OCALA, FL – Max Blair of Centerville, PA had to outrun the competition and a leaking right-rear tire to win the 50-lap main event on Thursday night for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series in the Rock Auto.com Winternationals at Bubba Raceway Park. Blair drove the R&J Poultry Rocket to the $2,500 win and the NeSmith Late Model point lead.

“During a caution period on lap 20, my dad gave me a signal that my right-rear tire was going down,” Blair said. “I worked the car back and forth, and it felt fine, so I just kept going. I was really sweating it out in the last laps of the race because I could really feel it going away, but it stayed up until right after I took the checkered flag.”

Blair started out the evening by taking fast time honors with a lap around Bubba Raceway Park in 15.947 seconds to earn the pole position for the main event. Blair took the lead at the start of the race, but he had plenty of company throughout the race.

The first nine laps were led by Blair, and then he decided to go to the outside to negotiate around the cars on the tail of the lead lap. That opened up the inside groove for Walker Arthur of Forest, VA, who got under Blair for the lead on lap ten. Blair then had to battle for the second spot with David Earl Gentry of Murfreesboro, TN and defending and two-time NeSmith Late Model Champion Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN.

On lap 40, Arthur caught some heavy lapped traffic, but stayed on bottom groove of the track, Blair once again chose the high side to get around the traffic, and made it work to take the lead. Even with a slowly deflating right-rear tire, Blair pulled away to take a 2.546 second margin of victory under the checkered flag.

“Track owner Bubba Clem and his crew did a great job getting the track in a racy condition tonight,” Blair said. “We got started a little late tonight, and a lot of people weren’t sure we’d get tonight’s race in, but they got done what they needed to do and it was worth the wait. The fans got to see some great racing tonight.”

Two-time NeSmith Late Model National Champion Gentry finished second in the Hardy & Associates on a night that he wasn’t planning on racing. Just before qualifying started, Gentry entered the event, came out last to qualify with a cold race car, and qualified seventh quick.

Gentry, who is the co-promoter at Duck River Raceway Park in Wheel, TN, had to give credit where credit was due after the race.

“I really didn’t think we were going to get the track in good enough shape to race on it tonight, but I have to take my hat off to Bubba Clem and his crew for the job they did tonight,” Gentry said. “Working with new clay that has been rained on as much as this new clay has is almost impossible to get it laid down right. They kept working it and working it until they got it where it needed to be.”

After leading 30 laps of the race, Arthur finished third in the Cecil B. Arthur Beef Farms Special and trails Blair in the NeSmith Late Model point standings by eight points. Johnson took the fourth spot in the NeSmith Chevrolet Special.

The youngest driver in the race, 12-year-old Tyler Clem of St. Petersburg, FL drove the Vahlco Wheels Rocket to a fifth-place finish from the 16th starting position to claim three different awards. Clem was the Beyea Headers Hard Charger of the Race, the Rookie of the Race, and the
Young Gun Challenge Series Driver of the Race.

Clem also sits third in the NeSmith Late Model point standings, 16 points out of first place. He also leads the NeSmith Late Model Rookie of the Year points, and the Young Gun Challenge Series point standings.

Chase Edge of LaFayette, AL finished sixth in the Edge’s Gas Company Special and Jake Knowles of Rome, GA took the seventh spot in the Coosa Heating and Air Rocket. Ryan King of Seymour, TN was eighth in the Brian King Roofing Stinger, and Mallory Harvey of Baxley, GA drove the Rentz Farms Rocket to a ninth-place finish.

Brian Connor of Augusta, GA rounded out the top ten in the Lazar’s Trailers Special. In preliminary action, the two 12-lap B-Main Races were won by Cody Martin of Christiana, TN in the Martin Motorsports Warrior and 13-year-old Michael Lake of Uniontown, PA in the Bobby Lake Motorsports Special.

Blair took the lead at the start of the race, but an eight-car tangle in turn four on the opening tour of the race necessitated a complete restart. All eight cars were able to continue, and once again, it was Blair leading lap one followed Arthur, Edge, Justin McRee of Woodstock, AL in the High Roller Race Cars Special, and Gentry.

The second of eight caution flags came out on lap two when Lake stalled on the backstretch. Blair opened up an eight car-length advantage over Walker by the time he caught the cars on the tail end of the lead lap on lap seven. Arthur closed the gap between himself and Blair quickly.

Blair went to high side of Adam Beeler of Knoxville, TN in the Mighty Muffler and Brake CVR, while Arthur stayed on the bottom of the track. Arthur shot underneath both Blair and Beeler to take the point coming off the fourth turn on lap ten. Marcus Minga of Shannon, MS stalled his B&M Salvage Rocket on the backstretch to light up the caution bulb for the third time on lap 12.

Behind the new leader Arthur were Blair, Edge, McRee, Gentry, Johnson, Knowles, Rick Singleton of Hesston, PA in the Rick Singleton Rentals Special, Joe Mike of Mayfield, KY in the Mike Farms Special, and King. Singleton spun out of the eighth spot on the restart to bring out the fourth caution flag.

McRee spun in turn four on lap 13 to bring the caution flag for the fifth time. The top ten for the next “Dixie Style” double-file restart had Arthur leading Blair, Gentry, Edge, Knowles, Johnson, Mike, Johnny Stokes of Columbus, MS in the Bassett Hound Motorsports Special, King, Harvey and Connor.

Knowles and Johnson powered underneath Edge on the restart to take over the fourth and fifth spots respectively. Arthur pulled out to a half straightaway lead over Blair by lap 15, and by lap 20 Arthur had stretched his lead out to a full straightaway. Arthur’s lead was erased on lap 21 when Mark Whitener of Middleburg, FL spun the Dave’s Towing Special in turn one to bring out the sixth caution flag.

When the field went back to green flag action, Johnson stepped to the outside and found the high side to his liking in turns one and two, but he stayed inside in turns three and four. Johnson got around the outside of Knowles to take over the fourth spot on lap 22. Connor spun in turn four on lap 26 bring out the yellow flag, but got his spot for the restart, as McRee was ticketed with the caution flag for causing Connor to spin.

The halfway point in the race saw Arthur leading Blair, Gentry, Johnson, Knowles, Edge, Mike, King, Clem, and Stokes. Arthur took off with the lead on the restart, as business picked up behind him for the second position.

Johnson went to the outside to drive by Gentry for the third spot on the restart, and on lap 27, Gentry and Johnson caught Blair to make it a three-way battle for second. Coming off the second turn it was three-wide with Gentry on the bottom, Blair in the middle, and Johnson on the outside.

That battle settled down in another lap with Blair hanging on to the second spot, Gentry settling back into third, and Johnson looking on the outside in the fourth spot. By lap 37, Arthur was in heavy lapped traffic, and Blair pounced to close in to challenge for the point.

On lap 40, Blair stepped to the outside in turn one, pulled up alongside Arthur in turn two, and took the lead coming off the second turn. Blair began to pull away, but his progress to the finish was slowed by the eighth and final caution flag on lap 43 when Connor spun down the front straightaway.

Blair led Arthur, Gentry, Johnson, Edge, Clem, Knowles, King, Whitener, and Harvey down for the green flag to begin the eight lap dash to the finish. Gentry made a bold inside move on Arthur to take over the second spot on the restart. Gentry now set his sights on Blair, but the leader pulled away to take his first career win with the NeSmith Late Models.

Night three of the Rock Auto.com Winternationals for the NeSmith Late Models will take place on Friday night at Bubba Raceway Park with a 50-lap $3,000-to-win main event.

For more information and rules about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series, visit the series 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 2 AT BUBBA RACEWAY PARK IN OCALA, FL ON 1/29/15:

POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 1 111 Max Blair Centerville, PA 50 $2,625
2. 7 56 David Earl Gentry Murfreesboro, TN 50 $1,250
3. 3 87 Walker Arthur Forest, VA 50 $975
4. 6 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 50 $825
5. 16 14 Tyler Clem (R/Y) St. Petersburg, FL 50 $775
6. 5 18 Chase Edge LaFayette, AL 50 $550
7. 9 66k Jake Knowles Rome, GA 50 $625
8. 15 30 Ryan King Seymour, TN 50 $575
9. 19 29 Mallory Harvey Baxley, GA 50 $400
10. 20 77 Brian Connor Augusta, GA 50 $375
11. 4 4 Joe Mike Mayfield, KY 49 $475
12. 21 16v Joe Janowski Carmel, IN 49 $300
13. 8 1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS 43 $405
14. 14 58 Mark Whitener Middleburg, FL 42 $385
15. 12 27 Michael Lake (Y) Uniontown, PA 36 $250
16. 2 25 Justin McRee Woodstock, AL 25 $365
17. 10 99 Rick Singleton Hesston, PA 16 $220
18. 24 66 Adam Beeler (R) Knoxville, TN 13 $200
19. 17 27L John Over Uniontown, PA 11 $200
20. 18 00 Bronson Berry Huntingdon, TN 11 $200
21. 22 18L Brent Lewis Harrisburg, IL 11 $200
22. 13 14c Cale Conley Vienna, WV 11 $200
23. 23 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS 10 $200
24. 11 21m Cody Martin (R) Christiana, TN 0 $200

ENTRIES: 36
FAST QUALIFIER: Blair, 15.947 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: Minga and Beeler
LEAD CHANGES: 2
LAP LEADERS: Blair, 1-9; Arthur, 10-39; Blair, 40-50
LAPS LED: Arthur, 30; Blair, 20
BEYEA HEADERS HARD CHARGER: Clem (started 16th and finished 5th)
ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Clem
YOUNG GUN OF THE RACE: Clem
CAUTIONS: 8
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 2.546 Seconds
TIME OF THE RACE: 45 Minutes and 50.294 Seconds

QUALIFYING (Top 10 Transfer To Main Event):

POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS LAP 1 LAP 2 TIME
1 111 Max Blair Centerville, PA Rocket 16.194 15.947 15.947
2 25 Justin McRee Woodstock, AL HRRC 15.949 16.129 15.949
3 87 Walker Arthur Forest, VA Mastersbilt 15.960 15.994 15.960
4 4 Joe Mike Mayfield, KY Killer 16.473 16.018 16.018
5 18 Chase Edge LaFayette, AL Mastersbilt 16.022 16.158 16.022
6 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN Mastersbilt 16.049 16.161 16.049
7 56 David Earl Gentry Murfreesboro, TN Mastersbilt 16.463 16.097 16.097
8 1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS HRRC 16.218 16.107 16.107
9 66k Jake Knowles Rome, GA Rocket 16.458 16.112 16.112
10 99 Rick Singleton Hesston, PA Mastersbilt 16.724 16.180 16.180
11 21m Cody Martin – R Christiana, TN Warrior 16.209 16.342 16.209
12 27 Michael Lake – Y Uniontown, PA Longhorn 16.228 16.669 16.228
13 29 Mallory Harvey Baxley, GA Rocket 17.049 16.236 16.236
14 00 Bronson Berry Huntingdon, TN Pierce 16.744 16.260 16.260
15 14c Cale Conley Vienna, WV Pierce 16.304 16.310 16.304
16 14 Tyler Clem – R/Y St. Petersburg, FL Rocket 16.745 16.364 16.364
17 RJ1 Jacob Hawkins Fairmont, WV Rocket 16.425 16.383 16.383
18 58 Mark Whitener Middleburg, FL Barry Wright 16.503 16.397 16.397
19 30 Ryan King Seymour, TN Stinger 16.633 16.408 16.408
20 17 Logan Roberson – Y Waynesboro, VA Mastersbilt 16.432 17.277 16.432
21 27L John Over Uniontown, PA Warrior 16.965 16.575 16.575
22 77 Brian Connor Augusta, GA Barry Wright 16.762 16.592 16.592
23 66 Adam Beeler – R Knoxville, TN CVR 16.808 16.598 16.598
24 18L Brent Lewis Harrisburg, IL Warrior 16.633 16.728 16.633
25 16v Joe Janowski Carmel, IN Pierce 16.699 16.751 16.699
26 42 Cla Knight – R North Augusta, SC Barry Wright 16.733 16.800 16.733
27 98 Eric Hickerson Linden, TN Mastersbilt 17.013 16.849 16.849
28 H2 Matt Henderson – R Loudon, TN Rocket 16.959 16.860 16.860
29 72 Frank Wilson Harold, FL Trak-Star 17.089 16.887 16.887
30 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS Rocket 17.060 17.037 17.037
31 32 Mark Tatalovic Guys Mills, PA Rocket 17.469 17.171 17.171
32 4L Greg Lemley Waynesburg, PA Rocket 17.175 18.247 17.175
33 10 Ryan Crane – R Panama City, FL Crane 17.477 17.318 17.318
34 1m Connor Meade – Y Clay City, KY Revolution 17.549 17.433 17.433
35 6 Jimmy Halford Atwood, TN Trak-Star 18.030 18.197 18.030
36 15 Jason Britton – R Alexander City, AL Pierce NT NT NT

B-MAINS (12 Laps – Top 6 Transfer To Main Event):

1ST B-MAIN: 1. Martin (R); 2. Conley; 3. King; 4. Over; 5. Harvey; 6. Janowski; 7. Beeler (R); 8. Tatalovic; 9. Hickerson; 10. Crane (R); 11. Hawkins; 12. Halford; 13. Wilson.
2ND B-MAIN: 1. Lake (Y); 2. Whitener; 3. Clem (R/Y); 4. Berry; 5. Connor; 6. Lewis; 7. Knight (R); 8. Roberson; 9. Lemley; 10. Minga; 11. Meade (Y); 12. Henderson (R) DNS; 13. Britton (R) DNS.

NeSMITH LATE MODEL POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 1/29/15:

1. 111 Max Blair – 194
2. 87 Walker Arthur – 186
3. 14 Tyler Clem (R/Y) – 178
4. 30 Ryan King – 174
5. 58 Mark Whitener – 172
6. 5 Ronnie Johnson – 168
7. 1 Johnny Stokes – 160
8. 4 Joe Mike – 156
9. 66k Jake Knowles – 146
10. 25 Justin McRee – 140
11. 21m Cody Martin (R) – 136
11. 14c Cale Conley – 136
11. 27 Michael Lake (Y) – 136
14. 00 Bronson Berry – 128
15. RJ1 Jacob Hawkins – 126
16. 99 Rick Singleton – 120
17. 18 Chase Edge – 118
18. 19 Marcus Minga – 116
18. 18L Brent Lewis – 116
20. 10 Ryan Crane (R) – 112

R – Rookie of the Year Candidate
Y – Young Gun Challenge Series Candidate

NeSmith Chevrolet, Buick, GMC of Claxton, GA is the Title Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models. 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 Late Models. Hoosier Racing Tire is the Official Tire Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models. RockAuto.com is an Official Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models. Racecar Engineering is the Official Parts Supplier of the NeSmith Late Models. Beyea Headers is the NeSmith Late Model Hard Charger Sponsor. Renegade Race and Performance Fuels are a series Associate Sponsor and fuel supplier. Schaeffer’s Oil Presented By Chad Wallace and Heather Newsome is the Official Oil of the NeSmith Late Models. AR Bodies is an Associate Sponsor of the NeSmith Late Models. NeSmith Late Model Contingency Sponsors for 2015 are Dominator Race Products, Stealth Racing Carburetors, Modern Images, Mike Custom Tanks, Schoenfeld Headers, Kinser Air Filters, Performance Rod & Custom, and David Smith Carburetors. 2015 Chassis Sponsors are Trak-Star Race Cars, Warrior Race Cars, Rocket Chassis, GRT Race Cars, TNT Race Cars, and CVR Race Cars.