CARTERSVILLE, GA – A few notes and statistics of interest have come after the three-race series last week at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, FL for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour, and series officials have announced a points system update for the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series.
A total of 53 drivers representing 12 different states and one province of Canada competed in the February 18, 19, and 20 races with 34 drivers qualifying for at least one race, and 14 drivers qualifying all three 50-lap events on the 1/3-mile clay oval.
Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA left Florida with a two-point lead over Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS. Turner earned a basketful of GM Performance Parts Hard Charger points at East Bay, as he passed a total of 46 cars in three main events. Turner’s Hard Charger leading point total, including the points he earned in the season opener in Columbus, MS, is now at 54.
Turner and Cooley were also two of the six drivers that completed all 150 laps of main event competition. The other four were Rookie of the Year point leader Charlie Henderson of Cottondale, AL, Randy Weaver of Crossville, TN, Jeff Matthews of Dover, FL, and Shane Hitt of Buchannon, WV. Henderson also had two Fast Time Awards to lead that series statistic.
Another impressive “club” Turner and Cooley were a part of were they were two of five drivers that had top ten finishes in all three races. Weaver, Matthews, and Hitt were the other three. Turner and Cooley are the only two NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS drivers on the National Tour that have completed all 190 laps of competition in the first four races.
Weaver had the most productive three nights of racing at EBRP with two wins and one second-place finish, and was the only driver to record top five finishes in all three nights of racing. Weaver grabbed a three-night total of $6,750 from the pay window, and leads the series in earnings. Weaver also led 57 laps of competition to also lead that series statistic.
After the first four events of the 2010 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour, Turner is on top of the standings for the $20,000 Championship with 342 points, followed by Cooley with 340 points. Justin McRee of Cuba, AL is third with 310 points, and his teammate Henderson is fourth with 306 points. Weaver is fifth with 296 points.
Bryan Bernhardt of Clearwater, FL is sixth in the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National standings with 282 points, and William Thomas of Phenix City, AL, who won the Columbus, MS season opener, is seventh with 272 points. Matthews and Rookie of the Year Candidate Shannon Lee of Lumberton, MS are tied for eighth with 268 points, and Marcus Minga of Shannon, MS rounds out the top ten with 264 points.
There were four drivers ticketed with technical violations during the three nights of racing at East Bay Raceway Park.
Devin Dixon of Apollo Beach, FL forfeited wins on Thursday and Saturday nights, and a fifth-place finish on Friday night after the Saturday night post-race technical inspection found the engine in his race car had a balanced crankshaft and aftermarket connecting rod bolts.
Because the violation was inside the seals of the engine, Dixon has been suspended from NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series competition for 365 days, and fined $1,000. His car owner, Jeff Matthews, cannot compete in any series competition unless the race cars he owns have engines with original GM factory seals.
Doug Horton of Bruceton Mills, WV forfeited a second-place finish on Thursday night when his race car was found to have unapproved mufflers during the post-race technical inspection. With the first and second-place cars failing technical inspection for the Thursday night race, the third-place car of Weaver was awarded the victory.
Teammates Steve Mathis of Plant City, FL and Phillip Cobb of Riverview, FL were disqualified from Saturday night’s program when NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Officials spotted tires being treated on a rotisserie in their pit area before hot laps. Mathis and Cobb both competed in the December 11-12, 2009 NeSmith Chevrolet World Championship Race at EBRP when 13 other competitors’ qualifying runs were disallowed due to treated tires.
Rookie of the Year candidate Larry Harrod of Plains, GA was treated and released early Sunday morning from Tampa General Hospital after he was involved in an accident on lap four of the Saturday night 50-lap main event. Harrod’s car flipped over on its roof one time, and landed on its wheels at the exit of the fourth turn after David Pollen Jr. spun in front of him.
The next two events for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour will be on April 9 with a 40-lap $2,000-to-win event at Greenville Speedway in Greenville, MS, and on April 10 with a 50-lap $2,500-to-win event at Jackson Motor Speedway in Jackson, MS.
The NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series has made an adjustment to its 2010 point system in that if a sanctioned track has less than eight cars during a weekly event, the points will pay 40 points to win, with one point less for each finishing position back to seventh spot that will pay 34 points. The NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series 2010 season for the East and West Regions will run from April 2 through October 3.
NeSmith Chevrolet of Claxton, GA is the Title Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. NeSmith Chevrolet is the nation’s number one GM Powertrain Dealer four years running, and is also the nation’s number one dealer of Chevrolet cars and trucks with free delivery anywhere in the Southeast. Hoosier Race Tire is the Official Tire Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Contingency Sponsors for 2010 are Dominator Race Products, Race Car Engineering, KRC, Joe Gibbs Driven, Maximum Signs and Graphics, Mike Custom Tanks, Warrior Race Cars, Trak-Star Race Cars, Mastersbilt Race Cars, GRT Race Cars, TNT Race Cars.
A total of 53 drivers representing 12 different states and one province of Canada competed in the February 18, 19, and 20 races with 34 drivers qualifying for at least one race, and 14 drivers qualifying all three 50-lap events on the 1/3-mile clay oval.
Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA left Florida with a two-point lead over Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS. Turner earned a basketful of GM Performance Parts Hard Charger points at East Bay, as he passed a total of 46 cars in three main events. Turner’s Hard Charger leading point total, including the points he earned in the season opener in Columbus, MS, is now at 54.
Turner and Cooley were also two of the six drivers that completed all 150 laps of main event competition. The other four were Rookie of the Year point leader Charlie Henderson of Cottondale, AL, Randy Weaver of Crossville, TN, Jeff Matthews of Dover, FL, and Shane Hitt of Buchannon, WV. Henderson also had two Fast Time Awards to lead that series statistic.
Another impressive “club” Turner and Cooley were a part of were they were two of five drivers that had top ten finishes in all three races. Weaver, Matthews, and Hitt were the other three. Turner and Cooley are the only two NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS drivers on the National Tour that have completed all 190 laps of competition in the first four races.
Weaver had the most productive three nights of racing at EBRP with two wins and one second-place finish, and was the only driver to record top five finishes in all three nights of racing. Weaver grabbed a three-night total of $6,750 from the pay window, and leads the series in earnings. Weaver also led 57 laps of competition to also lead that series statistic.
After the first four events of the 2010 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour, Turner is on top of the standings for the $20,000 Championship with 342 points, followed by Cooley with 340 points. Justin McRee of Cuba, AL is third with 310 points, and his teammate Henderson is fourth with 306 points. Weaver is fifth with 296 points.
Bryan Bernhardt of Clearwater, FL is sixth in the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National standings with 282 points, and William Thomas of Phenix City, AL, who won the Columbus, MS season opener, is seventh with 272 points. Matthews and Rookie of the Year Candidate Shannon Lee of Lumberton, MS are tied for eighth with 268 points, and Marcus Minga of Shannon, MS rounds out the top ten with 264 points.
There were four drivers ticketed with technical violations during the three nights of racing at East Bay Raceway Park.
Devin Dixon of Apollo Beach, FL forfeited wins on Thursday and Saturday nights, and a fifth-place finish on Friday night after the Saturday night post-race technical inspection found the engine in his race car had a balanced crankshaft and aftermarket connecting rod bolts.
Because the violation was inside the seals of the engine, Dixon has been suspended from NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series competition for 365 days, and fined $1,000. His car owner, Jeff Matthews, cannot compete in any series competition unless the race cars he owns have engines with original GM factory seals.
Doug Horton of Bruceton Mills, WV forfeited a second-place finish on Thursday night when his race car was found to have unapproved mufflers during the post-race technical inspection. With the first and second-place cars failing technical inspection for the Thursday night race, the third-place car of Weaver was awarded the victory.
Teammates Steve Mathis of Plant City, FL and Phillip Cobb of Riverview, FL were disqualified from Saturday night’s program when NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Officials spotted tires being treated on a rotisserie in their pit area before hot laps. Mathis and Cobb both competed in the December 11-12, 2009 NeSmith Chevrolet World Championship Race at EBRP when 13 other competitors’ qualifying runs were disallowed due to treated tires.
Rookie of the Year candidate Larry Harrod of Plains, GA was treated and released early Sunday morning from Tampa General Hospital after he was involved in an accident on lap four of the Saturday night 50-lap main event. Harrod’s car flipped over on its roof one time, and landed on its wheels at the exit of the fourth turn after David Pollen Jr. spun in front of him.
The next two events for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour will be on April 9 with a 40-lap $2,000-to-win event at Greenville Speedway in Greenville, MS, and on April 10 with a 50-lap $2,500-to-win event at Jackson Motor Speedway in Jackson, MS.
The NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series has made an adjustment to its 2010 point system in that if a sanctioned track has less than eight cars during a weekly event, the points will pay 40 points to win, with one point less for each finishing position back to seventh spot that will pay 34 points. The NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series 2010 season for the East and West Regions will run from April 2 through October 3.
NeSmith Chevrolet of Claxton, GA is the Title Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. NeSmith Chevrolet is the nation’s number one GM Powertrain Dealer four years running, and is also the nation’s number one dealer of Chevrolet cars and trucks with free delivery anywhere in the Southeast. Hoosier Race Tire is the Official Tire Sponsor of the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series. NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Contingency Sponsors for 2010 are Dominator Race Products, Race Car Engineering, KRC, Joe Gibbs Driven, Maximum Signs and Graphics, Mike Custom Tanks, Warrior Race Cars, Trak-Star Race Cars, Mastersbilt Race Cars, GRT Race Cars, TNT Race Cars.
