Chase Edge, seen here from earlier action, scored the victory Saturday night at Clayhill Motorsports in Atwood, TN in NeSmith Chevy DLMS action. Photo courtesy East Alabama Motor Speedway
Saturday didn’t start off too well for Chase Edge of Lafayette, AL, but it ended in great fashion. The 18-year-old driver took his first career NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Touring Division win on Saturday night at Clayhill Motorsports in Atwood, TN, by blistering the field in the 50-lap main event driving the Edge’s Gas Company Special.
Edge and his race team barely made it from Malden, MO to Atwood, TN, as the axle on his trailer hauling the race car and support equipment broke. While the trailer was ailing, the race car inside it was untouchable in the main event. After starting seventh, Edge dusted off the outside groove of the 3/8-mile clay oval and charged to the front of the pack.
The lead changed hands twice on a lap 24 restart, and Edge took the lead with a vicious slide job pass on two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Champion David Earl Gentry of Murfreesboro, TN to take the lead coming off the fourth turn. Once in the lead, Edge packed his bags, turned in the key, and checked out on the field.
In just a few laps, Edge opened up a full straightaway lead on Gentry and Chase Washington of Houlka, MS who were battling the second spot. Edge had over a two-second lead at the checkered flag.
“This is great, it’s unbelievable, and I just don’t know what to say,” Edge said in trying to describe what taking his first win felt like. “We’ve been trying to get this first win for almost two years, and I owe it to my Mon and Dad Debbie and Bill Edge, my sister Ali, and Bodie and Cord, who help work on the car. This was a team effort, and I had a great car tonight.”
Edge is known as “The Silent Assassin” because he doesn’t say much outside the race car, but rather does his talking with his right foot inside the race car.
Washington took the second spot in the Jerry Inmon Racing Special and Gentry finished third in the Eads Farms/Hardy and Associates Warrior. Ashley Newman of Ripley, TN started 13th and finished fourth in the TS Race Shop GRT.
Pole sitter Chris Cantrell of Chester, SC led early in the CANCO Rocket, but had to settle for a fifth-place finish and the VP Racing Fuels Rookie of the Race Award. Chris Ragan of Ramer, TN took the sixth spot in the Ragan Racing Trak-Star, and point leader Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA was seventh in the Hedman Husler.
Anthony White of Clinton, TN started 22nd and finished eighth in the J.T. Kerr Racing Equipment Stinger house car, but it was Johnny Stokes of Columbus, MS taking the Hedman Husler of the Race Award. Stokes started the Bassett Hound Motorsports GRT 24th and last on the field and finished ninth. Kyle Berry of Portageville, MO rounded out the top ten in the Berry Roofing Special.
Turner remains the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series point leader with 596 points and a 20-point advantage over Gentry, who has 576 points. Edge and Cantrell are tied for the third spot with 550 points, and Stokes is fifth with 532 points. White moved up to the sixth spot with 514 points.
In preliminary action, Cantrell topped the 33 car field in Qualifications with a lap in 15.609 seconds to earn the pole position for the main event. The two 12-lap B-Main races were won by Chris Tays of Corinth, MS in the Christian’s Automotive and Machine Trak-Star, and two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Champion Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS in the Bryson Motorsports Special.
When the green flag fell to start the race, Cantrell and outside front row starter Turner battled side-by-side for the lead. Just as they got to the flag stand to complete lap one, mayhem broke out behind them among the top ten drivers and a multi-car pile-up in turn four brought out the first of three caution flags to necessitate a complete restart.
The turn four wreck claimed the Wade’s Body Shop Special driven by Jake Teague of Oliver Springs, TN, who earned the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award. Another wreck almost took place on the restart, as Turner tried to dive under Cantrell for the lead in turn two, but he was hit from behind almost causing him to spin.
Cantrell led lap one followed by Washington and Gentry, while Turner recovered to hold on to the fourth position, and Tait Davenport of Benton, KY was fifth in the Murtco, Inc. Special. Washington pulled alongside Cantrell on lap five and the lead duo raced wheel-to-wheel until Cantrell pulled back in front on lap seven.
Washington regrouped and dove for the bottom of the track in turn four on lap eight to take the lead. One lap later, Washington caught the cars on the tail end of the lead lap, but the traffic went away on lap 11, as debris on the front straightaway brought out caution flag number two.
Washington led Cantrell, Gentry, Davenport, Turner, Edge, Ragan, R.C. Whitwell of Tucson, AZ in the Swafford’s Service GRT, Larry Harrod of Plains, GA in the Harrod Logging Special, and Newman doubled up behind him for the restart. Business picked up for position changes when the field went back to green flag action.
Gentry pulled up to battle Cantrell for the second spot, while Edge went to the outside and began his assault to march towards the front of the pack. Edge drove around Turner for the fifth spot on lap 12, and then sailed past Davenport on lap 13. Gentry was Edge’s next victim, as he went around the outside of Gentry for the third spot on lap 15.
Coming off the fourth turn on lap 17, Edge went around the outside of Cantrell coming off the fourth turn to take the second position. Washington held a half straightaway lead over Edge when he began to encounter lapped traffic on lap 21. Davenport got by Cantrell for the fourth spot on lap 22.
The final caution flag of the race came out on lap 24 when Cody Kierre of Beebe, AR rolled to a stop in turn two when something broke on his K&E Racing GRT. With Washington in front for the Dixie-Style double-file restart, Edge naturally chose the outside with the third-place car of Gentry on the inside.
Davenport and Whitwell dropped out of the race during the caution period, so that moved Cantrell back up to fourth followed by Turner, Ragan, Newman, Cooley, Harrod and Ronnie Cooper of McKenzie, TN in the Ronnie Cooper Trucking GRT in the top ten. The racing got intense when the green flag came back out.
Gentry drove under Edge in turn two to take the second spot, and then Gentry drove under Washington to take the lead going down the backstretch. Edge got his momentum built up down the backstretch and sailed around the outside of Washington in turn three to take the second spot.
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Once Edge cleared Washington, Edge made a hard left and dove to the bottom of the track to try an old school slide job pass on Gentry in turn four. Edge dove under Gentry in the center of the fourth turn, and then slide up the banking in front of Gentry. There was some contact as Edge slid up in front of Gentry, but Edge made the pass stick to take the lead coming off the fourth turn.
Edge had pulled out to a full straightaway lead on Gentry and Washington by lap 30, and was headed to the next zip code on the rest of the field. Gentry and Washington battled each other for the second spot, trading the position on a couple of occasions. Edge was unstoppable, as he encountered lapped traffic on lap 37, but maintained his big lead all of the way to his first career NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Touring Division win.
The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series will return to action on Memorial Day Weekend for Rounds 8, 9, and 10 with a Mississippi Holiday Triple-Header.
Hattiesburg Motorsports Park in Hattiesburg, MS will host a 40-lap $2,000-to-win race on May 25, followed by a 40-lap $2,000-to-win event at Whynot Motorsports Park in Meridian, MS on May 26, and a 40-lap $2,000-to-win race at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS on May 27.
For more information about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series visit nesmithracing.com.
NeSmith Chevy Dirt Late Model Series
Clayhill Motorsports – Atwood, TN
Race Results – May 5, 2012
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 7 18 Chase Edge Lafayette, AL 50 $2,500
2. 3 38 Chase Washington Houlka, MS 50 $1,250
3, 5 56 David Earl Gentry Murfreesboro, TN 50 $850
4. 13 73 Ashley Newman Ripley, TN 50 $700
5. 1 114 Chris Cantrell – R Chester, SC 50 $650
6. 9 C16 Chris Ragan Ramer, TN 50 $550
7. 2 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 50 $500
8. 22 2x Anthony White Clinton, TN 50 $450
9. 24 1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS 49 $500
10. 19 11 Kyle Berry Portageville, MO 49 $375
11. 18 73e Evan Ellis Plantersville, MS 49 $350
12. 20 121 Michael Blount Sumrall, MS 49 $300
13. 23 85 Mitch Thornton Columbia, TN 49 $280
14. 21 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS 46 $260
15. 12 33b Eric Cooley Fulton, MS 40 $250
16. 15 10c Ronnie Cooper McKenzie, TN 34 $240
17. 4 27 Larry Harrod Plains, GA 29 $220
18. 14 6 Jessie Bailey Drummonds, TN 25 $200
19. 6 44 Tait Davenport Benton, KY 23 $200
20. 8 14jr R.C. Whitwell Tucson, AZ 23 $200
21. 17 17k Cody Kierre – R Beebe, AR 22 $200
22. 11 8 Chris Tays Corinth, TN 10 $200
23. 16 69 Tony Lawson Laurel, MS 10 $200
24. 10 117 Jake Teague – R Oliver Springs, TN 0 $200
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