Chevy Super Series
I-75 Speedway
August 14, 2015
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Ownbey Wins In Night Of Firsts For Chevy Super Series At I-75

by Roby Helm
SWEETWATER, TN (August 14- John Ownbey of Cleveland, TN drove the Auto Depot Special to victory Friday night in the first visit for the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series to I-75 Raceway. Ownby passed Cleveland, TN neighbor Riley Hickman for the lead on lap 13, and then held off challenges by Tim Busha of Boaz, AL and Ryan King of Seymour, TN for the $3,000 win.

It was the first National Touring dirt late model race ever held at the track, and it was Ownbey’s first night out with a dirt late model powered by the LS3 production-based, economical Chevrolet Performance CT525 All-Aluminum Racing Engine.

“The Chevrolet Performance CT525 Engine put down good power, but we just have to do some tweaking on the carburetor to get better restarts,” Ownbey said. “Once we got going, the engine just seemed to keep pulling and pulling. We’re real happy with it, and even happier with the results tonight.”

King finished second in the Brian King Roofing Stinger and Hickman took the third spot in the Hickman Manufacturing CVR “House Car.” Busha was fourth in the Kilpatrick Racing GRT, and Cory Hedgecock of Lenoir City, TN drove the Eagle Racing Engines Rocket to a fifth-place finish.

Ownbey, King, Hickman, and Busha all qualified for the Hoosier Racing Tire “Road To Dega” Bonus Money and a chance to win $10,000 at the Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series season-finale on October 3 at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL.

Brandon Williams came home in the sixth spot to earn the Cruise With The Champions Rookie of the Race honors. Chevy Super Series defending National Champion and current point leader Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN finished seventh in the NeSmith Chevrolet Special, and increased his lead to ten points over Tyler Crowder of Lamont, FL in the $10,000 Championship battle.

Matt Henderson of Loudon, TN drove the #H2 Duayne Hommel Tribute Car, the Rebel Diesel Rocket to an eighth-place finish with Duayne “Hollywood” Hommel himself watching at the track. Adam Martin of Talladega, AL finished ninth in the Seals Insurance Special, and Mario Gresham of Rome, GA rounded out the top ten in the Gresham Race Parts Special.

In preliminary action, Hickman was the Sellers Brothers Fast Qualifier among the 28 entrants with a lap around the 3/10-mile Clay oval in 13.066 seconds. The two ten-lap B-Main Races were won by Gresham and Ross Martin of Talladega, AL in the Dorrsett Trucking Special.

Hickman took the lead at the start of the race followed by King, Ownbey, Hedge(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word) and Brad Coffey of Maryville, TN in the Coffey Racing Warrior. Trevor Thompson of Dallas, GA brought out the first caution flag on lap four when he spun the Peachstate Printing Rocket in turn three.

Hickman led King, Ownbey, Hedgecock, Williams and Jake Knowles of Rome, GA in the Coosa Heating and Air Rocket, Busha, Ross Martin, Gresham, and Coffey doubled up behind him for the Dixie-Style Double-File Restart. King chose the inside for the restart, but Ownbey drove by him on the outside to take over the second spot, when the green bulb came back on.

Pierce McCarter of Gatlinburg, TN spun in turn two on lap seven to bring out the second caution flag. This time, Hickman had Ownbey behind him in second, followed by King, Knowles, Hedgecock, Williams, Busha, Ross Martin, Coffey and Gresham behind him. The field went one more lap under green before the next slowdown of the race.

Jeff Smith of Dalton, GA flipped the Josh Roberts Hauling Warrior down the front straightaway to bring the field to a complete stop with the red flag. The I-75 Raceway fire and rescue team was quick to arrive on the scene and help Smith from his car uninjured after if landed back on all four wheels in the infield.

On the next restart, Hedgecock dove under King to take over the third spot, and by lap ten, King had fallen back to the sixth spot. Oliver Gentry of Newnan, GA spun the Gentry Used Auto Parts and Recycling Rocket in turn four on lap 12 to bring out the fourth caution flag of the race.

The next restart saw Ownbey get to the inside of Hickman, and the top two cars race side-by-side for the lead until Ownbey cleared Hickman to take the lead on lap 13. There was also plenty of position changing going on behind the battle for the lead, as Busha moved up to the third spot. Busha was a man on a mission, as he used the outside groove to pass Hickman for second on lap 15.

Lavon Sparks of Phenix City, AL lit up the caution bulb for a fifth time on lap 18 when he stalled the Modern Images GRT on the front chute. A three car tangle on the restart in turn two led to Chevy Super Series officials doing away with the double-file restarts and go to single-file restarts. Ownbey led Busha, Hickman, Hedgecock, King, Williams, Johnson, Henderson, Gresham and Billy Ogle Jr. of Knoxville, TN in the Natural Smiles Dentistry Rocket for the restart.

When the green flag came out, most of the drivers stayed on the bottom groove of the track, but a few went to the outside, and a couple of drivers made it work. Ogle put his race car on the top shelf, and the eight-time Atomic Speedway Late Model Champion and 2002 Hav-A-Tampa Dirt Late Model Series Rookie of the Year came from tenth to seventh by lap 30.

Ownbey began to encounter lapped traffic by lap 27, and Busha closed in to camp out on his back bumper by lap 32. Ownby stayed down on the inside of the track, giving Busha the outside, but lapped cars would cover the ground the second place driver needed to be in to challenge for the lead. That would all change on lap 42 when Knowles spun in turn two to bring out the final caution flag.

When the green light came back on for the nine lap dash to the finish, Hickman dove underneath Busha to take over the second spot, and King drove around the outside of Busha coming off the fourth turn to move up to third. On lap 48, King was on the outside and caught Hickman going into turn one.

Hickman moved up trying to use a lapped car as a pick to hold off King, but King made a hard left and pulled off the crossover move to dive under Hickman and take the second spot. King was closing fast on Ownbey on the final lap of the race, but it was Ownbey making his maiden voyage with the Chevy Super Series a successful one with a .511 second margin of victory.

The Chevrolet Performance Super Late Model Series will continue its East Tennessee Tour on Saturday night with its second stop of the 2015 season at 411 Motor Speedway in Seymour, TN for a $3,000-to-win 50-lap race, Round 8 of the season.

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

OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 7 AT I-75 RACEWAY IN SWEETWATER, TN ON 8/14/15:

POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 2 44 John Ownbey Cleveland, TN 50 $3,000
2. 3 30 Ryan King Seymour, TN 50 $1,500
3. 1 1v Riley Hickman Cleveland, TN 50 $1,000
4. 8 15 Tim Busha Boaz, AL 50 $850
5. 5 23h Cory Hedgecock Lenoir City, TN 50 $750
6. 7 95 Brandon Williams (R) Crossville, TN 50 $700
7. 13 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 50 $650
8. 19 H2 Matt Henderson Loudon, TN 50 $600
9. 15 47a Adam Martin (R) Talladega, AL 50 $550
10. 11 21 Mario Gresham (R) Rome, GA 50 $500
11. 23 47c Tyler Crowder Lamont, FL 50 $475
12. 4 88 Brad Coffey Maryville, TN 50 $450
13. 12 47r Ross Martin Talladega, AL 50 $425
14. 16 29 Rusty Ballenger Sevierville, TN 50 $400
15. 6 66 Jake Knowles Rome, GA 50 $375
16. 14 66b Billy Ogle Jr. Knoxville, TN 50 $350
17. 18 J8 Jadon Frame Winchester, TN 49 $325
18. 21 33 David Brannon Elora, TN 49 $300
19. 9 24 Barry Goodman Spring City, TN 49 $300
20. 22 23 Trevor Thompson (R) Dallas, GA 39 $300
21. 24 03 Oliver Gentry Newman, GA 33 $300
22. 20 11 Lavon Sparks Phenix City, AL 16 $300
23. 16 85 Jeff Smith Dalton, GA 7 $300
24. 17 71 Pierce McCarter Gatlinburg, TN 6 $300

ENTRIES: 28
FAST QUALIFIER: Hickman, 13.066 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: Crowder and Thompson
LEAD CHANGES: 1
LAP LEADERS: Hickman, 1-12; Ownbey, 13-50
LAPS LED: Ownbey, 38; Hickman, 12
ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Williams
CAUTIONS: 7 (including one red flag)
MARGIN OF VICTORY: .511 Seconds
TIME OF THE RACE: 47 Minutes and 41.308 Seconds
ROAD TO DEGA QUALIFIERS: Ownbey, King, Hickman, and Busha
NEXT EVENT: 411 Motor Speedway, Seymour, TN, August 15

SELLER BROTHERS QUALIFYING (Top 10 Transfer To Main Event):

POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS LAP 1 LAP 2 TIME
1 1v Riley Hickman Cleveland, TN CVR 13.066 13.193 13.066
2 44 John Ownbey Cleveland, TN Longhorn 13.357 13.139 13.139
3 30 Ryan King Seymour, TN Stinger 13.660 13.372 13.372
4 88 Brad Coffey Maryville, TN Warrior 13.458 13.667 13.458
5 23h Cory Hedgecock Loudon, TN Rocket 13.835 13.474 13.474
6 66 Jake Knowles Rome, GA Rocket 14.155 13.516 13.516
7 95 Brandon Williams - R Crossville, TN Mastersbilt 13.735 13.562 13.562
8 15 Tim Busha Boaz, AL GRT 13.642 13.566 13.566
9 24 Barry Goodman Spring City, TN Rocket 14.145 13.616 13.616
10 29 Rusty Ballenger Sevierville, TN Mastersbilt 13.720 14.406 13.720
11 21 Mario Gresham - R Rome, GA Mastersbilt 13.741 14.062 13.741
12 66 Billy Ogle Jr. Knoxville, TN Rocket 14.002 13.781 13.781
13 71 Pierce McCarter Gatlinburg, TN CVR 14.265 13.787 13.787
14 47r Ross Martin Talladega, AL Barry Wright 13.820 13.905 13.820
15 5 Ronnie Johnson - D Chattanooga, TN Mastersbilt 14.030 13.822 13.822
16 J8 Jadon Frame Decherd, TN Revelution 13.878 13.929 13.878
17 44 Colby Kilgore Dalton, GA GRT 14.008 13.892 13.892
18 85 Jeff Smith Dalton, GA Warrior 13.923 13.942 13.923
19 47a Adam Martin - R Talladega, AL Barry Wright 13.980 13.938 13.938
20 11 Lavon Sparks Phenix City, AL GRT 14.057 14.004 14.004
21 101 Forrest Trent Talbott, TN Rocket 14.060 14.396 14.060
22 2x Anthony White Clinton, TN DWB 14.085 14.149 14.085
23 H2 Matt Henderson Loudon, TN Rocket 14.155 14.125 14.125
24 03 Oliver Gentry Newnan, GA Rocket 14.296 14.155 14.155
25 7 William Overbey Norris, TN Rayburn 14.842 14.477 14.477
26 47c Tyler Crowder - D Lamont, FL Longhorn 14.531 14.525 14.525
27 33 David Brannon Elora, TN Barry Wright 14.688 14.533 14.533
28 23 Trevor Thompson - R Dallas, GA Rocket 14.762 14.869 14.762

B-MAINS (10 Laps – Top 6 Transfer To Main Event):

1ST B-MAIN: 1. Gresham (R); 2. Johnson; 3. A. Martin (R); 4. McCarter; 5. Henderson; 6. Brannon; 7. Kilgore; 8. Trent; 9. Overbey.

2ND B-MAIN: 1. R. Martin; 2. Ogle; 3. Smith; 4. Frame; 5. Sparks; 6. White; 7. Gentry; 8. Crowder; 9. Thompson (R).

CHEVROLET PERFORMANCE SUPER LATE MODEL SERIES POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 8/14/15:

1. 5 Ronnie Johnson – 624
2. 47c Tyler Crowder – 614
3. 47a Adam Martin (R) – 594
4. 21 Mario Gresham (R) – 576
5. 15 Tim Busha – 574
6. 66 Jake Knowles – 534
6. 95 Brandon Williams (R) – 534
8. J8 Jadon Frame – 498
9. 47r Ross Martin – 488
10. 23 Trevor Thompson (R) – 436
11. 58 Tony Thompson – 374
12. 55 Ryan King (R) – 364
13. 11 Lavon Sparks – 336
14. 85 Jeff Smith – 304
15. 72 Frank Wilson – 288
16. 18 Matt Dooley (R) – 260
17. 24 Barry Goodman – 252
18. 101 Forrest Trent – 250
19. 03 Oliver Gentry – 228
20. 99g Jacob Grizzle - 216