by Mark Huey
GAFFNEY, SC (May 11) - Gaffney, SC is world-famous for the peach farms that cover Cherokee County, SC like a patchwork quilt. Interstate 85 at exit 90 is known as the "Peach Exit" with the landmark water tower in the style of a peach. Two drivers from the "Peach State" would cross the state line on I-85 as the top two finishers at the Cherokee Speedway on Saturday night, May 11, 2013. Jonathan Davenport, of Blairsville, Georgia and Chip Brindle of Chatsworth, Georgia finished first and second.
It took over eight years for the Carolina Clash series to find its way back to "the place your momma warned you about" and the fans were eager as ever to see many of their favorite super late model drivers from the Carolinas and Georgia tackle the "super short track of the upstate." The teams that made their way to Cherokee Speedway did not disappoint the large crowd on hand to watch another great super late model race at the track that made super late model racing famous throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Twenty-three cars signed in for race #7 all time and series event #250 at the Gaffney, SC short track. When the Carolina Clash last visited Cherokee, the track was its former ½ mile layout and many of the drivers in the field had raced there and won often on the current surface.
Tim Allen of Kannapolis, NC set the Roush Yates Performance Products "Fast Time" of the race at a pace of 15.116 seconds, just three-tenths off of the track record held by Casey Roberts at 14.813. Zack Mitchell of Enoree, SC was second fast, as both drivers were reeling from disappointments at Carolina the week before. Jonathan Davenport apparently missed something with the setup during qualifying and posted a 12th place starting run. Dennis Franklin was third on the lineup and Chris Ferguson was fourth.
On the opening lap, Tim Allen set the pace with the opening lap lead, with Mitchell and Fergy battling for second. Dustin Mitchell started sixth beside Ricky Weeks and the pair battled for fifth, when Mitchell spun exiting turn one on lap two. On the restart, Allen set back out for the lead and held it until the Stout 21 of Chris Ferguson made a power move around Allen and set sail for the next several laps.
The race was seldom slowed to caution, setting up for only a few double-file restarts. Chris Madden had problems from the onset after qualifying 15th. He stopped on the backstretch for the second caution of the race. It was all Ferguson for most of the next 20 laps as the race passed halfway. With rain sprinkles over most of the event, the field was able to power around a well-prepared Cherokee Speedway and blackend over the groove as the event entered the second half. Casey Roberts, who started 10th and Luke Roffers started 11th both had problems mid-way in the race and pitted. A stellar battle began to set up between Chip Brindle, who started 8th, and Davenport as they worked their way into the top five. Brent Dixon and Ricky Weeks also were giving the Cherokee faithful their money's worth as they also battled with Dennis Franklin and Tim Allen for the top five.
As the field crossed lap 31, tire issues began to surface as the Tim Allen car had a flat, followed by Dennis Franklin, who had already had rear-end troubles during the hot laps. After cautions for Allen and Franklin on successive restarts, the race crossed lap 35 with Ferguson holding a large advantage over Davenport, Weeks and Dixon, who had survived the tire problems.
Then, an unexpected turn occurred when the #21 Warrior machine of Ferguson slowed and displayed a flat tire as well. With rain sprinkles continuing to fall, Ferguson had to make a decision. The rains were not enough to keep the race from restarting and Ferguson had to pit with five to go. That gave the lead over to Davenport, who had raced his way into second from 12th. In the final five laps, Chip Brindle made it around Weeks and finished second, behind Davenport who was the race winner and the Safety-Kleen Hard Charger of the Race.
"I don't know what went wrong on the setup tonight in qualifying, but I knew that we had the right one for the feature. Everything went exactly as it was supposed to and I owe a lot of thanks to the guys that help and the great sponsors I have," Davenport commented in victory lane, with a huge smile on the face of the Blairsville, Georgia driver, who has experienced six feature wins in 2013 with AES Racing.
The Carolina Clash wants to thank Mr. Ronnie Buff and Mr. Lennie Buff of Cherokee Speedway for providing an outstanding track to compete on this weekend and look forward to the return on Wednesday, July 3 for the second race of the season.
"We were determined to get this race in tonight and it was a miracle that we did. The rain was all over us tonight and it did everything in its power tonight to keep us off the track, but the fans held out and got a good show," promoter Lennie Buff commented after the race.
Cherokee Speedway will host three more events in 2013, including a Labor Weekend race in the Roush Yates Countdown to the Cup Championship.
The race at Gordon Park Speedway that was rained out on April 27 will not be made up. The series received word from track promoter Brian Stewart Saturday afternoon and the race planned for July 27th will go as scheduled. The next race for the Carolina Clash Super Late Model Series will be June 8th at Fayetteville Motor Speedway, a part of the three-race week that will criss-cross North and South Carolina in seven days. After Fayetteville, the series will turn to Laurens County Speedway for the first race at the midlands short circle arena since 2007. It will be the annual running of the very popular Laurens County Shrine Benefit Race on Tuesday, June 11, 2013, which has witnessed many winners in the history of the race. Then, the series moves to I-77 Speedway in Richburg, SC for the second trip to the Chester County, SC ring of speed.
Thus, a busy end of spring is ahead for the Carolina Clash series before the series vaults into the warm summer months of racing.
Ricky Weeks emerges from Cherokee and his third place finish as the new series point leader, which has changed hands three times in three races. Weeks now leads the point standings after a third top five finish in a row, which has the Rutherfordton, NC "Rocket" with a renewed sense of optimism for what will be a very important stretch in the next month.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
1. Jonathan Davenport Blairsville, GA
2. Chip Brindle Chatsworth, GA
3. Ricky Weeks Rutherfordton, NC
4. Brent Dixon Elberton, GA
5. Dustin Mitchell Princeton, NC
6. Scott Autry Autryville, NC
7. Dennis Franklin Gaffney, SC
8. Doug Sanders Springwood, NC
9. Tim Allen Kannapolis, NC
10. Chris Ferguson Mt. Holly, NC
11. John Pursley Clover, SC
12. Mike Gault Gaffney, SC
13. Zack Mitchell Enoree, SC
14. Johnny Pursley Clover, SC
15. Damon Kotke (R) Louisburg, NC
16. Michael Marlowe Nichols, SC
17. Frank Coates Hodges, SC
18. Casey Roberts Toccoa, GA
19. Luke Roffers Concord, NC
20. Brian Ledbetter Dallas, NC
21. Chris Madden Gray Court, SC
22. Kyle Pierce Statesville, NC
Roush Yates Performance Products Gift Certificate Winners:
Tim Allen - Fast Time
John Pursley - 11th place finisher
Kyle Pierce - 22nd place finisher
GAFFNEY, SC (May 11) - Gaffney, SC is world-famous for the peach farms that cover Cherokee County, SC like a patchwork quilt. Interstate 85 at exit 90 is known as the "Peach Exit" with the landmark water tower in the style of a peach. Two drivers from the "Peach State" would cross the state line on I-85 as the top two finishers at the Cherokee Speedway on Saturday night, May 11, 2013. Jonathan Davenport, of Blairsville, Georgia and Chip Brindle of Chatsworth, Georgia finished first and second.
It took over eight years for the Carolina Clash series to find its way back to "the place your momma warned you about" and the fans were eager as ever to see many of their favorite super late model drivers from the Carolinas and Georgia tackle the "super short track of the upstate." The teams that made their way to Cherokee Speedway did not disappoint the large crowd on hand to watch another great super late model race at the track that made super late model racing famous throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Twenty-three cars signed in for race #7 all time and series event #250 at the Gaffney, SC short track. When the Carolina Clash last visited Cherokee, the track was its former ½ mile layout and many of the drivers in the field had raced there and won often on the current surface.
Tim Allen of Kannapolis, NC set the Roush Yates Performance Products "Fast Time" of the race at a pace of 15.116 seconds, just three-tenths off of the track record held by Casey Roberts at 14.813. Zack Mitchell of Enoree, SC was second fast, as both drivers were reeling from disappointments at Carolina the week before. Jonathan Davenport apparently missed something with the setup during qualifying and posted a 12th place starting run. Dennis Franklin was third on the lineup and Chris Ferguson was fourth.
On the opening lap, Tim Allen set the pace with the opening lap lead, with Mitchell and Fergy battling for second. Dustin Mitchell started sixth beside Ricky Weeks and the pair battled for fifth, when Mitchell spun exiting turn one on lap two. On the restart, Allen set back out for the lead and held it until the Stout 21 of Chris Ferguson made a power move around Allen and set sail for the next several laps.
The race was seldom slowed to caution, setting up for only a few double-file restarts. Chris Madden had problems from the onset after qualifying 15th. He stopped on the backstretch for the second caution of the race. It was all Ferguson for most of the next 20 laps as the race passed halfway. With rain sprinkles over most of the event, the field was able to power around a well-prepared Cherokee Speedway and blackend over the groove as the event entered the second half. Casey Roberts, who started 10th and Luke Roffers started 11th both had problems mid-way in the race and pitted. A stellar battle began to set up between Chip Brindle, who started 8th, and Davenport as they worked their way into the top five. Brent Dixon and Ricky Weeks also were giving the Cherokee faithful their money's worth as they also battled with Dennis Franklin and Tim Allen for the top five.
As the field crossed lap 31, tire issues began to surface as the Tim Allen car had a flat, followed by Dennis Franklin, who had already had rear-end troubles during the hot laps. After cautions for Allen and Franklin on successive restarts, the race crossed lap 35 with Ferguson holding a large advantage over Davenport, Weeks and Dixon, who had survived the tire problems.
Then, an unexpected turn occurred when the #21 Warrior machine of Ferguson slowed and displayed a flat tire as well. With rain sprinkles continuing to fall, Ferguson had to make a decision. The rains were not enough to keep the race from restarting and Ferguson had to pit with five to go. That gave the lead over to Davenport, who had raced his way into second from 12th. In the final five laps, Chip Brindle made it around Weeks and finished second, behind Davenport who was the race winner and the Safety-Kleen Hard Charger of the Race.
"I don't know what went wrong on the setup tonight in qualifying, but I knew that we had the right one for the feature. Everything went exactly as it was supposed to and I owe a lot of thanks to the guys that help and the great sponsors I have," Davenport commented in victory lane, with a huge smile on the face of the Blairsville, Georgia driver, who has experienced six feature wins in 2013 with AES Racing.
The Carolina Clash wants to thank Mr. Ronnie Buff and Mr. Lennie Buff of Cherokee Speedway for providing an outstanding track to compete on this weekend and look forward to the return on Wednesday, July 3 for the second race of the season.
"We were determined to get this race in tonight and it was a miracle that we did. The rain was all over us tonight and it did everything in its power tonight to keep us off the track, but the fans held out and got a good show," promoter Lennie Buff commented after the race.
Cherokee Speedway will host three more events in 2013, including a Labor Weekend race in the Roush Yates Countdown to the Cup Championship.
The race at Gordon Park Speedway that was rained out on April 27 will not be made up. The series received word from track promoter Brian Stewart Saturday afternoon and the race planned for July 27th will go as scheduled. The next race for the Carolina Clash Super Late Model Series will be June 8th at Fayetteville Motor Speedway, a part of the three-race week that will criss-cross North and South Carolina in seven days. After Fayetteville, the series will turn to Laurens County Speedway for the first race at the midlands short circle arena since 2007. It will be the annual running of the very popular Laurens County Shrine Benefit Race on Tuesday, June 11, 2013, which has witnessed many winners in the history of the race. Then, the series moves to I-77 Speedway in Richburg, SC for the second trip to the Chester County, SC ring of speed.
Thus, a busy end of spring is ahead for the Carolina Clash series before the series vaults into the warm summer months of racing.
Ricky Weeks emerges from Cherokee and his third place finish as the new series point leader, which has changed hands three times in three races. Weeks now leads the point standings after a third top five finish in a row, which has the Rutherfordton, NC "Rocket" with a renewed sense of optimism for what will be a very important stretch in the next month.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
1. Jonathan Davenport Blairsville, GA
2. Chip Brindle Chatsworth, GA
3. Ricky Weeks Rutherfordton, NC
4. Brent Dixon Elberton, GA
5. Dustin Mitchell Princeton, NC
6. Scott Autry Autryville, NC
7. Dennis Franklin Gaffney, SC
8. Doug Sanders Springwood, NC
9. Tim Allen Kannapolis, NC
10. Chris Ferguson Mt. Holly, NC
11. John Pursley Clover, SC
12. Mike Gault Gaffney, SC
13. Zack Mitchell Enoree, SC
14. Johnny Pursley Clover, SC
15. Damon Kotke (R) Louisburg, NC
16. Michael Marlowe Nichols, SC
17. Frank Coates Hodges, SC
18. Casey Roberts Toccoa, GA
19. Luke Roffers Concord, NC
20. Brian Ledbetter Dallas, NC
21. Chris Madden Gray Court, SC
22. Kyle Pierce Statesville, NC
Roush Yates Performance Products Gift Certificate Winners:
Tim Allen - Fast Time
John Pursley - 11th place finisher
Kyle Pierce - 22nd place finisher
