TAMPA, FL – Jimmy Owens of Newport, TN held off all challengers early in the race, and went on to win the Jasper Engines Crate Racin’ USA World Championship Race Presented By American Race Tire for the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series Saturday night at East Bay Raceway Park.
Owens led 99 of the 100 laps to collect the $10,000 top prize driving the Goddard Performance Warrior “house car” for Sanford Goddard.
“It really helps the profit margin when you can win $10,000 with a $4,800 GM Performance crate engine,” Owens said. “That with a perfectly set up Warrior chassis put us here in victory lane tonight.”
Rodney Melvin of Benton, IL led the only lap Owens didn’t led, but had to settle for second in the Rick’s Towing Rayburn. Scott Sexton of Pigeon Forge, TN finished third in the Southern Plastering and Drywall TNT, and fourth went to Jimmy Sharpe of Vidalia, GA in the McCurry Heating and Air Rocket.
NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Ken Schrader of Fenton, MO rounded out the top five in the Federated Auto Parts Rayburn. Fast qualifier John Anderson of Omaha, NE was sixth in the Bill Koons Motorsports Rocket, and Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN was the Hard Charger of the Race after starting 24th and finishing seventh in the Miller Brothers Coal Warrior.
Marshall Green of Woodstock, GA drove the Concrete II Construction GRT to an eighth-place finish, and Shannon Buckingham of Morristown, TN finished ninth in the S&S Millwright Barry Wright. Ed Kosiski of Ralston, NE rounded out the top ten in the Dodge Motorsports Warrior.
The initial start was short-lived when the 2005 StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National Champion Denny Slayton of Rossville, GA spun the Windstar Homes GRT in turn one. Owens took the lead on the complete restart from his outside front row starting spot followed by the polesitter Melvin, Sexton, Schrader, and Sharpe.
On lap three, Sharpe was able to make an inside move by Schrader coming off the fourth turn to take over the fourth spot. The second caution flag of the race came out on lap five when Jeff Purvis of Clarksville, TN in the StormPay.com Rayburn got together with Josh Peacock of Dover, FL in the Peacock Farms GRT in turn one. Purvis spun, but was able to continue.
Melvin was able to get under Owens on the restart, and took the lead coming off the fourth turn to lead lap five. Owens came right back after Melvin, driving by him on the backstretch to reclaim the lead he would never relinquish. By the time Owens started to encounter lapped traffic on lap 12, he had pulled away to a half-straightaway lead over Melvin.
Owens dodged a big bullet on lap 22 when Jeff Mathews of Tampa, FL spun his Mathews Racing Rocket in front of him in turn one. Owens took off on the restart, and pulled out to another half straightaway lead over Melvin by lap 25. By the one-quarter point in the race, everyone seemed to settle into a race pace.
Green did make a big move on lap 33 when he jumped from the ninth spot to seventh place. Peacock stalled in turn two on lap 38 to bring out the fourth caution flag of the race, and Slayton spun for a second time in turn two on lap 47. The restart three laps short of the halfway point had 20 of the 26 cars that started the race still running.
Owens led Melvin down the restart with Sexton, Sharpe, Schrader, Anderson, Green, Buckingham, Stacey Roberts of Sylvester, GA in the Sunbelt Ford Barry Wright and Devin Dixon of Riverview, FL in the Blue Ribbon Tomatoes Rocket rounding out the top ten.
Behind the top ten cars, Kosiski, Jake Knowles of Tyrone, GA, Johnson, and Frank Ingram of Acworth, GA were waging a tight battle for the eleventh spot. Knowles got by Kosiski on the restart, and moved up to the top ten on lap 48. Ingram drove his Ledford Landscaping Rayburn by Knowles’ M&S Concrete Rocket on lap 53 for the tenth spot.
Ingram and Knowles carried their battle right up to the ninth spot, and began to challenge Roberts for the position. The trio of drivers came off the fourth turn three-wide on lap 64. All three drivers made contact with each other, and Ingram hit the front straightaway wall to bring out the caution flag.
Roberts and Knowles also pitted during the caution period, and only Knowles was able to return to action. That action moved Kosiski, and Johnson up to the ninth and tenth spots respectively for the restart.
Owens pulled away the rest of the distance and drove challenge free, while Johnson found a groove he liked on the high side of the race track. Johnson passed Kosiski for the ninth spot on lap 65, got around Buckingham for eighth on lap 70, and then moved by Green for seventh on lap 98.
Danny Jolly of Christopher, IL in the Thomason Transportation Rayburn, Scott Hutchinson of Johnston City, IL in the Bonnie’s Camelot Kennels Rocket, and Mathews won the three 20-lap B-Mains. Melvin, Owens, Sexton, Sharpe, Schrader, and Roberts won the six 15-lap heat races on Friday night.
Anderson out timed the 64 car field during Friday night’s Qualifications with a lap around the 1/3-mile clay oval in 16.673 seconds for an average speed of 71.973 miles per hour. Anderson had a GM Performance 602 steel-headed crate engine under the hood.
The next event for the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series will be the 2006 season opener during the Talladega Short Track Ice Bowl in Eastaboga, AL on January 5, 6, and 7. For more information about the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series visit the series web site at www.stormpayracing.com.
Owens led 99 of the 100 laps to collect the $10,000 top prize driving the Goddard Performance Warrior “house car” for Sanford Goddard.
“It really helps the profit margin when you can win $10,000 with a $4,800 GM Performance crate engine,” Owens said. “That with a perfectly set up Warrior chassis put us here in victory lane tonight.”
Rodney Melvin of Benton, IL led the only lap Owens didn’t led, but had to settle for second in the Rick’s Towing Rayburn. Scott Sexton of Pigeon Forge, TN finished third in the Southern Plastering and Drywall TNT, and fourth went to Jimmy Sharpe of Vidalia, GA in the McCurry Heating and Air Rocket.
NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Ken Schrader of Fenton, MO rounded out the top five in the Federated Auto Parts Rayburn. Fast qualifier John Anderson of Omaha, NE was sixth in the Bill Koons Motorsports Rocket, and Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN was the Hard Charger of the Race after starting 24th and finishing seventh in the Miller Brothers Coal Warrior.
Marshall Green of Woodstock, GA drove the Concrete II Construction GRT to an eighth-place finish, and Shannon Buckingham of Morristown, TN finished ninth in the S&S Millwright Barry Wright. Ed Kosiski of Ralston, NE rounded out the top ten in the Dodge Motorsports Warrior.
The initial start was short-lived when the 2005 StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National Champion Denny Slayton of Rossville, GA spun the Windstar Homes GRT in turn one. Owens took the lead on the complete restart from his outside front row starting spot followed by the polesitter Melvin, Sexton, Schrader, and Sharpe.
On lap three, Sharpe was able to make an inside move by Schrader coming off the fourth turn to take over the fourth spot. The second caution flag of the race came out on lap five when Jeff Purvis of Clarksville, TN in the StormPay.com Rayburn got together with Josh Peacock of Dover, FL in the Peacock Farms GRT in turn one. Purvis spun, but was able to continue.
Melvin was able to get under Owens on the restart, and took the lead coming off the fourth turn to lead lap five. Owens came right back after Melvin, driving by him on the backstretch to reclaim the lead he would never relinquish. By the time Owens started to encounter lapped traffic on lap 12, he had pulled away to a half-straightaway lead over Melvin.
Owens dodged a big bullet on lap 22 when Jeff Mathews of Tampa, FL spun his Mathews Racing Rocket in front of him in turn one. Owens took off on the restart, and pulled out to another half straightaway lead over Melvin by lap 25. By the one-quarter point in the race, everyone seemed to settle into a race pace.
Green did make a big move on lap 33 when he jumped from the ninth spot to seventh place. Peacock stalled in turn two on lap 38 to bring out the fourth caution flag of the race, and Slayton spun for a second time in turn two on lap 47. The restart three laps short of the halfway point had 20 of the 26 cars that started the race still running.
Owens led Melvin down the restart with Sexton, Sharpe, Schrader, Anderson, Green, Buckingham, Stacey Roberts of Sylvester, GA in the Sunbelt Ford Barry Wright and Devin Dixon of Riverview, FL in the Blue Ribbon Tomatoes Rocket rounding out the top ten.
Behind the top ten cars, Kosiski, Jake Knowles of Tyrone, GA, Johnson, and Frank Ingram of Acworth, GA were waging a tight battle for the eleventh spot. Knowles got by Kosiski on the restart, and moved up to the top ten on lap 48. Ingram drove his Ledford Landscaping Rayburn by Knowles’ M&S Concrete Rocket on lap 53 for the tenth spot.
Ingram and Knowles carried their battle right up to the ninth spot, and began to challenge Roberts for the position. The trio of drivers came off the fourth turn three-wide on lap 64. All three drivers made contact with each other, and Ingram hit the front straightaway wall to bring out the caution flag.
Roberts and Knowles also pitted during the caution period, and only Knowles was able to return to action. That action moved Kosiski, and Johnson up to the ninth and tenth spots respectively for the restart.
Owens pulled away the rest of the distance and drove challenge free, while Johnson found a groove he liked on the high side of the race track. Johnson passed Kosiski for the ninth spot on lap 65, got around Buckingham for eighth on lap 70, and then moved by Green for seventh on lap 98.
Danny Jolly of Christopher, IL in the Thomason Transportation Rayburn, Scott Hutchinson of Johnston City, IL in the Bonnie’s Camelot Kennels Rocket, and Mathews won the three 20-lap B-Mains. Melvin, Owens, Sexton, Sharpe, Schrader, and Roberts won the six 15-lap heat races on Friday night.
Anderson out timed the 64 car field during Friday night’s Qualifications with a lap around the 1/3-mile clay oval in 16.673 seconds for an average speed of 71.973 miles per hour. Anderson had a GM Performance 602 steel-headed crate engine under the hood.
The next event for the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series will be the 2006 season opener during the Talladega Short Track Ice Bowl in Eastaboga, AL on January 5, 6, and 7. For more information about the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series visit the series web site at www.stormpayracing.com.
