Magnolia Motor Speedway
July 11, 2015
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Evan Ellis Nabs Last-Lap Victory in Chevrolet Performance event at Magnolia
“Road to Dega” Eligibility claimed by Ellis, Johnson, Stokes and Crowder

NeSmith Racing
COLUMBUS, Miss. (July 10) - Five different lead exchanges among three different drivers spiced a down-to-the-wire Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series event at Magnolia Motor Speedway, and it was NeSmith Weekly Racing Series track regular Evan Ellis who scratched and clawed in the high groove, upending reigning series titlist Ronnie Johnson to earn a last-lap victory by a very narrow .110-second margin at the stripe.

Ellis’ victory in the first-ever Hoosier Race Tire “Road to Dega” qualifying event earned him a chance to compete for a $4,000 bonus in the Dega 100 slated Oct. 3 at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL. The top four finishers all earned eligibility status for the much-anticipated event, which made runnerup finisher Johnson, third-place finisher Johnny Stokes and fourth-place finisher Tyler Crowder all eligible for the bonus prize at TST.

Crowder’s finish came after a start from the next-to-last position in the 23-car field, while Mario Gresham started 19th and placed fifth, and will have to continue his quest for Hoosier Race Tire “Road to Dega” eligibility at the next designated Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series event slated July 17 at Penton Raceway in LaFayette, AL.

The fourth-starting Ellis led only two circuits in the 40-lap affair at the 3/8-mile oval, engaging Johnson in a late-race battle after struggling with brake issues in the middle stages of the event. Ellis, who adjusted the braking system under caution with 11 laps to go, rebounded to lead the 37th circuit. Johnson paced the next two laps, and then Ellis rolled the top side on the final circuit to steal the victory away from the Chattanooga, TN, veteran.

“Ronnie {Johnson] is a great race car driver, and you know before it even happens that you’re gonna have to race him hard to beat him,” Ellis said. “We went on a different tire than most of ‘em used, and while my car would run on the bottom earlier in the race, it really wanted to be up top where I could keep my momentum.

“The right-front brake started to lock up about the middle stages, and we fell off the pace a little bit. I fiddled with the three-wheel braking a little bit, and that freed everything up with 11 laps to go, and all of a sudden it was like we had a different car.”

Johnson, who is the current series points leader, met Ellis in the winner’s circle to congratulate the winner, and the pair laughed together as they traded a few quick war stories about the thrilling finish.

“He [Ellis] just made that top work better than we did,” Johnson said. “I guess he’d made that work a little bit earlier in the race, so it wasn’t surprising that he tried it late in the race when he had the opportunity. I tried to move up there myself to run and see how it’d be for us, but our car wouldn’t come off the corner up there, so we had to use the bottom, and he got us. We’ll take the second-place finish, and a good points night.”

Johnson led three different times for 37 circuits, while Ellis paced the field on two occasions for two laps. Adam Martin paced a single lap, taking the point briefly from Johnson on the 11th circuit before fading to a sixth-place showing.

Several crashes slowed the early stages of the race, the first of which involved polesitter and fastest qualifier Ryan King of Anniston, AL, who spun between the first and second turns on the opening circuit, collecting Johnson’s machine and triggering a multicar melee. King went to the rear of the field and eventually completed 25 laps, placing 18th.

The second multicar scramble occurred in turn two with three laps completed, and sent Eric Cooley’s machine airborne over the front of Ryan Colby’s car. Neither driver was hurt, although Colby was done for the night. Cooley continued for 23 laps and was listed 19th.

Friday, July 10, 2015
Official Finish of Round Three at Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS:
Position Start Car No. Driver Hometown Laps Purse
1 4  73  Evan Ellis Plantersville, MS 40 $2,000
2  3 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN  40
3 16  1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS  40
4  22 47 Tyler Crowder Lamont, FL 40
5  19 21 Mario Gresham Rome, GA 40
6 6  47M  Adam Martin Talladega, AL 40
7 15 2s Kyle Shaw Millport, AL 40
8 13 15 Tim Busha Boaz, AL 40
9 8 95 Brandon Williams Crossville, TN 40
10 14  38 Dillon Tidmore Glencoe, AL 40
11 18 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS 40
12 21 23 Trevor Thompson Dallas, GA 39
13  11 J8 Jadon Frame Dechert, TN 39
14  5 110 Brent Barrett Cleveland, MS 39
15  17 58 Tony Thompson Ohatchee, AL 39
16 23  72 Frank Wilson  Milton, FL 39
17  20 24 Barry Goodman Spring City, TN 30
18 1 55 Ryan King Anniston, AL 25
19 10 33B Eric Cooley Fulton, MS 23
20 12 47 Ross Martin  Talladega, AL 11
21 2 99G Jacob Grizzle Blairsville, GA 7
22 9 66 Jake Knowles Rome, GA 7
23 7 521 Ryan Colby Greenville, MS 2

Entries: 23
Fast qualifier: King, 14.552 seconds
Provisionals: None
Lead changes: 5
Cautions: 6
Margin of victory: .110 seconds
Time of race: 36 minutes, and nine seconds
Lap leaders: Johnson, 1-10; Adam Martin, 11; Johnson 12-36; Ellis, 37; Johnson 38-39; Ellis, 40.
Laps led: Johnson, 37; Ellis, 2; Adam Martin, 1.