Whynot Motorsports Park
May 24, 2014
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Barrett Gets First NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS Win At Whynot Motorports Park

by Roby Helm
MERIDIAN, MS – Brent Barrett of Cleveland, MS drove the Custom Spraying, Inc. GRT to his first career NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series win on Saturday night in the Coca-Cola 40 at Whynot Motorsports Park, the opening race of the Salute To The Armed Forces Nationals.

Barrett took the lead with five laps to go after Jason Cliburn of Star, MS and Justin McRee of Woodstock, AL crashed while battling for the lead. Barrett led the final five laps to take a .843 margin of victory at the checkered flag over Josh Adkins of Talladega, AL in the Yellow Hammer Construction Special.

“I really hated to see what happened to Cliburn and McRee because they had a good race going,” Barrett said. “But it feels good to finally win one these races. We’ve been trying for a long time, and I hope this is the first of more to come in the future.”

Adkins was disqualified from his second-place finish during the post-race technical inspection when it was found that his race car had a chemically enhanced tire. Not only did Adkins lose the second-place finish, but the disqualification also cost him the point lead.

Chase Washington of Houlka, MS moved up to the second spot after starting 18th in the Southern Chicks Special and Daniel Bridgmon of Meridian, MS finished third in the Robinson Electric Supply Special. Defending NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN was fourth in the NeSmith Chevrolet Special.

Johnny Stokes of Columbus, MS drove the Bassett Hound Motorsports GRT to a fifth-place finish and Casey Haney of Meridian, MS came from the 22nd starting spot to finish sixth in the Sinclair Auto Sales Rocket. Steven Bryan of Collinsville, MS took the seventh spot in the Permanent Exterior Solutions Trak-Star.

Mack McCarter of Gatlinburg, TN was eighth in the CVR Race Cars house car and Ryan Crane of Panama City, FL finished ninth in the Panama City Cycles Trak-Star. Rodney Wing of Meridian, MS rounded out the top ten in the Hot Stuff Pizza Trak-Star.

Johnson took over the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series point lead with 620 points and holds a six-point lead over McCarter with 614. Walker Arthur of Forest, VA is third in the battle for the $20,000 Championship with 610 points in the Cecil B. Arthur Beef Farms Special. Chris Noah of Rainbow City, AL is fourth and the leading Rookie of the Year candidate with 526 points driving the Old Man’s Garage Special.

In preliminary action, Cliburn drove the Cliburn Tank Lines GRT to Fast Time honors among the 44-car field with a lap in 13.201 seconds. The three ten-lap B-Main Races were won by Stokes, Adkins, and Bridgmon.

Cliburn took the lead at the drop of the green flag followed by Barrett, Randy Boyd of Marion, MS in the Meridian Coca-Cola Trak-Star, Wing and Cody Martin of Christiana, TN in the Martin Motorsports Warrior. While the leaders worked the high side of the race track, McRee came from the seventh starting spot glued to the bottom of the track, and passed Martin for fourth on lap four.

The first of four caution flags came out on lap five for a multi-car tangle on the front straightaway that ended the night for Tim Dees of Meridian, MS, who parked his Mitchell Signs Trak-Star hard against the wall. Martin hit the same front straightaway wall on the restart to end his evening while running fifth.

Cliburn had Barrett, Boyd, McRee, Bryan, Wing, Larry Murphy of Meridian, MS in the Bo Haarala Autoplex Rocket, Adkins, Evan Ellis of Plantersville, MS in the Ellis Welding Special and Bridgmon doubled up behind him in the “Dixie Style” double-file restart. When the field went back to green, McRee got under Boyd for the third spot coming off the fourth turn to complete lap five.

McRee then executed the same move at the same spot on the race track to claim the second spot from Barrett on lap six. Bryan used the bottom groove to his advantage to pass Boyd for the fourth spot on lap ten. Cliburn began to encounter the cars on the tail end of the lead lap by lap 12, but it went away on lap 13 after Ellis stalled on the backstretch to bring out the third caution flag.

Behind Cliburn for the next double-file restart were McRee, Barrett, Bryan, Adkins, Boyd, Bridgmon, Washington, Murphy and Johnson. Most of the leaders ran the cushion at the top of the 3/8-mile clay oval with the exception of McRee, who stayed camped out on the bottom the track taking the short way around.

Bryan began to fade at the halfway point, as Adkins passed him for the fourth spot on lap 20, and Bridgmon got by on lap 22 to take the fifth spot. Cliburn began to encounter heavy lapped traffic on lap 25, and McRee began to close in.

The battle for the lead was on by lap 30 between the rim riding Cliburn and low running McRee. Coming off the fourth turn on lap 31, McRee drove his High Roller Race Cars Special under Cliburn to take the lead. Cliburn powered back on the outside to retake the lead on lap 34. McRee then drove under Cliburn in turn one on lap 36, but couldn’t seal the deal.

McRee slid up the track coming off the second turn in an effort to get in front of Cliburn to slow his momentum, but the top two cars made contact. Cliburn slid along the backstretch wall grinding to a stop in turn three while McRee spun down the backstretch coming to rest at the bottom of turn three.

That put Barrett on the point for a single file restart with five laps to go followed by Adkins, Bridgmon, Washington, Johnson, Bryan, Stokes, Haney, McCarter and Murphy. Barrett pulled away on the restart, while several battles took place behind him. Bridgmon jumped the cushion in turn four on lap 37, giving the third spot to Washington.

Barrett maintained his lead to the checkered flag, while Stokes got by Bryan in the closing laps to what proved to be a top five finish. Haney was also able to get around Bryan for what would turn out to be the sixth spot.

The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series now moves to Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS for the second night of the Salute To The Armed Forces Nationals for a 40-lap $2,000-to-win race on Sunday night.

For more information and rules about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series, visit the series all-new web site at www.nesmithracing.com

OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 8 AT WHYNOT MOTORSPORTS PARK IN MERIDIAN, MS ON 5/24/14:

POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 2 110 Brent Barrett Cleveland, MS 40 $2,000
2. 18 311 Chase Washington Houlka, MS 40 $1,000
3. 13 09 Daniel Bridgmon Meridian, MS 40 $700
4. 17 R1 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 40 $550
5. 11 1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS 40 $500
6. 22 14 Casey Haney Meridian, MS 40 $425
7. 8 34 Steven Bryan Collinsville, MS 40 $375
8. 14 51 Mack McCarter Gatlinburg, TN 40 $350
9. 21 10c Ryan Crane Panama City, FL 40 $325
10. 5 48 Rodney Wing Meridian, MS 40 $300
11. 6 27 Larry Murphy Meridian, MS 40 $275
12. 23 87 Walker Arthur Forest, VA 40 $250
13. 16 4b Josh Banes Learned, MS 39 $225
14. 24 56 Chris Noah (R) Rainbow City, AL 39 $200
15. 20 11r Joey Mullenix Elrod, AL 39 $175
16. 15 02 Stephen Brantley Monroeville, AL 38 $150
17. 1 888 Jason Cliburn Star, MS 35 $140
18. 7 25 Justin McRee Woodstock, AL 35 $125
19. 19 760 Jim McDuffie Meridian, MS 35 $125
20. 3 118 Randy Boyd Marion, MS 24 $125
21. 10 73 Evan Ellis Plantersville, MS 12 $125
22. 4 21m Cody Martin Christiana, TN 4 $125
23. 9 11 Tim Dees Meridian, MS 4 $125
24. 12 19m Josh Adkins Talladega, AL 50 $0 DQ-Tire

ENTRIES: 44
FAST QUALIFIER: Cliburn, 13.201 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: Arthur and Noah
LEAD CHANGES: 3
LAP LEADERS: Cliburn, 1-30; McRee, 31-33; Cliburn, 34-35; Barrett, 36-40
LAPS LED: Cliburn, 32; Barrett, 5; McRee, 3
ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Noah
DOMINATOR RACE PRODUCTS HARD LUCK AWARD: Cliburn
PRC JUST MISSED IT AWARD: Nick Thrash
STEALTH RACING CARBURETORS 7TH-PLACE AWARD: Bryan
SCHAEFFER’S OIL 8TH-PLACE AWARD PRESENTED BY CHAD WALLACE AND HEATHER NEWSOME: McCarter
MODERN IMAGES 9TH-PLACE AWARD: Crane
AR BODIES 10TH-PLACE AWARD: Wing
MIKE CUSTOM TANKS 11TH-PLACE AWARD: Murphy
SCHOENFELD HEADERS 12TH-PLACE AWARD: Arthur
KINSER AIR FILTERS 13TH-PLACE AWARD: Banes
CAUTIONS: 4
MARGIN OF VICTORY: .843 Seconds
TIME OF THE RACE: 32 Minutes and 55.540 Seconds

QUALIFYING (Top 10 Transfer To Main Event):

POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS LAP 1 LAP 2 TIME
1 888 Jason Cliburn Star, MS GRT 13.227 13.201 13.201
2 110 Brent Barrett Cleveland, MS GRT 13.262 13.317 13.262
3 118 Randy Boyd Marion, MS Trak-Star 13.334 13.263 13.263
4 21m Cody Martin Christiana, TN Warrior 13.526 13.317 13.317
5 48 Rodney Wing Meridian, MS Trak-Star 13.438 13.332 13.332
6 27 Larry Murphy Meridian, MS Rocket 13.691 13.337 13.337
7 25 Justin McRee Woodstock, AL HRRC 13.466 13.345 13.345
8 34 Steve Bryan Collinsville, MS Trak-Star 13.793 13.393 13.393
9 11 Tim Dees Meridian, MS Trak-Star 13.397 13.566 13.397
10 73 Evan Ellis Plantersville, MS Barry Wright 13.455 13.439 13.439
11 R1 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN Mastersbilt 13.481 13.460 13.460
12 02 Stephen Brantley Monroeville, AL Trak-Star 13.463 13.551 13.463
13 4b Josh Banes Learned, MS Mastersbilt 13.471 13.652 13.471
14 24 Ryan Oswalt Northport, AL Mastersbilt 13.861 13.483 13.483
15 15 Nathan Mayes Springdale, AR Mastersbilt 13.675 13.491 13.491
16 09 Daniel Bridgmon Meridian, MS Mastersbilt 13.496 13.670 13.496
17 51 Mack McCarter Gatlinburg, TN CVR 13.576 13.523 13.523
18 19m Josh Adkins Talladega, AL Barry Wright 13.550 13.555 13.550
19 760 Jim McDuffie Meridian, MS Trak-Star 13.551 13.907 13.551
20 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS Rocket 14.045 13.553 13.553
21 232 Jamey Boland Cuba, AL Trak-Star 13.556 13.598 13.556
22 25c Calvin Cook Pace, FL HRRC 13.560 13.637 13.560
23 1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS GRT 13.626 13.571 13.571
24 J39 Jimmy Elliott Cleveland, TN CVR 13.632 13.571 13.571
25 51 John Polasini Leland, MS HRRC 13.704 13.571 13.571
26 3 Cody Smith Holt, FL Rocket 13.778 13.583 13.583
27 311 Chase Washington Houlka, MS Barry Wright 13.630 13.622 13.622
28 14 Casey Haney Meridian, MS Rocket 13.904 13.631 13.631
29 11r Joey Mullenix Elrod, AL Mastersbilt 13.813 13.646 13.646
30 10 Ryan Crane Panama City, FL Trak-Star 14.089 13.648 13.648
31 87 Walker Arthur Forest, VA Mastersbilt 13.707 13.655 13.655
32 56n Chris Noah - R Rainbow City, AL Mastersbilt 13.850 13.667 13.667
33 222 Mike Boland Cuba, AL Trak-Star 13.668 13.773 13.668
34 56r Jonathan Rowan Whiteville, TN Rocket 13.974 13.702 13.702
35 995 Dwight Falcon Jr. * Pine Grove, LA Falcon 13.763 13.751 13.751
36 2g Jeffrey Walker Meridian, MS GRT 14.015 13.764 13.764
37 5d Rodgerick Dykes Smith Station, AL Warrior 13.800 13.797 13.797
38 C11 Cliff Williams Star, MS Trak-Star 13.851 13.990 13.851
39 57 Maddox Mullinax Birmingham, AL GRT 13.961 14.047 13.961
40 121 Michael Blount Sumrall, MS Trak-Star 14.225 14.004 14.004
41 01 Nick Thrash Meridian, MS GRT 14.157 14.014 14.014
42 03 Chris O'Connor Cantonment, FL HRRC 14.172 14.505 14.172
43 4 Michael Arnold Hattiesburg, MS Trak-Star NT NT NT
44 21 Neil Baggett Shannon, MS Trak-Star NT NT NT

B-MAINS (10 Laps - Top 4 Transfer To Main Event):

1ST B-MAIN: 1. Stokes; 2. McCarter 3. Johnson; 4. Mullenix; 5. Thrash; 6. Noah (R); 7. Williams; 8. Minga; 9. Smith; 10. Oswalt; 11. Falcon; 12. O’Connor.

2ND B-MAIN: 1. Adkins; 2. Brantley; 3. Washington; 4. Crane; 5. Elliott; 6. Mayes; 7. M. Boland; 8. Walker; 9. J. Boland; 10. Mullinax; 11. Baggett DNS.

3RD B-MAIN: 1. Bridgmon; 2. Banes; 3. McDuffie; 4. Haney; 5. Arthur; 6. Rowan; 7. Cook; 8. Polasini; 9. Dykes; 10. Blount; 11, Arnold DNS.

NeSMITH CHEVROLET DIRT LATE MODEL SERIES POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 5/24/14:

1. 5 Ronnie Johnson – 620
2. 51 Mack McCarter – 614
3. 87 Walker Arthur – 610
4. 56 Chris Noah (R) – 526
5. 19m Josh Adkins – 524
6. 18 Tait Davenport – 4608.
7. 121 Michael Blount – 416
8. 110 Brent Barrett – 408
9. 38 Chase Washington – 348
10. 73 Ashley Newman – 322
11. 25 Justin McRee – 318
12. 1 Johnny Stokes – 268
13. 17 Ronald Dunn – 262
14. 18e Chase Edge – 248
15. 19 Marcus Minga – 226
16. J39 Jimmy Elliott – 222
17. 53 Ray Cook – 194
18. 58 Mark Whitener – 182
18. 64 Jacob Anderson – 182
20. 66 Adam Beeler - 180