Jason Cliburn held off Mike Boland to win the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series race on Saturday night at Whynot Motorsports Park. Photo courtesy NeSmith Media
When Ronnie Johnson set sail from the pole and opened a comfortable advantage in the first dozen laps of a Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series-sanctioned 50-lapper at Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, MS, it looked like a potential runaway victory in the making. Johnson was steadily pulling away from the rest of the field, the race had run caution-free, and the leader was gradually building his advantage.
The complexion changed dramatically when Johnson looped his machine unexpectedly on the 13th circuit, victimized by a broken inner heim joint on his car’s left-front lower control arm. The problem sent the Chattanooga, TN veteran to the pits, and set up a wildly-competitive battle royal that featured some sizzling racing between several different drivers before Jason Cliburn of Star, MS, emerged from 11th on the grid to defeat 17th-place starter Mike Boland in the $3,000-to-win contest.
Third-place finisher Tim Busha, who took over the series points lead with some assistance from Johnson’s mechanical troubles, started from the outside of the fifth row, which meant none of the top-three finishers started higher than 10th spot on a very racy night at the action-producing speed plant.
Four different drivers led the race, swapping the point a whopping five times. It marked the second night in a row that five lead changes took place in one of the touring series’ events, as the previous evening’s feature race at Magnolia Motor Speedway also featured five exchanges of the point. Cliburn paced the final 17 trips around the facility, taking the lead on lap 34 from veteran campaigner Johnny Stokes led twice for eight circuits, participating as a main player in the most competitive and attention-getting portion of the event between laps 23-34.
Stokes, Tyler Crowder, Adam Martin, Jake Knowles (and eventually Cliburn, Boland and Busha) took part in the hotly-contested racing. Stokes, who mostly ran the top side, nosed his way into the lead battle to trigger the multi-grooved war for the point that started on lap 23, replacing Crowder as the race leader. Crowder fought back to pace laps 27-29, and Stokes returned to the front on the 30th circuit. That stint lasted just four laps before Cliburn made the winning move.
“Now that was a race,” said Crowder after he led the race twice, spending 13 circuits at the front of the pack. “I spent the first half hitting the infield tires, and the second half knocking the wall down about every lap. I was babying the car around the bottom, and I wasn’t sure how far up the track I should go, and the next thing I knew I had a car on one side of me, and another car on the other side of me, and we were racing three wide for the lead.”
Cliburn finally ducked low in traffic between turns three and four to take a lead he would never relinquish, earning his first-career victory on the third-year series for Chevrolet Performance CT525-equipped machines.
“We all raced clean out there tonight, and it was a really good race,” Cliburn said. “The track surface was getting there, and had started to get pretty slick. I tried to be patient and watch the scoreboard, because this isn’t like Super Late Model racing where you can get spread out, and then make up the ground real quick. You can’t wait too long with this type racing, or they’ll be on ya before you know it.”
At times it appeared that everyone was near somebody somewhere on the racetrack, as a large crowd watched the entertaining race play out. Boland, a master craftsman using the low side of the historic oval, utilized that groove to poke his nose into the scene during the latter stages, but settled for a runner-up performance.
Busha’s third-place finish, coupled with Johnson’s troubles, resulted in a swap of the points lead between the two competitors. Johnson did return to action late in the race, but lost many points despite his effort, and now trails Busha by a slim six-marker margin in the chase for the prestigious series championship. Johnson is the reigning series titlist.
Seven cautions slowed the pace of the event, and 11 competitors finished the 50-lap distance. A multicar melee in turn two produced the worst wreck of the night, and knocked series regular Ross Martin out of action.
The next series event will be held July 17 at Penton Raceway in LaFayette, AL, an event which was rained out on June 12. One night later, on July 18, Senoia Raceway in Senoia, GA will host the traveling series for the first time in history.
For more information, visit the series web site at 525SuperSeries.com.
Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series
Whynot Motorsports Park – Meridian, MS
Race Results – July 11, 2015
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
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2. 17 222 Mike Boland Cuba, AL 50 $1,500
3. 10 15 Tim Busha Boaz, AL 50 $1,000
4. 2 47c Tyler Crowder Lamont, FL 50 $850
5. 4 66 Jake Knowles Rome, GA 50 $750
6. 3 110 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS 50 $700
7. 8 95 Brandon Williams (R) Crossville, TN 50 $650
8. 12 21 Mario Gresham (R) Rome, GA 50 $600
9. 15 J8 Jadon Frame Winchester, TN 50 $550
10. 7 47a Adam Martin (R) Talladega, AL 50 $500
11. 13 11 Tim Dees Meridian, MS 50 $475
12. 19 72 Frank Wilson Milton, FL 49 $450
13. 14 23 Trevor Thompson (R) Dallas, GA 49 $425
14. 20 48 Tody Ratcliff Meridian, MS 47 $400
15. 6 38 Dillon Tidmore Glencoe, AL 39 $375
16. 5 55 Ryan King (R) Anniston, AL 37 $350
17. 21 58 Tony Thompson Ohatchee, AL 34 $325
18. 1 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 28 $300
19. 9 47r Ross Martin Talladega, AL 23 $300
20. 16 J1 Josh Johnson (R) Winchester, TN 23 $300
21. 18 24 Barry Goodman Spring City, TN 22 $300
ENTRIES: 21
FAST QUALIFIER: R. Johnson, 13.092 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: None
LEAD CHANGES: 5
LAP LEADERS: R. Johnson, 1-12; Crowder, 13-22; Stokes, 23-26; Crowder, 27-29; Stokes, 30-33; Cliburn, 34-50.
LAPS LED: Cliburn, 17; Crowder, 13; R. Johnson, 12; Stokes, 8
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