Mack McCarter celebrates his first career Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series win on Saturday night at Tazewell Speedway. Photo by Adam Stewart
TAZEWELL, TN – Mack McCarter of Gatlinburg, TN won the 6th Annual Buddy Rogers Memorial 44 for the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series in spectacular fashion Saturday night at Tazewell Speedway driving the McCarter Brothers Racing CVR. After a race-long duel, McCarter held off a driver he has the highest respect for; Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN.
To get to the checkered flag coming off the fourth turn on the final lap, McCarter had to go through a slow lapped car and then defend the point against a hard charging Johnson to take the win sideways at the finish line.
“Ronnie Johnson is the best dirt late model driver in the country, and I’ve been trying to beat him for win all season long over in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series,” McCarter said. “He beat us in qualifying, but I beat him for the lead at the start of the race and track position means everything here. All race long I kept asking myself, where’s Johnson and where’s the checkered flag?”
All race long, McCarter didn’t have to look very far to find the National Dirt Hall of Fame Inductee. For most of the race, Johnson kept looking inside McCarter to challenge for the lead, but the momentum McCarter had coming off the corners kept him in the lead. The only thing that could work to Johnson’s advantage was lapped traffic, and it almost got him his third win of the season in the final turn of the final lap.
McCarter led into the third turn on the final lap with Johnson running right in his tire tracks. Coming off the fourth turn, the lapped car of Brian Shockley of Thorn Hill, TN was running about half speed right in the groove McCarter was running. Just when everyone thought Johnson had run out of tricks to try and pass McCarter, the Chattanooga Flash had one more in the bag.
Seeing that McCarter had committed to the groove the slow lapped car was in, Johnson stepped to the outside and tried to use Shockley as a pick, and drive around McCarter for the win. McCarter was not to be denied and refused to take another second-place to Johnson.
McCarter dropped the hammer, moved Shockley out of the way, and then drifted up the banking to defend the point. McCarter’s right-rear made contact with Johnson’s left-front getting McCarter sideways under the checkered flag for the $4,400 top prize. Johnson had to settle for second in the NeSmith Chevrolet Special.
Third-generation driver Brandon Williams of Crossville, TN was impressive in his first-ever start with the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series by driving the Auto Zone Special to a third-place finish. Williams had to replace a power steering pump and missed hot laps.
His first laps on the track in a super late model powered by a Chevrolet Performance CT 525 Engine, Williams qualified fourth fastest, and ran third in the race, running blind while he was in lapped traffic. Williams lost all of the tear offs on his helmet visor in the opening laps of the race. Jacob Grizzle of Blairsville, GA finished fourth in the Carolina Performance Special.
Jake Knowles of Tyrone, GA took the fifth spot in the Cedartown Electric Rocket, and Ryan King of Anniston, AL drove the David King Automotive Special to a sixth-place finish. Brent Barrett of Cleveland, MS was seventh in the Custom Spraying, Inc. Special and was the highest finishing Rookie of the Year candidate in the race.
Josh Henry of Newport, TN finished eighth in the Henry Trucking Rocket and Tyler Crowder of Lamont, FL cut down a tire early in the race, but came back to take the ninth spot in the Crowder Trucking Rocket. David Brannon of Elora, TN rounded out the top ten in the Elora Gin Company Special.
Johnson was the fast qualifier with a lap around the 1/3-mile high-banked clay oval in 11.916 seconds to earn the pole position for the main event. When the green flag came out to start the 6th Annual Buddy Rogers Memorial 44, it was outside front row starter McCarter taking the lead followed by Johnson, Williams, Grizzle, and Knowles.
The race was slowed by the first of five caution flags on lap 4 when Jadon Frame of Winchester, TN cut down a tire on his Poultry Electric Special, and again on lap seven when Crowder cut down a tire. McCarter led Johnson, Williams, Grizzle, Knowles, Barrett, Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA, King, Henry and Shockley down for the restart.
King was able to get by Turner for the seventh spot on the restart, and by lap 12, McCarter led Johnson into lapped traffic with a two car-length advantage. Johnson’s night almost came to an end on lap 15 when he threw a slider on the lapped car of Mark Dowdy of Waterloo, AL in turn four. Johnson’s rear bumper locked onto the front bumper of Dowdy’s Action Track Chair.com Special down the front straightaway.
Johnson and Dowdy got separated by the time they got to the first turn, but by that time, McCarter had opened up a half straightaway lead on Johnson. Turner slowed his Hedman Hussler Hedders Special on lap 23 while running ninth to bring out the third caution flag of the race. McCarter’s big lead was gone, and Johnson camped out on his back bumper for the restart.
When the green flag came back out, Johnson went into attack mode, showing the nose of his race car to McCarter on the inside on every lap until the fourth caution flag was unfuelled on lap 27 when Lavon Sparks stalled the Hester Racing GRT on the front straightaway. McCarter led Johnson, Williams, Grizzle, Knowles, Barrett, King, Henry, Shockley and Crowder back to the green flag.
McCarter’s car began to get loose in turns three and four, as track began to get black and slick, while Johnson was hammer down in the moist clay on the inside. On lap 33, McCarter changed his racing groove in turns three and four, dropping to the inside, which in turn slowed Johnson’s momentum to get underneath the leader.
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Shockley had problems with his Discount Auto Parts Rocket coming off the fourth turn on lap 37 and got sideways in front of the leaders, and then slowed on the front straightaway to bring out the final caution flag of the race. This scenario would play out again on the last turn of the last lap.
When the green flag came back out for the eight lap dash to the finish, Johnson tried the outside, but couldn’t make it work to get by McCarter for the lead. On the last lap, Johnson went to the outside again, only this time by necessity, as McCarter got into Shockley with the checkered flag waving in front of them.
McCarter sent Shockley spinning down the front stretch as Johnson worked to his outside. It was a grinding drag race to the finish line, and McCarter got there first to take his first career Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series win in just his second start.
The next race for the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series will be Saturday night, September 20 with a 50-lap $3,000-to-win event at 411 Motor Speedway in Seymour, TN. Johnson holds a 30-point lead over Crowder in the point standings going into Round 6 of the 2014 Chevy Super Series season.
For more information about the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series visit the series web site at 525SuperSeries.com.
Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series
Tazewell Speedway in Tazewell, TN
Race Results – Sept. 13, 2014
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER
1. 2 51 Mack McCarter Gatlinburg, TN 44 $4,400
2. 1 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 44 $2,200
3. 4 95 Brandon Williams Crossville, TN 44 $1,100
4. 3 99g Jacob Grizzle Blairsville, GA 44 $1,000
5. 5 66 Jake Knowles Tyrone, GA 44 $800
6. 7 55 Ryan King
7. 6 110 Brent Barrett (R) Cleveland, MS 44 $600
8. 9 B00 Josh Henry Newport, TN 43 $550
9. 13 47 Tyler Crowder Lamont, FL 43 $500
10. 14 33 David Brannon Elora, FL 43 $475
11. 15 11 Lavon Sparks Phenix City, AL 42 $450
12. 11 17 Brian Shockley Thorn Hill, TN 40 $425
13. 16 88d Mark Dowdy Waterloo, AL 37 $400
14. 10 J8 Jadon Frame (R) Winchester, TN 34 $400
15. 8 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 21 $400
16. 12 3 Brad Hall
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