NeSmith Dirt Late Models
Magnolia Motor Speedway
September 5, 2015
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Ellis Wins NeSmith Late Model May 24 Make Up Race At The Mag

by Roby Helm
COLUMBUS, MS – Evan Ellis of Plantersville, MS held off challengers on the high side and challengers on the low side, in heavy lapped traffic and in clear track conditions to win the 40-lap NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series May 24 Make-Up Feature on Saturday night at Magnolia Motor Speedway driving the Ellis Welding Special.

Ellis led the first ten laps of the race before Justin McRee of Woodstock, AL sailed around him on the high side to take the lead in the High Rollers Race Cars Special. In heavy lapped traffic, Ellis drove back underneath McRee on lap 17, and then held off McRee and Mike Boland of Cuba, AL in the Boland Performance Trak-Star for three restarts to pull away and take the win.

“Justin caught me in lapped traffic on the high side to take the lead away from me and I noticed the lapped cars were a little faster than me on the high side,” Ellis said. “When the caution flag came out and I had clear race track in front of me, I changed grooves and got up in the brown stuff on the outside.”

McRee held off the inside running Boland for the second spot, and Boland came home in third. Chase Edge of LaFayette, AL drove the Edge’s Gas Company Special to a fourth-place finish, and the defending and two time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN taking the fifth spot.

Johnson started 12th in the NeSmith Chevrolet Special and earned the Beyea Headers Hard Charger of the Race Award. Two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS was sixth in the Bryson Motorsports/Cooley Transport Special.

Matt Henderson of Loudon, TN drove the Rebel Diesel Rocket #H2 Duayne Hommel Tribute Car to a seventh-place finish and was the Cruise With The Champions Rookie of the Race. Ryan King of Seymour, TN finished eighth in the Brian King Roofing Stinger, and Jamey Boland of Cuba, AL was ninth in the Boland Performance Trak-Star. Ashley Newman of Ripley, TN rounded out the top ten in the Greg’s Sawmill Special.

The preliminary events for the race were held on May 24 when Mike Boland out-timed the 41-car field with a lap around the 3/8-mile clay oval in 14. 241 seconds. The two 15-lap B-Main Races were won by Cooley and Johnson.

After Round 18 of the 2015 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series season, Johnson now holds a 96-point lead over King in the National point standings. Edge holds the third spot and trails King by 32 points, and has a 12 points advantage over the fourth-place driver Henderson.

Ellis and McRee started the 40-lap main event from the outside second and fourth spots respectively, and beat polesitter Mike Boland off the second turn. Ellis led lap one with McRee outside of him in second. Boland was third followed by Henderson and Kyle Shaw of Millport, AL in the Sweddenberg Logging Trak-Star.

Henderson got to the inside of Boland on lap four to take over the third spot, and Ryan Crane of Panama City, FL passed Shaw for the fifth spot on lap seven. Ellis had caught the cars on the tail end of the lead lap by lap nine. With lapped cars running both the high and low grooves of the track, Ellis had to make the first choice on how to get around them, while McRee waited for an opening on the high side.

McRee was able to pin Ellis behind the inside running lapped car of Randall Beckwith of Kilmichael, MS in the Beckwith Forestry Service Special on lap 11 to take the lead. Ellis stayed on the bottom groove and kept McRee in sight while he ran the top shelf of the race track.

Ellis found the opening he needed on lap 17, and he drove underneath McRee to reclaim the point coming off the second turn. By this time, most of the lapped traffic began to run the high side of the track where McRee was trying to gain momentum.

The lapped traffic issue took care of itself on lap 30 when Michael Blount of Sumrall, MS hit the front straightaway wall to bring out the first caution flag of the race. Doubled up behind Ellis for the “Dixie-Style” Double-File Restart was McRee, Boland, Henderson, Edge, Shaw, Jamey Boland, Cooley, Johnson and Newman in the top ten. McRee choose the outside for the restart.

A pair of Sunoco Young Guns Challenge Series drivers, 15-year-old Bryant Marsh of Corinth, MS in the Modern Woodmen Trak-Star and 17-year-old Josh Banes of Learned, MS in the Diversified Pest Management Special got together in turn two on the restart to relight the caution bulb. The next restart saw Crane hit the third turn wall for the third caution flag of the race.

On the first two restarts, McRee chose the outside, but Ellis also took the high line on the restarts. For the third try, McRee took the inside line for the restart. Ellis sailed out to a five car length advantage and was never challenged the rest of the way to take a 1.566 second margin of victory at the checkered flag for the $2,000 top prize and his second series career win.

The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series returns to Magnolia Motor Speedway on Sunday night for another 40-lap $2,000 race, Round 19 of the 2015 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 18 AT MAGNOLIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY IN COLUMBUS, MS ON 9/5/15:

POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 2 73 Evan Ellis Plantersville, MS 40 $2,000
2. 4 17 Justin McRee Woodstock, AL 40 $1,000
3. 1 222 Mike Boland Cuba, AL 40 $700
4. 8 18 Chase Edge LaFayette, AL 40 $675
5. 12 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 40 $625
6. 11 33b Eric Cooley Fulton, MS 40 $425
7. 3 H2 Matt Henderson (R) Loudon, TN 40 $500
8. 13 30 Ryan King (R) Seymour, TN 40 $475
9. 10 232 Jamey Boland Cuba, AL 40 $325
10. 7 73n Ashley Newman Ripley, TN 40 $300
11. 9 1s Jeremy Shaw Millport, AL 40 $275
12. 6 2s Kyle Shaw Millport, AL 40 $250
13. 18 34 Doug Sanchagrin Florence, MS 39 $225
14. 19 00 Monte Skinner Saraland, AL 39 $200
15. 16 1m Chase Washington Houlka, MS 39 $175
16. 23 01 Nick Thrash Meridian, MS 39 $150
17. 22 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS 39 $265
18. 20 84 Randall Beckwith Kilmichael, MS 39 $125
19. 5 10c Ryan Crane (R) Panama City, FL 29 $250
20 14 1b Bryant Marsh (Y) Corinth, MS 29 $125
21. 15 121 Michael Blount Sumrall, MS 28 $125
22. 19 4j Josh Banes (Y) Learned, MS 28 $125
23. 21 1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS 28 $125
24. 24 3 Shay Knight Columbus, MS 2 $125

ENTRIES: 41
FAST QUALIFIER: M. Boland, 14.241 Seconds
PROVISIONALS: Stokes and Minga
LEAD CHANGES: 2
LAP LEADERS: Ellis, 1-10; McRee, 11-16; Ellis, 17-40
LAPS LED: Ellis, 34; McRee, 6
CRUISE WITH THE CHAMPIONS ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Henderson
SUNOCO YOUNG GUN OF THE RACE: Marsh
BEYEA HEADERS HARD CHARGER AWARD: Johnson (started 12th and finished 5th)
INTEGRA SHOCKS FIFTH-PLACE AWARD: Johnson
CRATE INSIDER.COM SIXTH-PLACE AWARD: Cooley
GRESHAM RACE PARTS SEVENTH-PLACE AWARD: Henderson
IMAGE SCREEN PRINTING NINTH-PLACE AWARD: J. Boland
AR BODIES TENTH-PLACE AWARD: Newman
CAUTIONS: 3
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 1.566 Seconds
TIME OF THE RACE: 26 Minutes and 52.968 Seconds
NEXT RACE: September 6, Magnolia Motor Speedway, Columbus, MS, 40-Laps, $2,000-to-win

(PRELIMINARY EVENTS HELD ON MAY 24, 2015):
QUALIFYING (Top 10 Transfer To Main Event):

POS CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN CHASSIS TIME
1 222 Mike Boland Cuba, AL Trak-Star 14.241
2 73 Evan Ellis Plantersville, MS Barry Wright 14.275
3 H2 Matt Henderson - R Loudon, TN Rocket 14.345
4 25 Justin McRee Woodstock, AL HRRC 14.346
5 10 Ryan Crane - R Panama City, FL Rocket 14.460
6 2s Kyle Shaw Millport, AL Trak-Star 14.547
7 73 Ashley Newman Ripley, TN Pierce 14.554
8 18 Chase Edge LaFayette, AL Mastersbilt 14.564
9 1s Jeremy Shaw Millport, AL Trak-Star 14.661
10 232 Jamey Boland Cuba, AL Trak-Star 14.663
11 30 Ryan King - R Seymour, TN Stinger 14.675
12 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN Mastersbilt 14.688
13 33b Eric Cooley Fulton, MS Barry Wright 14.691
14 1 Bryant Marsh Corinth, MS Trak-Star 14.732
15 20 Kevin Sitton Baytown, TX Mastersbilt 14.739
16 3 Shay Knight Columbus, MS Pierce 14.744
17 4j Josh Banes - Y Learned, MS Mastersbilt 14.801
18 21m Cody Martin - R Christiana, TN Warrior 14.812
19 121 Michael Blount Sumrall, MS HRRC 14.821
20 84 Randall Beckwith Kilmichael, MS Barry Wright 14.827
21 01 Nick Trash Meridian, MS GRT 14.834
22 1m Chase Washington Houlka, MS Mastersbilt 14.835
23 00 Monte Skinner Saraland, AL Capital 14.866
24 34 Doug Sanchagrin Florence, MS Bk Diamond 14.895
25 14t Brant Tirello Silver Creek, MS Trak-Star 14.928
26 G4 Shelby Sheedy French Camp, MS Trak-Star 14.947
27 1 Johnny Stokes Columbus, MS HRRC 14.987
28 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS Rocket 15.057
29 14 Chance Inman Bruce, MS GRT 15.062
30 110 Brent Barrett Cleveland, MS GRT 15.110
31 1w Jeff Wells Jr. Mercer, TN Longhorn 15.135
32 2x Nick Lyons Centrailia, IL Capital 15.231
33 113 Tim Knight Selmer, TN Mastersbilt 15.335
34 77 Robbie Starnes Livingston, TX Mastersbilt 15.361
35 11r Joey Mullenix Elrod, AL Mastersbilt 15.374
36 2 Tyler Burgess Quitman, MS Mastersbilt 15.439
37 38s D.J. Brasfield Cottondale, AL Mastersbilt 15.515
38 93 Mason Oberkramer Elksmore, MO GRT 15.528
39 33m Howard Means Belmont, MS Mastersbilt 15.760
40 196 Billy Scarbrough Ethelsville, AL Mastersbilt NT
41 4 Michael Arnold Hattiesburg, MS Barry Wright NT/DQ

B-MAINS (15 Laps - Top 6 Transfer To Main Event):

1ST B-MAIN: 1. Cooley; 2. King (R); 3. Blount; 4. Sitton; 5. Skinner; 6. Banes (Y); 7. Thrash; 8. Inman; 9. Means; 10. Stokes; 11. Tirello; 12. Wells; 13. T. Knight; 14. Brassfield; 15. Mullenix; 16. Arnold DNS.

2ND B-MAIN: 1. Johnson; 2. Marsh (Y); 3. Washington; 4. Martin (R); 5. Sanchagrin; 6. Beckwith; 7. S. Knight; 8. Minga; 9. Barrett; 10. Burgess; 11. Oberkramer; 12. Starnes; 13. Lyons; 14. Sheedy; 15. Scarbrough DNS.

NeSMITH CHEVROLET DIRT LATE MODEL SERIES POINT STANDINGS THROUGH 9/5/15:

1. 5 Ronnie Johnson – 1,538
2. 30 Ryan King (R) – 1,442
3. 18 Chase Edge – 1,410
4. H2 Matt Henderson (R) – 1,398
5. 10c Ryan Crane (R) – 1,280
6. 21m Cody Martin (R) – 1,018
7. 19 Marcus Minga – 1, 008
8. 33b Eric Cooley – 626
9. 5d Rodgerick Dykes – 552
10. 25 Justin McRee – 528
11. 22 Will Roland (Y) – 512
12. 14 Cale Conley – 482
13. 87 Walker Arthur – 464
14. 121 Michael Blount – 462
15. 14c Tyler Clem (R/Y) – 438
16. 8a Todd Morrow – 404
17. 44 John Ownbey – 392
18. 55 Montana Dudley – 380
19. 2x Nick Lyons – 362
20. 10 Ronnie Cooper – 360