Oliver Avoids Trouble For Nashville Pro Late Model Win

Dillon Oliver stayed out of trouble and scored the $5,000 victory in the Pro Late Model season opener at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville Saturday night. Photo by Barry Cantrell

Fairground Speedway Nashville in Nashville, TN got their 2014 season underway Saturday night in a big way, as Dillon Oliver weaved his way through a crash that took out the leaders, and went on to hold off all comers to score the Hunter Stand and Grave Pro Late Model season opener, and the $5,000 payday that went with it.

Veteran drivers Mark Day and two time Daytona 500 winner Sterling Marlin led the field of 22 competitors down to the green flag. Marlin would lead through the first caution flag as newcomer Brennon Willard went for a spin down the backstretch.

The following restart is where things got interesting. As Marlin and Day dove off into turn one, Day got into the rear of Marlin’s machine, sending him backwards into the fence. The damage was substantial to Marlin’s ride, eventually ending his night. Day would be able to continue, but was sent to the rear of the field for the contact.

This left Josh Weston, D.J. Vanderley, and Oliver to battle for the top spot. Vanderley led until lap 29, when Oliver was able to take over. Meanwhile Day worked his way from the rear of the field back into the top five by lap 75.

After a couple of mid-race cautions, the top three remained unchanged. Oliver led Weston, Vanderley, Tucker Wingo, and Day.

Oliver would stretch out his lead until a late caution on lap 94 for a problem from Michael Bolden. This would bunch everything up for a green-white-checkered finish.

On the restart, Weston did not have anything for Oliver’s mount, as Oliver went on to score the victory. Weston came home in second, with Day in third, Wingo in fourth and Cole Williams in fifth.

In other action, Allen Carter picked up right where he left off in the D&D Events Management Limited Late Model Division in 2013. Carter jumped out to a huge lead in the 25 lap feature, putting several seconds on the time sheet between himself and Bobby Terry. As the laps wound down, however, Terry would slowly start reeling in the No. 3 truck of Carter, closing on him with about 10 laps to go.

Things got interesting as Carter experienced a big wiggle in the middle of turns three and four, allowing Terry and John Earheart to close in the leader’s bumper. Luckily for Carter, they were out of time. Carter was able to hold on and win the first Limited Late Model feature of 2014. Terry finished in second, with Earheart in third, Michael Mitchell in fourth and Wendell Mobley in fifth.

The Sportsman class got off to a dramatic start, as the division’s move to the quarter mile was one of the hottest headlines of the off season. Travis Ryman started on the front row and paced the field for the first eight laps. Thomas Pannell was challenging for second when the two made contact, sending Ryman spinning. Pannell was sent to the rear for causing the wreck.

This put newcomer Robert Cohran in the lead. Bobby Joe Rippey, making the move up from Super Street, ran second behind him. Rippey made the move to the outside in an attempt to take the lead from Cohran when the two made contact. This caused both drivers to restart in the rear with just a few laps remaining.

This would shuffle veteran Tommy Climer to the lead. Climer was able to hold off Ryman to pick up the win, but would later be disqualified for an illegal carburetor. Travis Ryman was awarded the victory and a $1,000 check for the win. Pannell recovered to finish in second, with Daniel Bradford in third, Cohran in fourth and Troy Hall in fifth.

The Super Street division proved once again to be one of the most competitive divisions at Nashville, with 15 cars on hand for the feature. Tink Jackson was able to wrestle the lead away from Jim Jordan on lap 10, then held off a late charge from Robert Forsythe to hang on for the win. Brice Crabtree finished in third, with Matt Barnes in fourth.

The Open Wheel Modified division made their return to the quarter mile track for their feature. Terri Popielarz brought the field to the green flag. She would quickly come under fire from quarter mile expert Tommy Climer. Climer took the lead from Popielarz and would hold on to it until he was challenged by Ray Scott. Scott would get a wheel under Climer, but pushed up and into the No. 21 machine, sending Scott for a spin. Climer was able keep it straight, and went on to score the victory. Popielarz, Clinty Ivey, Parker Pugh and Scott rounded out the top five.

Stephanie Barnes jumped out to an early lead in the Pure Stock feature. Things were calm until lap 16 when second place Matthew Adams tangled with Cody Jackson. Both were forced to restart in the rear with just a few laps remaining. Barnes was able to hold off the field on the restart to pick up her second career win in the division. William Coats finished in second, with Cody Jackson in third, Brian Woodward in fourth and Matthew Adams in fifth.

The Pest Doctor Front Runner division boasted one of the biggest car counts in the division’s history, as 20 cars were set for the feature.

The race was marred with caution flags early on. It got chaotic in the back of the field, but Jason Taylor and Jeffrey Taylor were the class of the field up front. The two drivers ran nose to tail for the majority of the race, weaving in and out of lapped traffic. The two were door to door going into turn three on the final lap, but Jason Taylor prevailed on the bottom to win the feature. Jeffrey Taylor finished in second, with Travis Owens in third, Paul Cummings in fourth and Mark Cummings in fifth.

Kevin Rollins got the short end of the stick on the qualifying draw for the Legends feature. Rollins would start in last place, but that would not matter. He was by far best car in the field and made quick work of the drivers in front of him. Rollins would go on to win the feature. Ross Rollings came home in second, with Wayne Grubb in third, Preston Young in fourth and Jody Covington in fifth.

The Dwarf division made their return to the quarter mile on Saturday night. Mark Cole drew the pole position and easily walked away from the rest of the field. Cole would lead all 15 laps, cruising to the victory. Rickky McIllwain, Ricky Webster, Anthony Hardison and Mike Penrod rounded out the top five.

Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville returns to action on Saturday, May 3 for Military Night, featuring $5,000 to win for the Pro Late Models and $1,000 for win for the Sportsman division, along with racing from the Limited Late Model, Super Street, Open Wheel, Pure Stock, Front Runner, Legends and Dwarf divisions.

For more info, visit fairgroundsspeedwaynashville.com.

Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville – Nashville, TN
Race Results – April 5, 2014

Pro Late Models
1. 33 Dillon Oliver
2. 97 Josh Weston
3. 8 Mark Day
4. 88 Tucker Wingo
5. 46 Cole Williams
6. 84 D.J. VanderLey
7. 110 Hunter Spivey
8. 18 Chase Chaffin
9. 09 Daniel Bolden
10. 40 Tyler Miles
11. 61 T.W. Fisher
12. 11 Stacey Crain
13. 81 Jacob Blair
14. 17 Chuck Tuck
15. 9 Michael Bolden
16. 98 Justin Ashburn
17. 3 Brennon Willard
18. 1 Taylor Webb
19. 1 Sterling Marlin
20. 711 Michael House
21. 53 Kyle Ivey

Limited Late Models
1. Allen Carter
2. Bobby Terry
3. John Earheart
4. Michael Mitchell
5. Wendell Mobley
6. Steadman Marlin
7. Greg Gresham
8. Chaz Chaffin
9. Duane King
10. Zach Johnson

Sportsman
1. Travis Ryman
2. Thomas Pannell
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4. Robert Cohran
5. Troy Hall
6. Bobby Joe Rippey
7. Lee Ford
8. Bret Miles
9. Chad Adams

Super Street
1. Tink Jackson
2. Robert Forsythe
3. Brice Crabtree
4. Matt Barnes
5. Name Not Available
6. Willie Coats
7. Jim Jordan
8. Jeremy Newman
9. Carl Porter
10. Dale Merritt
11. Terry Jackson
12. Brew Fox
13. Jason Adams
14. Billy Williams
15. Johnathan Dishman
16. Gary Bullock

Open Wheel Modified
1. Tommy Climer
2. Terri Popielarz
3. Clinty Ivey
4. Parker Pugh
5. Ray Scott

Pure Stock
1. Stephanie Barnes
2. William Coats
3. Cody Jackson
4. Brian Woodard
5. Matthew Adams
6. Nick Frederick
7. Donald Porter
8. Michael Toth
9. Sofia Ladd
10. Gilbert Boaz
11. James Kelley

Front Runner
1. Jason Taylor
2. Jeffrey Taylor
3. Travis Owens
4. Paul Cummings
5. Mark Cummings
6. Candice Taylor
7. Bailey Green
8. Steven Collins
9. Jeff Frederick
10. Winston Patton
11. John Davis
12. Mitchell Waynick
13. Scott Williams
14. Derrick Bissinger
15. Hardy Krantz
16. Joshua Garvin
17. Wayne Basket
18. Name Not Available
19. Duane White
20. Joshua Stephens