Ronnie Johnson addresses the crowd as the The 2014 NeSmith Late Model and Chevy Super Series National Champion at the annual NeSmith Racing Awards Banquet on Saturday night at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame. Photo by Mitchell Jenkins
The Top 10 drivers in the four NeSmith Racing Divisions were honored on Saturday night at the Annual NeSmith Racing Awards Banquet at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in Dawsonville, GA. NeSmith Racing officials also used the occasion to make several announcements concerning the 2015 racing season.
National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN left town with a bounty of cash totaling $30,000 and two National Championship trophies. Johnson won his second straight $20,000 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Championship, the NeSmith Cup and the Beyea Headers Hard Charger Award during the 2014 season.
Johnson also won the 2014 National Championship worth $10,000 in the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series and the Chevrolet Performance Cup. In his trips to the podium to accept his awards, Johnson was reflective on his life as a racer and thankful for the opportunity to be able to compete for over 40 years.
“Coming from a racing family, this is all I’ve ever known,” Johnson said. “I was the kid in grade school that got in trouble for making race car noises in class, and I couldn’t wait to get home to my Dad’s garage to see what race car was in there on that particular day.”
As one of the top dirt late model drivers in the country, Johnson spent the early part of his career on the road chasing and spending big money. Over the last ten years, Johnson has changed up his racing schedule, and he said Chevrolet Performance and NeSmith Racing came along at the right time for him.
“I can’t thank Chevrolet Performance enough for giving us three affordable engines to use, the 604, 602, and CT 525, and NeSmith Racing for giving us a great family of series to use them at good paying races that don’t require a lot of travel,” Johnson said. “I used to be on the road for weeks at a time, but now chasing two NeSmith Racing series; we’re just gone on weekends and are usually home every Sunday.”
Johnson also gave special thanks to the people that make up the NeSmith Racing Family of racing series.
“Thanks to the people that make all of this happen – the NeSmith Officials, the track owners and officials, the other drivers, their crews and families – this is the most fun I’ve had in racing during my entire 40-year career,” Johnson said. “I don’t know how long this string of success will last, but at this point in my career, I savor every win and every championship because you just don’t know if it will be your last.”
Chris Holley of Dayton, TX was honored as the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Champion for non-touring drivers. Holley was presented a check for $10,000 after winning 15 races in 18 starts to turn in a perfect season of 700 points. Holley did all of his racing at one track during the 2014 season, Battleground Speedway in Highlands, TX.
“We definitely had a dream season in 2014 in winning the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Championship,” Holley said. “If someone would have told me I could win $10,000 for a season championship without leaving my home track, I would have told them they were crazy. Thanks to the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series, dreams like that are now possible.”
Second-generation driver Jeremy Idom of Hattiesburg, MS was honored as the 2014 NeSmith Performance Parts Street Stock Division Presented By AR Bodies National Champion and received a $2,000 check out of the season point fund. Idom honored his father, Mississippi racing legend Ricky Idom in accepting his awards.
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There were several other special awards handed out the banquet, as Chris Noah of Rainbow City, AL was honored as the NeSmith Late Model Rookie of the Year, and Brent Barrett of Cleveland, MS accepted the Cruise With The Champions Chevy Super Series Rookie of the Year Award.
Zach Kinsey took the Crew Chief of the Year Award in both the NeSmith Late Models and the Chevy Super Series as the head wrench for Ronnie Johnson. Chris Holley’s crew chief Gary Rollo took the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Crew Chief of the Year honors, and Cody Robertson was the NeSmith/AR Bodies Street Stock Division Crew Chief of the Year for Jeremy Idom.
GRT Race Cars of Greenbrier, AR was honored as the 2014 NeSmith Late Model Chassis Manufacturer’s Challenge Champion for the second time, and Trak-Star Race Cars built by Boland Performance of Cuba, AL picked up their fourth NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Chassis Manufacturer’s Challenge Championship.
Charles Roberts, owner of Hoosier Tire South in Clinton, TN and co-owner of Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS was named the recipient of the 2014 Bob Cross Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award. In another special award, 13-year-old Cruz Skinner of Oxford, AL was recognized as the youngest driver to win a NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series race at the age of 12.
NeSmith Racing Founder and CEO Mike Vaughn made several announcements for the 2015 season in his annual State of the Series Address. The two biggest announcements were the new Young Guns Challenge Series for drivers 18-years-old and younger, and a westward expansion for the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series.
The Young Guns Challenge Series will give drivers 18-years-old and younger the opportunity to compete for separate point fund by earning points in both NeSmith Late Model Touring events and NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series events. A driver’s best 14 finishes during the 2015 season will count towards their season point total. Vaughn said the Young Guns Challenger Series sponsor and point fund amount will be announced in the coming days.
Vaughn also announced the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series will co-sanction events with the Southern Crate Series in Arkansas, Louisiana, and East Texas, as well as the NCRA in Kansas and Oklahoma. Last season the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series expanded westward to Salina, KS and Highlands, TX. These two new alliances for 2015 will now begin to fill the geographical gap between those two venues.
The 2015 season opener at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, FL for the NeSmith Late Models will be Wednesday night with a 40-lap $2,000-to-win race. On Thursday night, it will be a 50-lap $2,500-to-win event, and then on Friday night, it’s 50-laps $3,000-to-win.
After being postponed by rain on November 22, 2014, the 100-lap $10,000-to-win 10th Annual Chevrolet Performance World Championship Race will be run on Saturday night. The first 16 starting spots were determined through heat races on November 21, 2014. The back half of the starting field will be determined in B-Main races on Saturday night.
For more information about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series, visit the series web site at NesmithRacing.com.
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