22) Max Blair #111-Centerville, PA

11. (11) Dan Angelicchio #14-NewStanton,PA

12. (10) Matt Long #25-Concord, NC

13. (19) Bobby Whitling #7w-Franklin,PA

14. (13) Brandon Umberger #54b-Rural Retreat, VA

15. (18) Ryan Atkins #9-Mount Airy, NC

16. (20) Blake Bentley #27-Duncan, SC

17. (23) Josh Holtgraver #00-Pittsburgh, PA

18. (12) Ryan Montgomery #12-Fairmont, WV

19. (5) Jensen Ford #83-Piney Flats, TN

20. (3) Daniel Baggerly #16-Rural Retreat, VA

21. (7) Mike Smith #4-Rogersville, TN

22. (6) Vic Chandler #88-Weaverville, NC

23. (14) Jerry Broyles #72-Jonesborough, TN

24. (21) David Fieber #1-Neenah, WI

HEAT #1 (Top 4 Finishers Transfer – 10 Laps): 1) Brian Connor, 2) Jensen Ford, 3) David Watts, 4) Brandon Umberger, 5) Steve Hendren, 6) David Fieber, 7) Josh Holtgraver, 8)Bobby Rohrer, 9)JordanDill, 10) Shawn Jett

HEAT #2 (Top 4 Finishers Transfer – 10 Laps): 1) Dale Ball, 2) Vic Chandler, 3) Matt Long, 4) Jerry Broyles, 5) Ryan Atkins, 6) David Smith, 7) Max Blair, 8) Joel Bennett, 9) Trent Ivey, 10) Jake Eaton

HEAT #3 (Top 4 Finishers Transfer – 10 Laps): 1) Daniel Baggerly, 2) Mike Smith, 3) Dan Angelicchio, 4) Mike Pegher Jr., 5) Bobby Whitling, 6) Chris Steele, 7) Bobby Mays, 8) Travis Blackwell, 9)TroyShields, 10) Bill Cunningham

HEAT #4 (Top 4 Finishers Transfer – 10 Laps): 1) Lee Cooper, 2) Kenny Peeples Jr., 3) Ryan Montgomery, 4) Rob Blair, 5) Blake Bentley, 6) Joel Prosser, 7) Teddy Tate, 8) Ashley Brewster, 9) Tim Byrd – Did Not Start: Steve Dixson

B-MAIN #1 (Top 4 Finishers Transfer – 10 Laps): 1) Steve Hendren, 2) Bobby Whitling, 3) David Fieber, 4) Josh Holtgraver, 5)Bobby Rohrer, 6)JordanDill, 7) Shawn Jett, 8) Travis Blackwell – Did Not Start: Chris Steele, Bobby Mays, Jordan Dill, Bill Cunningham

B-MAIN #2 (Top 4 Finishers Transfer – 10 Laps): 1) Ryan Atkins, 2) Blake Bentley, 3) Max Blair, 4) David Smith, 5) Joel Prosser, 6) Tim Byrd, 7) Jake Eaton, 8) Joel Bennett, 9) Teddy Tate, 10) Ashley Brewster, 11) Trent Ivey – Did Not Start: Steve Dixon

“GUNSLINGERS OFKINGSPORT” HOBBY STOCK (20 laps)

1) Shannon Davidson #4; 2) Jamie Whitt #1; 3) Mike Keith #80; 4) Jon Cook #0z; 5) Jesse Wilder #79; 6) Chris Chandler #15; 7) Duke Bare #62; 8) Jesse Helton #28; 9) Danny Helton #88

CLASSIC (20 laps)

1) Phillip Sands #5; 2) Bart Baxter #7; 3) Phillip Shockley #34; 4) Joe Keck #7k; 5) Bobby Pressley #07 – Did Not Start: Jim Yeary #8; Marvin Ray #98; Logan Dukes #20; Matt Shockley #6

Fastrak Racing Series Office: (678) 935-7304 www.FastrakRacing.com
Stan Lester – Fastrak Racing Series CEO/President: (706) 244-2732

Volunteer Speedway (Recording Only): (423) 235-5020 www.VolunteerSpeedway.com
Track Office – (Weekdays Only 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.): (423) 378-5942
Phyllis Loven (Track Owner): (423) 676-9081
Robert Walden – Media/Public Relations: (423) 928-9644