Rainey earns win in NeSmith Late Model Series at Mountain Raceway
From Staff ReportsOriginally published: July 20. 2009 3:01AM
Last modified: July 19. 2009 11:15PM
Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, Ga., claimed a NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series victory Saturday night on his first trip to The Mountain Raceway.
Rainey started eighth and worked his way through a 22-car field to lead the final 16 laps and take home his second series win of the year after passing National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Ronnie Johnson on the high side on a restart.
Johnson settled for second, while Aaron Ridley of Chatsworth, Ga., finished third. Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, Ga., was fourth, and Jensen Ford of Piney Flats came in fifth after starting in the seventh row. Eric Cooley, Chase Washington, Tom Maddox, Josh Henry and Hunter Best rounded out the top 10.
The NeSmith DLMS will return to The Mountain Raceway with another $2,500 winner's purse on the line Aug. 15.
Jason Welshan led from start to finish to give American Racer tires the victory in the fourth round of the "Hot Summer Night Tire Fights" series.
Welshan won from the pole but endured a couple of scares from veteran David Crabtree, who started and finished second on American Racers. Defending track champion Jake Teague was the top Hoosier Tires driver with a third-place finish. Tire-fight point leader Mark Rosner ended up fourth, and Brandon Williams was fifth.
Cody Courtney picked up his second win in one of the Mini Late Model features, and brother Kyle Courtney went home with his first victory of the year.
Dustin Holt came from the rear of the field to win his second feature in the pure minis. Tony Dunkley padded his points lead with a runner-up finish. Angie Young was third, followed by Bobby McClain and Tammy White.
Jason Carter edged reigning champion Jacob White to take the checkered flag in the modified minis. Jason Ritchey came in third, while Roy Smith took fourth and Rusty Knox finished fifth.
Points leader Tom Vann won in the mini-stock division after engine failure cost pole sitter Tim Ladd the lead. Newcomer David Lewis was second, followed by David Benson, Ladd and Greg Muse.
Jonathan Sims took first place in the street-stock feature, overtaking pole sitter Jeff McLemore after starting on the outside of the front row. McLemore was second, and former track champion Todd Merriman returned to action with a third-place finish. Brandon Jarnigan was fourth, and Larry Rudd came in fifth.
Several fans concluded the evening by taking rides around the track in a specially prepared, two-seat race car with Johnson and local favorite drivers as part of a fundraiser that brought in more than $1,000 for the American Cancer Society.
Regular racing will return to the raceway Saturday. City of Alcoa and ALCOA employees will receive free admission to the grandstands with photo identification.
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