David Earl Gentry celebrates his tenth career NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series victory after winning the Spring Nationals 40 on Saturday night before a packed house at Albany Motor Speedway. Photo by Donna Lee
David Earl Gentry of Murfreesboro, TN drove the Eads Farms/Hardy & Associates Warrior to victory on Saturday night in the Spring Nationals 40 for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series at Albany Motor Speedway in Albany, GA. Gentry took the lead on lap 19 after starting ninth, and led the remaining 22 laps for his tenth career series win.
Gentry utilized the bottom groove of the ¼-mile clay oval to his advantage, after watching track prep all day, and also credited his $135 Bilstein Spec Shocks for giving him what he needed to take the win.
“Last night the track was hooked up around the top, but I watched the track prep all day, and it looked like the bottom groove was going to come in tonight,” Gentry said. “We made some adjustments to make our car work down there with the Bilstein Spec Shocks and that made a big difference.”
The defending NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Champion Dan Breuer of Troutman, NC finished second in the AES Racing Special. After riding the first half of the race on the high side of the track, Breuer caught Gentry’s act on the inside, dropped down behind him, and followed him up to the second spot.
“We thought the track would be the same as it was last night, so we drove around the top,” Breuer said. “But when Gentry went blasting by me on the bottom, I just tucked in behind him, and followed him to the second spot. We had a harder compound tire on, so we were good on long runs. The late race caution flags did us in at having a chance to challenge for the win.”
NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series point leader and Wright Turf Farms Fast Qualifier Dennis “Rambo” Franklin of Gaffney, SC finished third in the AES Racing Special after leading the first 18 laps of the race. Franklin was the Wright Turf Farms Fast Qualifier by out-timing the 29 entrants with a lap of 14.251 seconds.
Friday night winner William Thomas of Phenix City, AL took the fourth spot in the J.W. Miller Land and Timber Special. Anthony White of Clinton, TN finished fifth in the J.T. Kerr Racing Equipment Stinger House Car equipped.
Anthony Sanders of Spartanburg, SC was sixth in the Hamricks’s of Gaffney Special. Larry Harrod of Plains, GA drove the Harrod Logging Special to a seventh-place finish. Chris Cantrell of Chester, SC finished eighth to earn the VP Racing Fuels Rookie of the Race Award after coming back from a cut tire on lap two.
Kitt Sealy of Moultrie, GA started 24th as the first alternate in the B&S Concrete Special and finished ninth to earn the Hedman Husler Award. Sealy was added to the field out of the B-main just minutes before the start of the race after Corey Gordon of Charlotte, NC was unable to start the feature in the Travis Creech Motorsports Special.
Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA came back from a lap 18 cut tire to finish tenth in the Hedman Husler equipped with $135 Bilstein Spec Shocks, and remain in the hunt for the $20,000 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series Championship.
Franklin leads the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series standings in the run for the NeSmith Cup with 466 points, but Franklin said he would be unable to compete for the championship due to his super late model schedule this season.
Turner is second in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series standings with 432 points, and holds a six point advantage over Gentry heading into next weekend’s competition at Malden Speedway in Malden, MO on Friday night, and at Clayhill Motorsports in Atwood, TN on Saturday night.
The packed house at Albany Motor Speedway was treated to two and three wide racing at close quarters by drivers from seven different states for the 40-lap main event, and racing too close brought about 12 caution flags. That made for wholesale position changes throughout the race.
Franklin took the lead at the start of the race from the pole position followed by Sanders, Jake Teague of Oliver Springs, TN in the Wade’s Body Shop Special, the 2011 VP Racing Fuels Rookie of the Year Chase Edge of Lafayette, AL in the Jones Welding Supply Special and Breuer. Cantrell brought out the first yellow flag when he cut down a tire and spun in turn three.
When the field went back to green flag action, Breuer pulled up to race side-by-side with Edge for the fourth spot. By lap five, Franklin held an eight car-length lead over Sanders. Tom Maddox of Centre, AL spun the Meeks Truck and Trailer Rocket in turn two on lap seven to bring out the second caution flag.
Franklin led Sanders, Teague, Breuer, Edge, Gentry, Turner, Harrod, White, and Justin Summers of Greenback, TN in the J.T. Kerr Racing Equipment Stinger back to the green flag. On the restart, Gentry drove under Edge for the fifth spot, and Harrod got around Edge for the sixth position on lap ten.
Gentry continued his charge to the front of the pack by driving under Breuer for the fourth spot on lap 12. The caution lamp was fired up for the third time on lap 14 when J.R. Moseley of Columbus, GA in the Moseley Auto Repair Special caused Sealy to spin in turn three. Moseley was ticketed for the caution, and Sealy got his spot back for the restart.
When the field went back to green, Sanders, Teague and Gentry busted out three-wide in a fierce battle for the second spot. Sanders was able to hold the position, but Gentry got by Teague for the third spot. One lap later, Gentry sailed underneath Sanders to grab the second spot, and was in hot pursuit of the leader Franklin.
Franklin’s lead evaporated when the caution flag came out on lap 17 when Mark Tice stalled the Precision Marine Trak-Star in turn four. Franklin led Gentry, Sanders, Breuer, White, Teague, Harrod, Thomas, Johnny Stokes of Columbus, MS in the Bassett Hound Motorsports GRT, and Edge down for the restart.
Gentry dove under Franklin down the front straightaway into turn one, and the lead duo raced side-by-side for two laps until the caution flag came out on lap 19 when Turner stopped after cutting down a tire. Franklin still held the point over Gentry for the restart, and Sealy had charged from the 24th starting spot and into the top ten for the first time in the race.
The restart saw Gentry once again dive under Franklin going into the first turn, and Gentry made it stick by taking the lead coming off the second turn. Breuer followed Gentry’s tire tracks on the bottom for the track, and passed Sanders to take over the third spot. White also passed Sanders on lap 20 to take command of the fourth position.
By lap 23, Breuer moved inside his AES Racing Teammate Franklin to battle side-by-side for the second spot, and made the pass before the next caution flag on lap 25 when Lavon Sloan of Moultrie, GA nosed the Weeks Farm Machinery Special into the turn two wall. Gentry led Breuer, Franklin, White, Thomas, Sanders, Teague, Stokes, Harrod, and Sealy back to the green flag.
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While the top three drivers settled into their respective positions, business was picking up behind them among the rest of the drivers in the top ten. Sanders came from the sixth spot to pass Thomas and White and move back up to fourth on lap 27.
Sanders, White, Thomas, Teague and Stokes were waging war for the fourth spot, but Teague became a casualty on lap 29 when got a piece of the fourth turn wall to bring out the caution flag. Stokes also had to give up a top ten spot during the caution period with a cut down right-rear tire. That earned Stokes the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck Award.
When the field went back to green flag action, White worked his way around Sanders for the fourth spot on lap 32, as Gentry and Breuer began to pull away from Franklin in third. On lap 34, Gentry worked his way through lapped traffic and then pulled out to a half-straightaway lead over Breuer.
Just when it looked like Gentry would cruise to the checkered flag, the caution flag came out on lap 39 when Edge spun in turn two to enable Breuer to close in on Gentry and set up a green-white-checkered dash to the finish of the race. Gentry was up to the challenge, as he pulled away at the drop of the green flag.
Behind the leaders, the action was fast and furious, as Thomas got by White for the fourth spot and Turner charged back up into the top ten. Gentry took the checkered flag with a 1.367 second advantage over Breuer.
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
Albany Motor Speedway – Albany, GA
Spring Nationals 40 – April 28, 2012
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER
2. 5 B7 Dan Breuer
3. 1 27c Dennis Franklin Gaffney, SC 40 $1,000
4. 13 22 William Thomas Phenix City, AL 40 $700
5. 12 2x Anthony White Clinton, TN 40 $650
6. 2 421 Anthony Sanders Spartanburg, SC 40 $550
7. 7 27 Larry Harrod Plains, GA 40 $500
8. 6 114 Chris Cantrell – R Chester, SC 40 $450
9. 24 24k Kitt Sealy
10. 11 10 Matthew Turner Dawsonville, GA 40 $375
11. 21 6 Kyle Bridges Moultrie, GA 40 $350
12. 14 1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS 40 $300
13. 3 18 Chase Edge Lafayette, AL 40 $280
14. 16 121 Michael Blount Sumrall, MS 40 $260
15. 20 69 Tony Lawson Laurel, MS 39 $250
16. 18 22s Lavon Sloan Moultrie, GA 39 $240
17. 10 99 J.R. Moseley Columbus, GA 38 $220
18. 4 117 Jake Teague Oliver Springs, TN 31 $200
19. 8 40 Justin Summers – R Greenback, TN 24 $200
20. 19 5 Thomas Lewis Hamilton, GA 23 $200
21. 17 72 Frank Wilson Harold, FL 16 $200
22. 23 24 Mark Tice
23. 22 81 Travis Stone Baconton, GA 10 $200
24. 15 7 Tom Maddox Centre, AL 6 $200
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