William Thomas of Phenix City, AL celebrates his $5,000 victory after driving to win the Gumbo Nationals Greenville Speedway on Sunday night. Photo by Best Photography
William Thomas of Phenix City, AL drove the Alexander’s Industrial Service GRT to victory in the 50-lap 7th Annual Gumbo Nationals on Sunday night at Greenville Speedway in Greenville, MS. A fourth-place finish by Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN clinched the $20,000 2013 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Championship.
The $5,000 win gave Thomas a clean sweep of the racing program as he set fast time honors and won the first heat race on Friday night to earn the pole position for the rain-delayed main event on Sunday evening. Thomas took the lead from Johnny Stokes of Columbus, MS on the sixth lap, and never looked back to carry a 2.309 second margin of victory under the checkered flag.
“We were surprised the track was as dry as it was with all of the rain we had here Saturday night, but the top was good for us all of the way around early in the race, and then it started taking rubber late in the race in turns three and four,” Thomas said. “We went to the inside there, but there was still enough moisture in the track on the high side of turns one and two, so we kept it up there and just tried to keep it off the wall.”
Stokes finished second in the Bassett Hound Motorsports GRT, and “Dr. Dirt” helped make the race happen on Sunday after four and a half inches of rain fell on the racing surface on Saturday night. Stokes worked on the road grader to help Greenville Speedway officials get the track in race ready shape by late Sunday afternoon.
Chase Washington of Houlka, MS drove the Jerry Inmon Racing Special to a third-place finish. Washington has spent the most part of the 2013 battling Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma cancer having had a major surgery and six chemotherapy treatments before doctor’s declared him cancer-free last month.
Washington took part in the “Ride For Life” program on Saturday night, and took a race fan that bid $1,600 during a post-race auction for a six-lap ride at race speed around Greenville Speedway in the NeSmith Chevrolet two-seat Ride For Life dirt late model race car. Washington also handed his third-place winnings of $1,200 to the American Cancer Society.
Along with Washington, drivers Brent Barrett of Cleveland, MS, Bobby Jordan of McCarley, MS, Mike Palasini Jr. of Leland, MS, and Ashley Newman of Ripley, TN took part in the Ride For Life Auction. With the auction, raffle ticket sales, t-shirt sales and special donations, the local chapter of the American Cancer Society raised $13,275.85.
Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN drove from the ninth starting spot to finish fourth, clinching the 2013 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Championship worth $20,000. Photo by Best Photography
Johnson drove the NeSmith Chevrolet Special to a fourth-place finish to clinch the 2013 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Championship. The National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee will collect a check for $20,000 at the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Awards Banquet in January at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in Dawsonville, GA.
“This Championship really means a lot to me because it has been awhile since I’ve run for a championship,” Johnson said. “We really weren’t planning on running for the championship, but after we were second in points after the Memorial Day Weekend races, several people stepped up and offered to help me if I would run for it. There are just too many people to thank, but this championship is for them and the fans that have stuck with us all of these years.”
Tait Davenport of Benton, KY took the fifth spot in the Murtco, Inc. Special and Newman was sixth in the Greg’s Sawmill Special. Mike Boland of Cuba, AL finished seventh in the Boland Performance Trak-Star, and Kyle Bronson of Brandon, FL drove the Brandon Ford Warrior to an eighth-place finish and the Rookie of the Race honors.
Tyler Erb of Magnolia, TX finished ninth in the First Class Septic Rocket and Jake Knight of Georgetown, MS rounded out the top ten in the Got Dirt, Inc. Trak-Star. Michael Blount of Sumrall, MS started 22nd and finished 12th to earn the Hedman Husler of the Race Award in the Lamar Auto Salvage GRT.
In preliminary action on Friday night, Thomas out-timed the 36-car field during Qualifications with a lap around the ¼-mile black gumbo clay oval in 15.952 seconds. The four ten-lap Heat Races were won by Thomas, Stokes, Josh Adkins of Talladega, AL in the Yellow Hammer Construction Special, and Davenport. The two ten-lap B-Main races on Sunday were won by Bronson and Barrett in the Custom Spraying, Inc. GRT.
Stokes took the lead at the drop of the green flag to start the 7th Annual Gumbo Nationals followed by Thomas, Davenport, Neil Baggett of Columbus, MS in the Montgomery Farms GRT and Washington. Thomas began to challenge Stokes for the lead on lap five by looking to the inside. The lead duo raced side-by-side for a lap before Thomas took the lead coming off the fourth turn,
By lap ten, Thomas had opened up a half straightaway lead on Stokes, who was busy trying to hold off Davenport to keep the second spot. Davenport worked under Stokes coming off the fourth turn on lap 14 to take the second spot. Four laps later, Stokes turned the table on Davenport, getting under him to retake the second spot coming off the fourth turn on lap 18.
Mike Palasini Jr. of Leland, MS spun the MP Trucking Trak-Star in turn four on lap 20 to bring out the first of seven caution flags. The field doubled up behind Thomas for the “Dixie Style” double-file restart with Stokes, Davenport, Baggett, Washington, Johnson, Mickey Trosclair of Luling, LA in the Sparks Motorsports Special, Boland, Newman, and Jeremy Shaw in the Summit Resource Development GRT in second through tenth respectively.
There were wholesale position changes among the top ten when the green flag turned the field loose for the restart. Baggett began dropping back through the field, as Washington moved up to fourth, Newman advanced from ninth to fifth, Trosclair moved up to sixth, and Baggett fell into the seventh spot. Johnson fell from sixth the eighth, and Bronson moved up to tenth.
Baggett lost the spoiler on his car to bring out the caution flag on lap 27. Baggett went to the pits and retired for the evening to receive the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award. The restart saw Thomas leading with Stokes, Washington, Davenport, Newman, Trosclair, Johnson, Boland, Bronson and Justin McRee of Cottondale, AL in the High Roller Race Cars Special doubled up behind him.
On the restart, Blount and Dewayne Estes of Greenville, MS in the Burton Racing Trak-Star tangled in turn two. On the next restart, Washington got by Stokes to take over the second spot. The caution bulb was lit up for the fourth time on lap 32 when McRee stalled on the backstretch. Ryan Colby of Greenville, MS spun the Washington Body Shop GRT on the restart for caution flag number five.
Stokes drove around the outside of Washington on the restart to once again grab the second spot. Johnson kept up his championship pace on lap 33 when he passed Boland for the sixth spot. Colby had his second spin of the race on lap 36 to bring out the sixth yellow flag. Thomas led Stokes, Washington, Davenport, Newman, Johnson, Boland, Bronson, Knight, and Trosclair to the restart.
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The leader had just cleared the lapped car of Lew Lyles of West Monroe, LA when Lyles spun the Floorworks GRT in turn two right in front of Stokes, who just cleared the disabled car without contact.
With clear race track in front of him for a single-file restart, Thomas pulled away in the last four laps of the race for his first NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series win of the season, and his 11th career win to put him number three on the All-Time Winners list. Johnson’s fourth-place finish gave him a 118 point lead over Bronson in the standings, an insurmountable advantage with one race left in the 2013 season.
The 2013 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series season finale will be the $10,000-to-win 100-lap 9th Annual Chevrolet Performance Parts World Championship Race at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, FL on November 21-23.
For more information about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series visit the series web site at nesmithracing.com.
NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Modle Series
Greenville Speedway – Greenville, MS
Gumbo Nationals – Oct. 6, 2013
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER
1. 1 A19 William Thomas Phenix City, AL 50 $5,000
2. 2 1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS 50 $2,500
3. 7 38 Chase Washington Houlka, MS 50 $1,200
4. 9 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 50 $1,000
5. 4 18 Tait Davenport Benton, KY 50 $800
6. 13 73 Ashley Newman Ripley, TN 50 $700
7. 15 222 Mike Boland Cuba, AL
8. 17 40 Kyle Bronson (R) Brandon, FL 50 $550
9. 14 91 Tyler Erb
10. 12 93 Jake Knight Georgetown, MS 50 $500
11. 6 521 Mickey Trosclair Luling, LA 50 $475
12, 22 121 Michael Blount Sumrall, MS 50 $550
13. 18 110 Brent Barrett (R) Cleveland, MS 50 $400
14. 10 J8 Bobby Jordan McCarley, MS 50 $350
15. 3 19m Josh Adkins (R) Talladega, AL 49 $300
16. 20 D6 Lew Lyles
17. 21 70 Dewayne Estes Greenville, MS 45 $300
18. 19 25 Justin McRee Cottondale, AL 38 $300
19. 23 21 Ryan Colby Greenville, MS 34 $300
20. 8 1s Jeremy Shaw (R) Millport, AL 26 $300
21. 5 1m Neil Baggett
22. 11 8 Mike Palasini Jr. Leland, MS 18 $300
23. 16 C55 David Carpenter Greenwood, MS 18 $300
24. 24 50 Joey Credidio Paulina, LA 0 DNS
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