Carolina Clash Super Late Model Series
August 2, 2011
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Carolina Clash Super Late Model Series - First Half in Review

by Alex Cummings
What a first half of the season it has been for the Carolina Clash as the series has reached all new heights and is setting records weekly. Coming into the 2011 season, the Carolina Clash officials wanted to take the series to a level it has never seen before with new race tracks, the "Chase for the Cup" format, new drivers, and an astonishing amount of sponsors.

First and foremost, the Carolina Clash would like to thank each and every sponsor that has made the 2011 season possible. Without our wonderful sponsors, this would not be possible without their kind and generous contributions to the series.

The Carolina Clash has been graced with the presence of 67 different drivers in 2011.

So far this year, the Carolina Clash has held 9 races in 3 states including the series' first ever trip to Tennessee with a stop at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, TN. In those 9 races, the series has seen 7 different winners with Luke Roffers being the only repeat winner with 3 victories to his name. Drivers with victories in 2011 include Chris Ferguson, Johnny Pursley, Kennie Compton Jr., Austin Dillon, Ricky Weeks, and Dennis Franklin.

The defending Carolina Clash Champion, Dennis Franklin has been battling back and forth with Luke Roffers all season for the point's lead as both drivers have held the top spot atleast twice. Franklin currently has the points lead by just 4 points over Roffers. Gaffney, SC native Mike Gault is his first full season with the Carolina Clash is third in points and is looking for his first ever champion in super late models. It has been an up and down season thus far for Kennie Compton Jr. who sits fourth in points. Kennie picked up his second career victory with the Carolina Clash at Dublin Speedway in his first ever appearance at the track but also totaled a car a few weeks later at Volunteer Speedway in qualifying. The 2009 Carolina Clash Champion Jeff Smith has been in a tight battle with Compton Jr. all season long for fourth in points but Smith currently holds down the fifth position in points. Rounding out the Top-10 in points are Chad Paxton, David Taylor, Scott Autry, Dustin Mitchell, and Travis Yow.

Chad Paxton took over the points lead in the Klotz Lubricants Rookie of the Year standings at Carolina Speedway and hasn't looked back since then as he currently leads the ROY points. The new kid on the block, Travis Yow has fought his way into the Top-10 in points finally and currently sits second in the ROY points. Paxton currently has won the Klotz Lubricants Rookie of the Race Award 5 times while Travis Yow has won the award 3 times.

The Safety Kleen Hard Chargers have kept the fans on their feet at every event in 2011. In 9 events, the Carolina Clash has seen 8 different winners of the award with Jay Sessoms being the only repeat winner. Among the other winners are Mike Gault, Jeff Smith, Tim Allen, Chris Blackwell, Dustin Mitchell, Chad Paxton, and Kennie Compton Jr. On the very racy surfaces of the Carolina's and Tennessee, each Safety Kleen Hard Charger has advanced atleast 8 positions in the feature event and two different drivers actually advanced 17 positions. Both amazing figures produced by the always excellent track conditions produced by the tracks that the Carolina Clash visits.

As for XS Power Racing Batteries Qualifying, both Luke Roffers and Johnny Pursley have two fastest qualifier awards and Ross Bailes, Dustin Mitchell, Kennie Compton Jr., Chad Paxton, and Austin Dillon all have one fastest qualifier award.

In 10 R2C Performance Heat Races, the Carolina Clash has seen 9 different winners with Scott Autry being the only repeat winner. The Shell Racing Solutions B-Main has seen 5 different winners in 5 events.

Looking ahead, the Carolina Clash has just 3 races left before the "Chase for the Cup", who will win the prestigious regular season championship worth a cool $2,000? Then the Chase begins which pays the winner a sweet $10,000 which adds up to a possible $12,000 to win both the regular season the Chase. Add in the Contingency Awards for the Champion and you have close to $20,000 to win both which is the richest winner's purse in the southeast for the super late models.