David Earl Gentry, seen here from an earlier win, returned to victory land Saturday night in NeSmith Chevy DLMS action at Hattiesburg Motorsports Park. Photo by Donna Lee
Two-time series champion David Earl Gentry of Murfreesboro, TN survived an early race tangle, and held on to win the Salute To The Army 40 for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series on Friday night at Hattiesburg Motorsports Park in Hattiesburg, MS, driving the Eads Farms/Hardy & Associates Warrior.
In taking his 11th NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series career win and his second of the season, Gentry swept the program by setting fast time during Pine Belt Transport Qualifying with a lap around the ¼-mile clay oval in 13.391 seconds, leading all 40 laps of the race, and taking over the point lead in his quest for a third series title.
After surviving a tangle in turn two with Justin McRee of Cottondale, AL, Gentry was able to hold off a late-race challenge from Jeremy Shaw of Millport, AL. Shaw overcame a full straightaway deficit to reel Gentry in while the lead duo was in lapped traffic.
A caution flag with five laps to go cleared the way for Gentry, as he took the checkered flag with a 1.185 second advantage over Shaw in the Summit Resource Development Trak-Star. Johnny Stokes also had a mid-race battle with Shaw for the second spot, but had to settle for third in the Bassett Hound Motorsports GRT.
Chris Cantrell of Chester, SC drove the CANCO Rocket to a fourth-place finish and was the VP Racing Fuels Rookie of the Race. Larry Harrod finished fifth in the Harrod Logging Special, and two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Champion Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS took the fifth spot in the Bryson Motorsports Special.
Shannon Lee of Lumberton, MS was seventh in the Billy Riels Racing GRT, and Daniel Bridgeman of Meridian, MS finished eighth in the Robinson Electric Rocket. Jake Teague of Oliver Springs, TN drove the Wade’s Body Shop Special to a ninth-place finish, and Cody Kierre of Beebe, AR rounded out the top ten in the K&E Racing GRT.
Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA started 22nd and finished 12th in the Hedman Husler to earn the Hedman Husler of the Race Award. Turner held a 14-point lead over Gentry in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series point standings coming into the race, but left in the second spot, just four points behind.
Gentry took the lead at the drop of the green flag to start the Salute To The Army 40 followed by McRee in the High Roller Race Cars Special, Stokes, Shaw, and Harrod. The caution flag came out on lap two when Marty Hardy of Biloxi, MS spun the Hardy & Associates GRT in turn two.
The lined up for the Dixie-Style double-file restart, but it took three tries to complete the second lap. One the first restart, Chris O’Connor of Cantonment, FL hit the backstretch wall in the Dean’s Solid Surfacing Warrior. The next restart was the one that almost did Gentry in.
Gentry led the field into the first turn running the middle groove. McRee dove for the bottom of the track in turn two where he made contact with Gentry. The collision shoved Gentry up into Stokes, and Gentry spun to the infield which triggered a multi-car pile-up behind the leaders. McRee was charged with the caution flag, and Gentry remained the leader for the next restart.
When the green flag came back out for a third double-file restart, Michael Blount of Sumrall, MS relit the caution bulb when he hit an infield utility tire in turn three and spun the Lamar Auto Salvage Special.
NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series officials discarded the double-file restart for the next try, as the cars lined up single-file with Gentry leading Stokes, Shaw, Harrod, Cantrell, Cooley, Lee, Bridgeman, Teague and Michael Arnold of Hattiesburg, MS in the Billy Riels Racing/Reynolds Motorsports GRT in the top ten for the restart.
After the single-file restart, the field settled in and several battles for position developed around the race track. Lee passed Cooley for the sixth spot on lap three. Gentry pulled out to a 12 car-length lead by lap five, while Stokes and Shaw battled for the second spot. Gentry began to encounter the cars on the tail of the lead lap by the 11th circuit.
Shaw was looking inside of Stokes trying to drive underneath and take the second spot, but Stokes would close the door for the several laps. On lap 19, Shaw took another look inside Stokes in turn one, but when Stokes shut the door, Shaw bolted right to the outside groove, pulled alongside Stokes and took the second spot coming off the fourth turn.
At the halfway point in the race, Gentry had pulled out to a full straightaway lead over Shaw, but that was beginning to evaporate in the next ten laps, as Gentry got stuck behind two lapped cars running side-by-side for position. With ten laps to go, Shaw had closed to within a couple of car lengths, but a lapped car separated Gentry and Shaw.
Just as Shaw closed in, smoke began bellowing from under the left-front corner of his race car. It turned out that Shaw was battling a power steering hose problem, even before the race started.
Shaw went to the pits during the pre-race parade laps, as the hose came off, and his crew reattached the hose to the power steering pump. It let go again in the closing laps, but Shaw was able to regroup for the finish.
With five laps to go, Chase Edge of Lafayette, AL cut down a tire on his Edge’s Gas Company Special to bring out the fifth and final caution flag. The lapped cars went to the back of the pack for the restart, as Gentry led Shaw, Stokes, Harrod, Cantrell, Cooley, Lee, Bridgeman, Teague, and Kierre down for the green flag.
Gentry pulled out to an immediate three car-length advantage over Shaw on the restart, and Cantrell got by Harrod to take over the fourth spot. With no power steering, Shaw was unable to challenge Gentry in the last five laps.
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Mickey Trosclair of Luling, LA was the third fastest qualifier, but broke a flywheel in his J. Dunning Sandblasting and Painting Special during the pre-race warm-up laps. Trosclair was able to drop to the tail of the field and take the green flag before pulling to the infield. That earned Trosclair the Dominator Race Products Hard luck of the Race Award.
In preliminary action, the two 12-lap B-Main races were won by Bridgeman and Arnold. The Friday night Salute To The Army 40 at Hattiesburg Motorsports Park was the opening night of a three-race Salute To The Armed Forces Memorial Day Weekend swing for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series.
For more information about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series visit the series web site at www.nesmithracing.com.
NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series
Hattiesburg Motorsports Park
Salute To The Army 40 – May 25, 2012
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER
2. 7 1s Jeremy Shaw Millport, AL 40 $1,000
3. 5 1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS 40 $700
4. 6 114 Chris Cantrell Chester, SC 40 $550
5. 4 27 Larry Harrod Plains, GA 40 $425
6. 9 33b Eric Cooley Fulton, MS 40 $375
7. 8 47 Shannon Lee Lumberton, MS 40 $350
8. 11 09 Daniel Bridgeman Meridian, MS 40 $325
9. 10 117 Jake Teague (R) Oliver Springs, TN 40 $300
10. 18 17k Cody Kierre (R) Beebe, AR 40 $275
11. 12 747 Michael Arnold Hattiesburg, MS 40 $275
12. 22 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 40 $350
13. 15 110 Brent Barrett Cleveland, MS 40 $225
14. 24 33 Sid Scarbrough Florence, MS 39 $200
15. 17 18 Chase Edge Lafayette, AL 39 $175
16. 19 444 Brian Ligon Augusta, GA 38 $150
17. 23 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS 38 $140
18. 16 3n Ronnie Graham Richton, MS 38 $125
19. 20 51 Randy Walters Laurel, MS 34 $125
20. 14 2 Marty Hardy Biloxi, MS 34 $125
21. 2 25 Justin McRee Cottondale, AL 1 $125
22. 13 03 Chris O’Connor Cantonment, FL 1 $125
23. 21 121 Michael Blount Sumrall, MS 1 $125
24. 3 521 Mickey Trosclair Luling, LA 0 $125
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