Ray Cook celebrates his $10,000 win in the 100-lap Chevrolet Performance World Championship Race for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series on Saturday night at Bubba Raceway Park. Photo by Trace Crisp
Driving a car he named “Johnny Cash,” Ray Cook of Brasstown, NC started 19th and won the 9th Annual Chevrolet Performance World Championship Race for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series in front of a packed house on Saturday night at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, FL.
Cook had the right set up and the driving experience on a hard slick track, as he took the lead on 43 and never looked back to claim the $10,000 top prize in the Horsepower By Hedrick Special.
“Howard Stalls asked me to drive for him in this race at the beginning of the season, and they’ve been building it since then, like that old Johnny Cash song ‘One Piece At A Time’ and tonight it made some cash too,” Cook said. “We had trouble last night in qualifying, and had to come through the B-Main to make the race, but we had the right set up with tires and shocks to get us to the front.”
Once the car was finished, the Stalls crew installed a brand new Chevrolet Performance 604 Engine right out of the crate they bought at NeSmith Chevrolet in Claxton, GA for $5,195, so they paid for the engine in its first night on the race track.
Once Cook took the lead on lap 43, he packed his bags, turned in the key and checked out on the field to take a 5.942 second margin of victory at the checkered flag. By winning the race from the 19th starting spot, Cook also earned the Hedman Husler of the Race Award for a $100 bonus. Before Cook took control of the race, there were five lead changes in the 100-lap event.
Mike Pegher Jr. of Cranberry, PA finished second in the Bobby Lake Motorsports Warrior, and the 2013 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Rookie of the Year Kyle Bronson of Brandon, FL came back from a cut tire to take the third spot in the Brandon Ford Warrior.
It was an up, down, and up night through the field for Bronson. After starting 13th, Bronson charged up to the third spot by lap 14, but cut down cut down a left-rear tire on lap 15 that sent him to the pit area. Bronson restarted at the tail end of the lead lap, and raced his way back through the field to as far up as second by lap 62.
William Thomas of Phenix City, AL led two laps of the race and drove the Alexander’s Industrial Service GRT to a fourth-place finish. Walker Arthur of Forest, VA was fifth in the Cecil B. Arthur Beef Farms Special.
The 2013 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN started 23rd and finished sixth in the Hickman Manufacturing Special. Johnson broke his primary car, the NeSmith Chevrolet Special in the B-Main race, took a provisional and borrowed Riley Hickman’s car for the main event.
Shan Smith of Dade City, FL led the pack for seven laps in the Outlaw Race Parts Rocket and finished seventh. Jeff Smith of Chatsworth, GA was eighth in the Bilstein Shocks Warrior and Tait Davenport of Benton, KY took the ninth spot in the Murtco, Inc. Special. Ryan Montgomery of Fairmont, WV rounded out the top ten in the Central Supply Warrior.
The Saturday night preliminary 20-lap B-Main races were won by Mark Whitener of Middleburg, FL in the Dave’s Towing Special and Rodney Wing of Meridian, MS in the Ed Metals Special.
In Friday night preliminary action, the 2012 Chevrolet Performance World Championship Race winner Ivedent Lloyd Jr. of Ocala, FL set fast time among the 49 entrants with a lap around the 3/8-mile clay oval in 14.896 seconds driving the Augusta Delivery Service Special. Lloyd then earned the pole position for the Saturday night main event by winning the first of four 15-lap heat races.
The other three heat races were won by Josh Adkins of Talladega, AL in the Yellow Hammer Construction Special, Justin McRee of Cottondale, AL in the High Roller Race Cars Special, and Arthur.
Many of the cars that started at the front of the field and ran in the top five during the first half of the race were not around for the checkered flag. At the start of the race, Lloyd took the lead followed by McRee, Montgomery, Adkins and Dalton Myers of Riverview, FL in the Ed Metals Special. Lloyd was setting a fast pace and had a half-straightaway lead by lap three.
The first of 11 caution flags came out on lap four when Jake Perkins of Ocala, FL spun the Perkins Dentistry Special in turn two. Lloyd restarted with McRee, Montgomery, Pegher, Adkins, Myers, Arthur, Bronson, Shan Smith and Jimmy Sharpe Jr. of Soperton, GA in the Certified Energy, Inc. Special doubled up behind him.
Montgomery drove under McRee on the restart to take over the second spot. J-Mac got his car wound up on the outside to retake the position on lap five, and Shan Smith charged up to the fourth position. On lap seven, Shan Smith was glued to the bottom groove of the track and drove under Montgomery to take third.
Lloyd wasn’t able to shake the field after the lap four restart, as McRee chased him down to battle side-by-side for the lead on lap eight, but before the war could be waged for the point, debris in turn three brought out the caution flag and set up another double-file restart.
The top ten coming back to the green flag were Lloyd, McRee, Shan Smith, Bronson, Adkins, Montgomery, Pegher, Arthur, Thomas and two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Champion David Earl Gentry of Murfreesboro, TN in the Eads Farms/Hardy & Associates Warrior.
Shan Smith continued to be hooked up on the bottom groove and passed Lloyd for the lead on the restart coming off the second turn. McRee was running third, but slowed off the pace on lap 14 to bring out the caution flag. That moved Bronson up to the third spot for the restart that quickly went back to yellow when Sharpe spun coming off the fourth turn.
The yellow came out again on lap 15 when Bronson cut down his left-rear tire and reshuffle the top ten for the restart with Shan Smith leading Lloyd, Arthur, Adkins, Montgomery, Whitener, Thomas, Pegher, Cook, and Davenport. When the field went back to green flag action, business picked up as there were several two and three-wide battles for position throughout the top ten.
Lloyd got wound up on the outside groove to sail around Smith for the lead in turn two on the restart. Thomas charged from sixth to third on lap 16. Adkins got around Thomas for third on lap 19 while Whitener took over the fifth spot. Adkins was on the move again on lap 21 when he sailed around the outside of Shan Smith to take the second spot.
Whitener passed Thomas for the fourth position on lap 22 just before the field was slowed by a debris caution on lap 23. Lloyd led Adkins, Shan Smith, Whitener, Thomas, Montgomery, Cook, Pegher, Chase Edge of LaFayette, AL in the Edge’s Gas Company Special, and Bronson back to the green flag.
Shan Smith drove back under Adkins for the second spot on the restart, while Whitener and Thomas got by Adkins on lap 24 to move up to third and fourth respectively. Myers spun in turn four on lap 25 to bring out a caution flag to set up another double file restart with Lloyd leading Shan Smith, Whitener, Thomas, Adkins, Montgomery, Wing, Cook, Pegher and Bronson.
When the green flag came out, Lloyd went high in turn one, while Smith challenged on the bottom groove of the track. That left the middle groove open for Whitener to make it a three-wide battle for the lead in turn two. As the lead trio shot off the second turn, Whitener took the lead followed by Lloyd and Smith.
Thomas sailed around the outside of Shan Smith to take over the third spot on lap 27, and by lap 33, Whitener was beginning to lap the cars on the tail end of the lead lap. Austin Kirkpatrick of Ocala, FL spun the Sonny’s Bar-B-Que Special in turn four on lap 36 to bring out the caution flag. The top ten for the restart was Whitener leading Lloyd, Thomas, Shan Smith, Adkins, Montgomery, Wing, Bronson, Cook, and Pegher.
Jeff Mathews of Valrico, FL has mechanical issues with his CURS Warrior on the restart to bring the caution flag back out, and during the caution period, Adkins had to give up the fifth spot when he had to pit with a cut tire. When the field went back to green flag action, Bronson charged from seven to fourth by lap 37.
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As the racing surface began to get black and slick, Cook’s race car came to life as he powered his way from eighth to fourth by lap 39. Two laps later, the entire complexion of the race would dramatically change at the front of the pack.
With Whitener holding a comfortable lead, he suddenly slowed off the pace in turn three on lap 41 to bring out the caution flag. When Whitener went to the pits, Lloyd took over the lead, but as the cars were lining up for the double file restart, Lloyd also had to dive into the pits after cutting down a right-rear tire.
That gave Thomas the lead followed by Cook, Bronson, Shan Smith, Pegher, Montgomery, Wing, Johnson, Jeff Smith and Davenport. Lloyd came out of the pit area with a fresh right-rear tire and restarted 17th as the last car on the lead lap.
When the field went back to green flag racing, Cook moved up to challenge Thomas for the lead on lap 42. Cook was able to drive under Thomas to take the lead on lap 43 coming off the fourth turn. Montgomery drove around the outside of Shan Smith down the backstretch on lap 44 to take over the fourth spot.
By the halfway point in the race, Cook was pulling away from Thomas and held a half-straightaway lead in lapped traffic. The field would bunch up one more time when the caution flag came out on lap 62 when Jeff Smith and Lloyd got together coming off the fourth turn while battling for the eighth spot.
The final double-file restart of the race had Cook leading Thomas, Bronson, Arthur, Pegher, Shan Smith, Johnson, Davenport, Wing and Brent Barrett of Cleveland, MS in the Custom Spraying, Inc. GRT. Bronson got by Thomas for second on the restart, and on lap 65, Pegher passed Thomas for third.
Cook was pulling away from the field and by lap 70 was in a different zip code with over a full straightaway lead on Bronson. Pegher chased down Bronson by lap 80 to battle him side-by-side for the second spot, and took the position on lap 82 with an outside move down the back stretch.
By the time Pegher got to second, Cook was nowhere in sight. With ten laps to go, Cook was almost a half a lap ahead of Pegher. Cook cruised home for the win to join the likes of Lloyd, Jonathan Davenport, Doug Horton, Tim McCreadie, Shannon Buckingham, Randy Korte and Jimmy Owens as a winner of the Chevrolet Performance World Championship Race.
The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series will return to Bubba Raceway Park to open the 2014 season with five straight nights of Speedweeks racing on January 28 through February 1. There will be four 40-lap $2,000-to-win races on January 28, 29, 30, and 31, with a 50-lap $3,000-to-win finale on February 1.
For more information, visit nesmithracing.com.
NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Modle Series
Bubba Raceway Park – Ocala, FL
Chevrolet Performance World Championship – Nov. 23, 2013
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER
1. 19 114 Ray Cook
2. 9 1c Mike Pegher Jr. Cranberry, PA 100 $5,000
3. 13 40b Kyle Bronson (R) Brandon, FL 100 $3,000
4. 15 19 William Thomas Phenix City, AL 100 $2,000
5. 4 87 Walker Arthur Forest, VA 100 $1,750
6. 23 R1 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 100 $1,500
7. 11 55 Shan Smith
8. 21 17s Jeff Smith
9. 24 18d Tait Davenport Benton, KY 99 $1,100
10. 5 12 Ryan Montgomery Fairmount, WV 99 $1,000
11. 22 110 Brent Barrett (R) Cleveland, MS 98 $800
12. 12 18 Chase Edge LaFayette, AL 97 $700
13. 2 19m Josh Adkins (R) Talladega, AL 97 $600
14. 10 33c Carter Stokes New Smyrna Beach, FL 96 $500
15. 26 59 Jake Perkins Ocala, FL 95 $450
16. 18 54w Rodney Wing Meridian, MS 76 $440
17. 1 21 Ivedent Lloyd Jr. Ocala, FL 61 $430
18. 20 11k Austin Kirkpatrick (R) Ocala, FL 59 $420
19. 17 58 Mark Whitener Middleburg, FL 40 $400
20. 16 33 Jeff Mathews Valrico, FL 35 $400
21. 7 54 Dalton Myers Riverview, FL 24 $400
22. 14 56 David Earl Gentry Murfreesboro, TN 22 $400
23. 3 25 Justin McRee Cottondale, AL 13 $400
24. 6 26 Jimmy Shapre Jr. Soperton, GA 13 $400
25. 8 47h Brad Hall
26. 25 5k George Kowatic Moon Township, PA 3 $400
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