By Robert Walden
BULLS GAP, Tenn. (Oct. 19) – Jeff Taylor of Batesville, Ark., made his first-ever visit to Volunteer Speedway for last week’s Topless Fall Brawl 100. Taking an instant liking to the high-banked, 4/10-mile oval, he decided to stick around in East Tennessee for another week and the running of the Southern All Star Dirt Racing Series’ $5,000-to-win Fairway Ford 50.
Taylor grabbed the lead at the drop of the green over Anthony White, before briefly giving up the point to "The Dirty White Boy" on lap 3. White paced the field until suddenly slowing with engine problems on lap 7, thus allowing Taylor to once again reclaim the lead. A lead which he would never relinquish, as he rolled to his first-ever Southern All Stars victory.
A stellar field of 58 Super Late Models packed the pits at "The Gap" for Sunoco Fuels pole qualifying, with White setting fast-time at 12:985-seconds (110.904 mph) to earn his first Southern All Stars pole position of the season. Taylor was second-quickest at 13:029 to nail down the outside front row starting berth. With the top-16 fastest drivers locked in based on their qualifying time, the final eight starting positions were determined through three last chance consolation races which were won by Steven Harrison, Brad Coffey and Gusty Christenberry.
With Taylor assuming command of the 50-lap event on lap 7 when White retired to the pits, Duayne Hommel, the current Southern All Stars points leader was trying to keep Taylor’s Reed’s Inc./Kuntz & Company Power/JFR Graphics/Landrum Springs/Bear Mountain Motorsports/Larry Shaw Race Cars-Rocket Chassis/No. 5 Monte Carlo in sight. Setting a blistering pace out front, and never missing a beat as he began working his way through lapped traffic, Taylor opened up a full-straightaway advantage over Hommel by lap 12.
Behind the lead duo a heated battle for the third spot was raging between Rick Norris and Scott Sexton. After running five laps side-by-side, Sexton dropped Norris’ Fairway Ford sponsored No. 15 Taurus back to fourth on lap 19 between turns three and four. The event’s first caution waved for debris on the backstretch on lap 23 to erase Taylor’s huge lead over Hommel.
The top five on the restart were Taylor, Hommel, Sexton, Norris and Mike Head. Taylor once again quickly flexed his muscle in distancing himself from Hommel and Sexton, who were running nose-to-tail. After pressuring Norris for three circuits for the fourth spot, Head used the low-line to work around Norris racing off turn two on lap 26.
Hommel’s strong second place run aboard the No. H2 Alert Oil & Gas Monte Carlo ended prematurely on lap 32 when he suddenly slowed after the driveshaft in his car broke, thus moving Sexton into the runner-up position. With the laps winding down, Sexton closed right on the rear bumper of Taylor with only five laps remaining.
But getting into the first turn a little too hot on lap 47, Sexton’s Quality Heating & Air No. 52 Grand Prix jumped the cushion to allow Taylor to speed away to the $5,000 victory. Finishing third through fifth were Head, Stacy Boles and Mark "The Baxter Bullet" Martin.
Completing the top-10 finishers were Brandon Kinzer, Mark Douglas, Norris, Ronnie Johnson and Christenberry.
"First off I’d like to let track owner Joe Loven know that I really have fallen in love with this place," said the elated race winner Taylor after climbing from his car in Victory Lane. "My parents own Batesville Speedway back home in Arkansas, and even though I had always heard about Volunteer Speedway … until last weekend I had never seen this place. After the good run we had in the Topless Fall Brawl race, we decided to stick around and give this Southern All Stars event a shot. I’m really glad we did, because I truly feel honored to win this race over such a strong field of cars.
"We had a really good car tonight, and I’d like to thank my crew and also give special thanks to Duayne Hommel and Scott Sexton for giving me some advice. Those guys are good racers and they’ve got a lot of laps around this track. I’m really looking forward to coming back here again to race, and hopefully I’ll make it back next year for the Spring Thaw in March."
Corey Norman of Powell, for the second straight week drove the No. 42 Bailey’s Monte Carlo to a flag-to-flag victory in the 25-lap Limited Late Model feature. Norman captured the checkers over Roger Best, Greg Burchett, Bobby Giffin and Steve Jones.
Greeneville’s Rodney Kiker recorded the UMP (Open-Wheel) Modified victory over Jerry Broyles, Louis Hickey, Bobby Edens and Wayne Rader.
The Hobby Stock competitors ran twin 15-lap feature races, with Sammy Fugate of Johnson City and Newport’s Monk Ledford each capturing victories. Fugate held off Sonny Leatherwood, Jesse Hoover, R.J. Mays and Bobby Mays in the first race, while Ledford recorded the win in the second event over Leatherwood, R.J. Mays, Dana Ferrell and Hoover.
The next race at Volunteer Speedway will be the $5,000-to-win "King of the Hill 75" Limited Late Model Showdown on Saturday, Nov. 2. For more information, contact the track at (423) 235-5020.
SOUTHERN ALL STAR DIRT RACING SERIES "FAIRWAY FORD 50"
Jeff Taylor #5-Batesville, AR
Scott Sexton #52-Pigeon Forge, TN
Mike Head #54-Ellenwood, GA
Stacy Boles #11-Knoxville, TN
Mark Martin #90-Baxter, TN
Brandon Kinzer #18-Allen, KY
Mark Douglas #52-Knoxville, TN
Rick Norris #15-Kingsport, TN
Ronnie Johnson #5j-Chattanooga, TN
Gusty Christenberry #c3-Seymour, TN
Vic Hill #1-Johnson City, TN
Rex Richey #87-Ringgold, GA
Bryan Hendrix #5h-Knoxville, TN
Terrance Nowell #55-Phenix City, AL
Kerry Jones #6-Bristol, TN
Dale Ball #25-Johnson City, TN
Brad Coffey #88-Maryville, TN
Dewayne Aldridge #07-Lithia Springs, GA
Duayne Hommel #H2-Newport, TN
Jeff Maupin #11-Greeneville, TN
Roy Ledbetter #201-Maryville, TN
Terry Wolfenbarger #14-Knoxville, TN
Anthony White #2-Clinton, TN
Steven Harrison #84-Dayton, TN
LIMITED LATE MODEL (25-laps)
1) Corey Norman #42; 2) Roger Best #007; 3) Greg Burchett #17; 4) Bobby Giffin #97; 5) Steve Jones #83; 6) Tony Martin #35; 7) J. Allan #111; 8) Charles Parker #3; 9) Kerry Jones #5; 10) Alan Poyner #2; 11) Randle Self #91; 12) Justin White #02; 13) Ricky Moore #75; 14) Ernie Stuart #31; 15) Rex Coffey #3; 16) Tony Schrimsher #12; 17) David McConnell #95; 18) Gre Huskey #32; 19) Dale Huskey #23; 20) Ellis Parker #29; 21) Chris Chandler #8; DNS: Jason Trammell #91, Clint Solomon #30
UMP MODIFIED (25-laps)
1) Rodney Kiker #7; 2) Jerry Broyles #72; 3) Louis Hickey #97; 4) Bobby Edens #71; 5) Wayne Rader #9; 6) Jack Price #93; 7) Wayne James #4; 8) Chris Pendleton #15; 9) Jerry Williams Jr. #3; 10) Steve Deaver #77; 11) Royce Peters #66; 12) Marty Mead #38; 13) Ron Jones #3t; 14) Shannon Greene #14; 15) Ron Foshie #55; 16) Wade Ramsey #1w; 17) Greg Martin #24; 18) Dean Lewis #L2; DNS: James Hall #0
HOBBY STOCK (Twin-15 #1)
1) Sammy Fugate #2; 2) Sonny Leatherwood #20; 3) Jesse Hoover #3; 4) R.J. Mays #6m; 5) Bobby Mays #22; 6) Monk Ledford #41; 7) Brad Kenyon #17; 8) Curt Taylor #31; 9) Jon Setock #07; 10) Charlie Maupin Jr. #8; 11) Adam Kelley #8k; 12) Hugh Scalf #56; 13) Blake Kelley #5; 14) James Byrd #B00; 15) Chris Gregg #73; 16) Chris Kenyon #71; 17) Daniel Moss #03
HOBBY STOCK (Twin-15 #2)
1) Monk Ledford #41; 2) Sonny Leatherwood #20; 3) R.J. Mays #6m; 4) Dana Ferrell #22; 5) Jesse Hoover #3; 6) Everett Cobb #B00; 7) Brad Kenyon #17; 8) Blake Kelley #5; 9) Curt Taylor #31; 10) Chris Gregg #73; 11) Kevin Maupin #8; 12) Adam Kelley #8k; 13) Bill Haynes #74; 14) Hugh Scalf #56; 15) Bobby Mays #66; 16) Sammy Fugate #2; 17) Jon Setock #07; 18) Daniel Moss #03; DNS: Chris Kenyon #71
Volunteer Speedway: (423) 235-5020 www.VolunteerSpeedway.com
Doug Gillenwater-General Manager: (423) 676-9080
BULLS GAP, Tenn. (Oct. 19) – Jeff Taylor of Batesville, Ark., made his first-ever visit to Volunteer Speedway for last week’s Topless Fall Brawl 100. Taking an instant liking to the high-banked, 4/10-mile oval, he decided to stick around in East Tennessee for another week and the running of the Southern All Star Dirt Racing Series’ $5,000-to-win Fairway Ford 50.
Taylor grabbed the lead at the drop of the green over Anthony White, before briefly giving up the point to "The Dirty White Boy" on lap 3. White paced the field until suddenly slowing with engine problems on lap 7, thus allowing Taylor to once again reclaim the lead. A lead which he would never relinquish, as he rolled to his first-ever Southern All Stars victory.
A stellar field of 58 Super Late Models packed the pits at "The Gap" for Sunoco Fuels pole qualifying, with White setting fast-time at 12:985-seconds (110.904 mph) to earn his first Southern All Stars pole position of the season. Taylor was second-quickest at 13:029 to nail down the outside front row starting berth. With the top-16 fastest drivers locked in based on their qualifying time, the final eight starting positions were determined through three last chance consolation races which were won by Steven Harrison, Brad Coffey and Gusty Christenberry.
With Taylor assuming command of the 50-lap event on lap 7 when White retired to the pits, Duayne Hommel, the current Southern All Stars points leader was trying to keep Taylor’s Reed’s Inc./Kuntz & Company Power/JFR Graphics/Landrum Springs/Bear Mountain Motorsports/Larry Shaw Race Cars-Rocket Chassis/No. 5 Monte Carlo in sight. Setting a blistering pace out front, and never missing a beat as he began working his way through lapped traffic, Taylor opened up a full-straightaway advantage over Hommel by lap 12.
Behind the lead duo a heated battle for the third spot was raging between Rick Norris and Scott Sexton. After running five laps side-by-side, Sexton dropped Norris’ Fairway Ford sponsored No. 15 Taurus back to fourth on lap 19 between turns three and four. The event’s first caution waved for debris on the backstretch on lap 23 to erase Taylor’s huge lead over Hommel.
The top five on the restart were Taylor, Hommel, Sexton, Norris and Mike Head. Taylor once again quickly flexed his muscle in distancing himself from Hommel and Sexton, who were running nose-to-tail. After pressuring Norris for three circuits for the fourth spot, Head used the low-line to work around Norris racing off turn two on lap 26.
Hommel’s strong second place run aboard the No. H2 Alert Oil & Gas Monte Carlo ended prematurely on lap 32 when he suddenly slowed after the driveshaft in his car broke, thus moving Sexton into the runner-up position. With the laps winding down, Sexton closed right on the rear bumper of Taylor with only five laps remaining.
But getting into the first turn a little too hot on lap 47, Sexton’s Quality Heating & Air No. 52 Grand Prix jumped the cushion to allow Taylor to speed away to the $5,000 victory. Finishing third through fifth were Head, Stacy Boles and Mark "The Baxter Bullet" Martin.
Completing the top-10 finishers were Brandon Kinzer, Mark Douglas, Norris, Ronnie Johnson and Christenberry.
"First off I’d like to let track owner Joe Loven know that I really have fallen in love with this place," said the elated race winner Taylor after climbing from his car in Victory Lane. "My parents own Batesville Speedway back home in Arkansas, and even though I had always heard about Volunteer Speedway … until last weekend I had never seen this place. After the good run we had in the Topless Fall Brawl race, we decided to stick around and give this Southern All Stars event a shot. I’m really glad we did, because I truly feel honored to win this race over such a strong field of cars.
"We had a really good car tonight, and I’d like to thank my crew and also give special thanks to Duayne Hommel and Scott Sexton for giving me some advice. Those guys are good racers and they’ve got a lot of laps around this track. I’m really looking forward to coming back here again to race, and hopefully I’ll make it back next year for the Spring Thaw in March."
Corey Norman of Powell, for the second straight week drove the No. 42 Bailey’s Monte Carlo to a flag-to-flag victory in the 25-lap Limited Late Model feature. Norman captured the checkers over Roger Best, Greg Burchett, Bobby Giffin and Steve Jones.
Greeneville’s Rodney Kiker recorded the UMP (Open-Wheel) Modified victory over Jerry Broyles, Louis Hickey, Bobby Edens and Wayne Rader.
The Hobby Stock competitors ran twin 15-lap feature races, with Sammy Fugate of Johnson City and Newport’s Monk Ledford each capturing victories. Fugate held off Sonny Leatherwood, Jesse Hoover, R.J. Mays and Bobby Mays in the first race, while Ledford recorded the win in the second event over Leatherwood, R.J. Mays, Dana Ferrell and Hoover.
The next race at Volunteer Speedway will be the $5,000-to-win "King of the Hill 75" Limited Late Model Showdown on Saturday, Nov. 2. For more information, contact the track at (423) 235-5020.
SOUTHERN ALL STAR DIRT RACING SERIES "FAIRWAY FORD 50"
Jeff Taylor #5-Batesville, AR
Scott Sexton #52-Pigeon Forge, TN
Mike Head #54-Ellenwood, GA
Stacy Boles #11-Knoxville, TN
Mark Martin #90-Baxter, TN
Brandon Kinzer #18-Allen, KY
Mark Douglas #52-Knoxville, TN
Rick Norris #15-Kingsport, TN
Ronnie Johnson #5j-Chattanooga, TN
Gusty Christenberry #c3-Seymour, TN
Vic Hill #1-Johnson City, TN
Rex Richey #87-Ringgold, GA
Bryan Hendrix #5h-Knoxville, TN
Terrance Nowell #55-Phenix City, AL
Kerry Jones #6-Bristol, TN
Dale Ball #25-Johnson City, TN
Brad Coffey #88-Maryville, TN
Dewayne Aldridge #07-Lithia Springs, GA
Duayne Hommel #H2-Newport, TN
Jeff Maupin #11-Greeneville, TN
Roy Ledbetter #201-Maryville, TN
Terry Wolfenbarger #14-Knoxville, TN
Anthony White #2-Clinton, TN
Steven Harrison #84-Dayton, TN
LIMITED LATE MODEL (25-laps)
1) Corey Norman #42; 2) Roger Best #007; 3) Greg Burchett #17; 4) Bobby Giffin #97; 5) Steve Jones #83; 6) Tony Martin #35; 7) J. Allan #111; 8) Charles Parker #3; 9) Kerry Jones #5; 10) Alan Poyner #2; 11) Randle Self #91; 12) Justin White #02; 13) Ricky Moore #75; 14) Ernie Stuart #31; 15) Rex Coffey #3; 16) Tony Schrimsher #12; 17) David McConnell #95; 18) Gre Huskey #32; 19) Dale Huskey #23; 20) Ellis Parker #29; 21) Chris Chandler #8; DNS: Jason Trammell #91, Clint Solomon #30
UMP MODIFIED (25-laps)
1) Rodney Kiker #7; 2) Jerry Broyles #72; 3) Louis Hickey #97; 4) Bobby Edens #71; 5) Wayne Rader #9; 6) Jack Price #93; 7) Wayne James #4; 8) Chris Pendleton #15; 9) Jerry Williams Jr. #3; 10) Steve Deaver #77; 11) Royce Peters #66; 12) Marty Mead #38; 13) Ron Jones #3t; 14) Shannon Greene #14; 15) Ron Foshie #55; 16) Wade Ramsey #1w; 17) Greg Martin #24; 18) Dean Lewis #L2; DNS: James Hall #0
HOBBY STOCK (Twin-15 #1)
1) Sammy Fugate #2; 2) Sonny Leatherwood #20; 3) Jesse Hoover #3; 4) R.J. Mays #6m; 5) Bobby Mays #22; 6) Monk Ledford #41; 7) Brad Kenyon #17; 8) Curt Taylor #31; 9) Jon Setock #07; 10) Charlie Maupin Jr. #8; 11) Adam Kelley #8k; 12) Hugh Scalf #56; 13) Blake Kelley #5; 14) James Byrd #B00; 15) Chris Gregg #73; 16) Chris Kenyon #71; 17) Daniel Moss #03
HOBBY STOCK (Twin-15 #2)
1) Monk Ledford #41; 2) Sonny Leatherwood #20; 3) R.J. Mays #6m; 4) Dana Ferrell #22; 5) Jesse Hoover #3; 6) Everett Cobb #B00; 7) Brad Kenyon #17; 8) Blake Kelley #5; 9) Curt Taylor #31; 10) Chris Gregg #73; 11) Kevin Maupin #8; 12) Adam Kelley #8k; 13) Bill Haynes #74; 14) Hugh Scalf #56; 15) Bobby Mays #66; 16) Sammy Fugate #2; 17) Jon Setock #07; 18) Daniel Moss #03; DNS: Chris Kenyon #71
Volunteer Speedway: (423) 235-5020 www.VolunteerSpeedway.com
Doug Gillenwater-General Manager: (423) 676-9080
