WEST PLAINS, MO – Evan Ellis of Plantersville, MS drove the Ellis Welding Special to a wire-to-wire win in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series 50-lap main event at West Plains Motor Speedway. Ellis picked up his first career series win with a 1.971 margin of victory over Chandler Petty of Austin, AR in the Whistle Stop Barbeque Rocket.

Brent Barrett of Cleveland, MS took his best finish of the season with a third-place effort in the Custom Spraying, Inc. GRT that resulted from an inside move on the last turn of the last lap when he passed Jason Hughes of West Plains, MO, who finished fourth in the Gary’s Tire and Automotive Rocket. Barrett was also the Rookie of the Race.

National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee and NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series point leader Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN was fifth in the NeSmith Chevrolet Special, and got a little closer to the 2013 $20,000 Championship.

With three races left in the season, Johnson left West Plains Motor Speedway with a 98-point lead over Kyle Bronson of Brandon, FL. Bronson moved up to the second spot in the point standings after taking a provisional, starting 23rd in the Brandon Ford Warrior and finishing 12th to earn the Hedman Husler of the Race Award.

Roger Witt of Batesville, AR took the sixth spot in The Chrome Shop Trak-Star and Tait Davenport of Benton, KY moved up to the third spot in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series point standings with a seventh-place finish in the Murtco, Inc. Special. Gary Stolba of Willow Springs, MO was eighth in the Ranchall Innovations GRT.

Chris O’Connor of Cantonment, FL finished ninth in the Gas Monkey Garage Special and Troy English of Calvert City, KY rounded out the top ten in the West Kentucky Auto Sales Special.

The only caution flag of the race came out on lap 20 when two-time series champion Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS spun the B&M Salvage Rocket in turn one while running third. That earned Cooley the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award. Ellis completed the 50 tours of West Plains Motor Speedway in 20 minutes and 5.245 seconds.

Ellis made it a clean sweep of the race program, as he was the Fast Qualifier of the race. Ellis out-timed the 32-car field with a lap around the 3/8-mile clay oval in 15.806 seconds. The two 10-lap B-Main Races were won by English and Davenport.

The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series now travels to Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS for a 40-lap $2,000-to-win race on Sunday night, Round 19 of the 2013 season.

For more information about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series visit the series all-new web site at www.nesmithracing.com, or visit the series on Facebook at NeSmith Racing. Becoming a fan of the NeSmith Racing Facebook page will make you eligible for special prizes that will be given away each month. You can follow us on Twitter @NeSmithRacing.

OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 18 AT WEST PLAINS MOTOR SPEEDWAY IN WEST PLAINS, MO ON 8/31/13:

POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 1 73 Evan Ellis Plantersville, MS 50 $2,500
2. 2 47 Chandler Petty Austin, AR 50 $1,250
3. 4 110 Brent Barrett (R) Cleveland, MS 50 $850
4. 5 6h Jason Hughes West Plains, MO 50 $700
5. 8 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 50 $650
6. 6 18 Roger Witt Batesville, AR 50 $550
7. 12 18d Tait Davenport Benton, KY 50 $500
8. 7 33 Gary Stolba Willow Springs, MO 50 $450
9. 13 00 Chris O’Connor Cantonment, FL 50 $400
10. 11 6 Troy English Calvert City, KY 50 $375
11. 14 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS 50 $350
12. 23 40 Kyle Bronson (R) Brandon, FL 50 $400
13. 10 1s Joey Smith Pomona, MO 50 $280
14. 3 19c Eric Cooley Fulton, MS 50 $260
15. 17 77 Gavin Landers Batesville, AR 50 $250
16. 15 11 Hunter Duren Yellville, AR 50 $240
17. 20 55 Bobby Skinner Moody, AR 49 $220
18. 24 1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS 49 $200
19. 19 17 Nick Black Van Buren, MO 48 $200
20. 18 121 Michael Blount Sumrall, MS 48 $200
21. 16 181 Chad Williams Lake City, AR 47 $200
22. 21 93 Mason Oberkramer Brosley, MO 34 $200
23. 9 25 Justin McRee Cottondale, AL 30 $200
24. 22 66 Robby Moore Brosley, MO 24 $200

ENTRIES: 32
FAST QUALIFIER: Ellis, 15.806 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: Bronson and Stokes
LEAD CHANGES: None
LAPS LED: Ellis, 1-50
HEDMAN HUSLER OF THE RACE: Bronson (started 23rd and finished 12th)
ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Barrett
DOMINATOR RACE PRODUCTS HARD LUCK AWARD: Cooley
PRC JUST MISSED IT AWARD: Kevin Collins
STEALTH RACING CARBURETORS 7TH-PLACE AWARD: Davenport
VELOCITA RACEWEAR 8TH-PLACE AWARD: Stolba
MODERN IMAGES 9TH-PLACE AWARD: O’Connor
AR BODIES 10TH-PLACE AWARD: English
MIKE CUSTOM TANKS 11TH-PLACE AWARD: Minga
SHORTY’S SHOCK SERVICE 12TH-PLACE AWARD: Bronson
SCHOENFELD HEADERS 13TH-PLACE AWARD: Smith
J.T. KERR RACING EQUIPMENT 14TH-PLACE AWARD: Cooley
KINSER AIR FILTERS 15TH-PLACE AWARD: Landers
CAUTIONS: 1
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 1.971 Seconds
TIME OF THE RACE: 20 Minutes and 5.245 Seconds

QUALIFYING (Top 10 Transfer To Main Event):

POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS LAP 1 LAP 2 TIME
1 73 Evan Ellis Plantersville, MS Barry Wright 15.806 15.858 15.806
2 47 Chandler Petty Austin, AR Rocket 15.891 16.121 15.891
3 19c Eric Cooley Fulton, MS Rocket 15.966 16.059 15.966
4 110 Brent Barrett – R Cleveland, MS GRT 15.981 16.110 15.981
5 6h Jason Hughes West Plains, MO Rocket 15.996 16.032 15.996
6 18 Roger Witt Batesville, AR Trak-Star 15.997 16.040 15.997
7 33 Gary Stolba Willow Springs, MO GRT 16.101 16.076 16.076
8 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN Mastersbilt 16.096 16.281 16.096
9 25 Justin McRee Cottondale, AL HRRC 16.143 16.285 16.143
10 1s Joey Smith Pomona, MO Mastersbilt 16.172 16.288 16.172
11 6 Troy English Calvert City, KY Barry Wright 16.173 16.593 16.173
12 18d Tait Davenport Benton, KY Longhorn 16.222 16.203 16.203
13 11 Hunter Duren Yellville, AR GRT 16.203 16.252 16.203
14 19 Josh Adkins – R Talladega, AL Barry Wright 16.206 16.408 16.206
15 77 Gavin Landers Batesville, AR Rocket 16.288 16.365 16.288
16 19m Marcus Minga Shannon, MS Rocket 16.380 16.347 16.347
17 14jr Chris Jones Poplar Bluff, MO GRT 16.468 16.348 16.348
18 181 Chad Williams Lake City, AR Trak-Star 16.349 16.349 16.349
19 00c Chris O’Connor Cantonment, FL HRRC 16.349 16.546 16.349
20 55 Bobby Skinner Moody, MO Rocket 16.354 16.467 16.354
21 K7 Kevin Collins West Plains, MO GRT 16.355 16.498 16.355
22 121 Michael Blount Sumrall, MS GRT 16.375 16.473 16.375
23 17 Nick Black Van Buren, MO GRT 17.024 16.392 16.392
24 40b Kyle Bronson – R Brandon, FL Warrior 16.407 16.404 16.404
25 93 Mason Oberkramer Brosley, MO GRT NT 16.479 16.479
26 66 Robby Moore Brosley, MO Trak-Star 16.489 16.753 16.489
27 17k Cody Kierre Beebe, AR Larry Shaw 16.591 16.538 16.538
28 1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS GRT 16.708 16.962 16.708
29 15 John Aiken West Plains, MO Mastersbilt 16.817 17.327 16.817
30 3x Steve Tarry Paragould, AR GRT 17.228 16.853 16.853
31 33k Kaleb Stolba Willow Springs, MO GRT 17.755 17.194 17.194
32 14c Jerry Croney West Plains, MO GRT 17.609 17.567 17.567

B-MAINS (10 Laps – Top 6 Transfer To Main Event):

1ST B-MAIN: 1. English; 2. O’Connor; 3. Duren; 4. Landers; 5. Black; 6. Oberkramer; 7. Collins; 8. Kierre; 9. Aitken; 10. Jones; 11. K. Stolba.

2ND B-MAIN: 1. Davenport; 2. Minga; 3. Williams; 4. Blount; 5. Skinner; 6. Moore; 7. Bronson (R); 8. Stokes; 9. Tarry; 10. Croney; 11. Adkins (R).

NeSMITH CHEVROLET DIRT LATE MODEL SERIES POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 8/31/13:

1. 5 Ronnie Johnson – 1,476
2. 40 Kyle Bronson (R) – 1,378
3. 18d Tait Davenport – 1,322
4. 18 Ronny Lee Hollingsworth – 1,304
5. 1 Johnny Stokes – 1,202
6. 25 Justin McRee – 1,160
7. 19 Josh Adkins (R) – 1,088
8. 110 Brent Barrett (R) – 1,060
9. 121 Michael Blount – 822
10. 10 Matthew Turner – 776
11. 56 David Earl Gentry – 762
12. 47 Shannon Lee – 718
13. 51 Mack McCarter (R) – 624
14. 17ss Shan Smith – 610
15. 8a Todd Morrow – 562
16. 117 Jake Teague (R) – 534
17. 19 Marcus Minga – 532
18. 1s Jeremy Shaw – 496
19. 38 Scott Dedwylder – 448
20. 73 Evan Ellis – 442

R – Denotes Rookie of the Year

NeSmith Chevrolet, Buick, GMC of Claxton, GA is the Title Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. NeSmith Chevrolet, Buick, GMC is the nation’s number one GM Powertrain and Performance Dealer six years running, with free delivery anywhere in the Southeast. Chevrolet Performance Parts is an Official Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. Hoosier Racing Tire is the Official Tire Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. Hedman Hedders is the Official Hedder of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series and the Hedman Husler Award sponsor. Bilstein Shocks is the Official Spec Shock of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. Old Man’s Garage is the sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Old Man’s Garage Weekly Racing Series. RockAuto.com is an Official Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. Racecar Engineering is the Official Parts Supplier of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. Renegade Race and Performance Fuels are a series Associate Sponsor and fuel supplier. NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Contingency Sponsors for 2013 are Dominator Race Products, Stealth Racing Carburetors, Modern Images, Mike Custom Tanks, Shorty’s Shock Service, Schoenfeld Headers, J.T. Kerr Racing Equipment, Kinser Air Filters, AR Bodies, Velocita Racewear, and Performance Rod & Custom. 2013 Chassis Sponsors are Trak-Star Race Cars, Warrior Race Cars, Rocket Chassis, GRT Race Cars, TNT Race Cars, Stinger Race Cars, and CVR Race Cars.