Whynot Motorsports Park - Meridian, MS. Photo courtesy Whynot Motorsports Park
Justin McRee of Cottondale, AL drove a new car of his own design to victory on Saturday night in the Salute To The Navy and Marines 40 for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Touring Division at his home track, Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, MS. It was a race that saw five lead changes among three drivers.
McRee took the lead for good after a lap 24 restart when he drove around the outside of Jim McDuffie of Meridian, MS and then never looked back to take his fourth career NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series win in the High Roller Race Cars Special. “J-Mac” led on three different occasions for a total of 34 of the 40 laps.
NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series point leader David Earl Gentry of Murfreesboro, TN and McDuffie battled for the lead with McRee during the first half of the race. McRee led the first 16 laps of the race, but got caught behind a lapped car that enabled Gentry and McDuffie to drive underneath to take the first and second spots respectively.
McRee sailed around the outside of Gentry and McDuffie to lead lap 21, but Gentry grabbed the lead back on lap 22. Lap 23 saw a caution flag, and while the field was under yellow, Gentry cut down a tire and had to give up the point to change the tire in the pits. McDuffie led for one lap, but McRee went to the outside and took the lead for good on lap 24. His margin of victory was .304 seconds.
“Our plan was to run the bottom of the track, but the car just worked well anywhere on the race track,” McRee said. “When I got into the lapped car and lost the lead, it made the left front fender start rubbing the tire, but it popped back out after a few laps and everything was good.”
McDuffie finished second in the McDuffie Racing Trak-Star and two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Champion Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS started 11th and finished third in the Bryson Motorsports Special. Monte Skinner of Saraland, AL was fourth in the Skinner Racing Trak-Star.
Chase Edge of Lafayette, AL and Daniel Bridgeman of Meridian, MS put on a high-flying show for the fans, as they dusted off the cushion late in the race, and used the outside groove to finish in the top six. Edge took the fifth spot in the Edge’s Gas Company Special and Bridgeman finished sixth in the Robinson Electric Rocket.
Chris O’Connor of Cantonment, FL drove the Dean’s Solid Surfacing Warrior to a seventh-place finish, and Evan Ellis of Plantersville, MS was eighth in the Ellis Welding Special. Johnny Stokes of Columbus, MS salvaged a bad night with a ninth-place effort.
Stokes was battling for the lead side-by-side with Cooley in the first 12-lap B-Main earlier in the evening and had a mechanical problem with his Bassett Hound Motorsports GRT on the final lap. Stokes used a provisional and borrowed Marcus Minga’s B&M Salvage Rocket for the main event. “Dr. Dirt” started 24th and finished ninth to earn the Hedman Husler of the Race Award.
Gentry came back from his lap 23 cut tire to finish tenth in the Eads Farms/Hardy & Associates Warrior. Gentry’s misfortune earned him the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award, but Gentry still remains the point leader in his quest for a third NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Championship.
Gentry leads Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA by 18 points in the battle for the $20,000 title. Turner finished 17th in the race. Chris Cantrell of Chester, SC is third in the series standings, 18 points behind Turner. Cantrell ran up front early in the race, but faded late and finished 11th in the CANCO Rocket to earn the VP Racing Fuels Rookie of the Race Award.
Edge used his top five finish to climb back up into the fourth spot in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series point standings, ten points behind Cantrell. Stokes dropped to the fifth spot, just two points behind Edge.
McRee took the lead at the start of the race followed by McDuffie, Gentry, and Skinner, but a turn four spin by Tody Ratcliff in the Rita Shannon Trak-Star on the first lap necessitated a complete restart. On the next try to complete lap one, McRee led Gentry, McDuffie, Skinner, and Larry Murphy of Meridian, MS in the Bo Haarala Autoplex Special.
Cantrell and Murphy moved up to wage a three-wide battle with Skinner for the fourth spot on lap two that saw Cantrell take the spot. McRee caught the cars on tail of the lead lap by the seventh circuit and had a 12 car-length lead over Gentry and McDuffie.
While McRee tried to work around the lapped cars, Gentry and McDuffie caught the leader on lap 15. McRee tried to go around the outside of a lapped car on lap 17, but the lapped car slid up the track and made contact with the leader. While McRee regrouped, Gentry and McDuffie drove underneath to take over the first and second spots respectively.
The second caution flag of the race came out on lap 23 when Cody Kierre of Beebe, AR spun the K&E Racing GRT in turn one. Gentry led McDuffie, McRee, Cantrell, Cooley, O’Connor, Skinner, Murphy, Bridgeman and Ellis down for the restart. A multi-car tangle in turn two on the restart brought out the third caution flag.
As the field lined up for another restart, Gentry gave up the point and headed to the pit area with a cut tire. McDuffie assumed the lead with McRee and Cantrell doubled up behind him for the restart. McRee choose the outside for the “Dixie-Style” double-file restart with Cantrell on the inside behind McDuffie.
McRee went to the top of the race track to challenge McDuffie for the lead, but Cantrell lost two positions in turn four when he got sideways. Cantrell gathered up his race car, but Cooley and Skinner got by for third and fourth respectively.
The side-by-side battle for the lead continued for a lap before McRee took the point on lap 24 going around the outside of McDuffie coming off the fourth turn. Edge, who started tenth on the lap 23 restart, went to the outside groove with Bridgeman in tow, and by lap 30, Edge was running sixth.
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Edge and Bridgeman continued their around the top show, and Edge drove around Cantrell for fifth on lap 34. With five laps to go, McRee held a half straightaway lead on McDuffie, and cruised home for the win. McRee was also the fast qualifier by out-timing the 46 entrants with a lap around the 3/8-mile clay oval in 13.859 seconds.
In other preliminary action, the three 12-lap B-Main races were won by Cooley, O’Connor, and Edge.
For more information about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series visit the series web site at nesmithracing.com.
NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series
Whynot Motorsports Park – Meridian, MS
Salute To The Navy and Marines 40– May 26, 2012
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER
2. 3 760 Jim McDuffie Meridian, MS 40 $1,000
3. 11 33b Eric Cooley Fulton, MS 40 $700
4. 4 00m Monte Skinner Saraland, AL 40 $550
5. 13 18 Chase Edge Lafayette, AL 40 $500
6. 8 09 Daniel Bridgeman Meridian, MS 40 $425
7. 12 03 Chris O’Connor Cantonment, FL 40 $375
8. 16 6 Evan Ellis
9. 24 19 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS 40 $425
10. 2 56 David Earl Gentry Murfreesboro, TN 40 $300
11. 9 114 Chris Cantrell – R Chester, SC 40 $275
12. 17 232 Jamey Boland Cuba, AL
13. 10 27 Larry Harrod Plains, GA 40 $225
14. 21 2x Anthony White Clinton, TN 40 $200
15. 14 118 Randy Boyd Marion, MS 40 $175
16. 15 75p Phillip Stanley Silas, AL
17. 23 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 39 $140
18. 18 117 Jake Teague – R Oliver Springs, TN 39 $125
19. 19 2 Marty Hardy Biloxi, MS 39 $125
20. 20 17k Cody Kierre – R Beebe, AR 38 $125
21. 6 444 Brian Ligon Augusta, GA 38 $125
22. 5 27m Larry Murphy Meridian, MS 24 $125
23. 22 4 Wiley Williams Stonewall, MS 11 $125
24. 7 48 Tody Ratcliff Meridian, MS 5 $125
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