Post by ladyinred20 on Jun 4, 2006 16:22:36 GMT -5
Cat Daddy Claims O’Reilly Southern All Stars Event at North Georgia Speedway
Chatsworth, GA – Four time O’Reilly Southern All Star Champion Clint Smith of Senoia, GA should be road weary from all the road miles he recently logged. After traveling from Missouri north to the Dakotas and returning back to his home state in just over eight days one might think Smith would be a little worn out. It sure didn’t show on Saturday night as Smith claimed his first OSAS win in over three years at North Georgia Speedway. After taking fast time honors Smith led flag to flag fending off the race long challenges of current OSAS point leader Chris Madden.
Thirty-nine OSAS super late models signed in with thirty-eight taking time in Sunoco Race Fuels Pole Qualifying. Ricky Arms set the bar high as the fourth driver to make his qualifying laps. Arms stopped the clock with a time of 13.321 seconds. Madden looked to be the only driver in the same time zone with Arms after ringing up a 13.383 second effort. But Smith would foil all comers with a one and done attempt and laying down a 13.210 second lap. Ray Cook and David Payne rounded out the top five qualifiers.
Two ten lap B-Mains set feature positions seventeen through twenty-two. Derrick Ellis took the win in the first B-Main over Randy Borroughs and current Cleveland Speedway Driving School Rookie of the Year point leader Joe Armes. B-Main number two had former OSAS Champion Shane Tankersley holding off a hard charging Rodney Martin and Bobby Mayse for the win. Provisional starts were granted to Mark Vineyard and Joe Armistead, Jr.
Smith rocketed to the lead as the green flag waved. Arms fell in line in second as Madden peeked to his inside. The action
was furious all the way around the one third mile oval with cars side by side and three wide. Ellis, Borroughs and Armes brought out the first caution of the evening with just one lap in the books. All three drivers would be able to continue.
With the green flag back in the air Ronnie Johnson began to march his way forward from his fifteenth starting spot. Johnson, who was utilizing an OSAS Spec engine, broke into the top ten by lap twelve using the high and ultra low grooves almost passing cars at will. Another driver making his way forward was tenth starter Anthony White. White fought tooth and nail rolling by Jonathon Davenport and Ray Cook as the night wore on.
Up front Madden was able to take over second from Arms and look to catch Smith. Smith had opened up a three car length advantage which was erased when the caution flew for the fourth time. On the restart Madden went to work looking for a line to get around Smith. But the wiley veteran would have nothing of it as he firmly held his lead. As the lead battle intensified the caution waved again after David Payne careened into the outside wall in turns three and four. Payne’s incident also collected Jake Knowles and both drivers would retire pitside.
Once again Madden followed Smith intently on the restart and just as before Smith would prevail. Meanwhile Johnson looked to crack the top five as waged war with Cook and Arms. Johnson finally disposed of the two to take over the fourth position. Just as Johnson had done White had already bypassed his way up to the third spot and began to make up ground on the lead duo. However with Johnson now in the picture the race for third was on.
The Tennessee wheelmen battled side by side as the laps waned. Johnson first tried the bottom and then moved to the top. As the field received the five to go indication Madden made his move. Using the high line Madden pulled to Smith’s rear deck through turns one and two. However Smith would slam the door shut down the straightaway. Madden threw everything he had at Smith but the veteran held him off over the final circuits to take the win. White edged Johnson at the line for third as Arms held off Cook for fifth.
“My car was really tight and I had to really get up on the wheel through the turns. That’s where Madden was really beating us. But this was a great win. I love this race track. It’s always real racy and the fans get their money’s worth for sure.” said Smith after the race. “Clint was good but I believe if we hadn’t had that last caution I think we would have won it. But it was a good run and we put on a good show.” Madden lamented.
Up next for the O’Reilly Southern All Star Racing Series is a Georgia double-header culminating on Friday night June 16th at the Toccoa Speedway in Toccoa, GA and concluding on Saturday night June 17th at Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, GA. The pair of events will be fifty lappers paying $5000 to the winner. For more info please call (256) 539-4484 or visit www.southern-allstars.com
Smith’s GRT GTO is powered by a RaceTek Race Engine and has sponsor support from JP Drilling and Construction, Base Race Fuels, GRT Race Cars, Integra Shocks, JFR Graphics, RDI, CSR, Oval Craft, and Hoosier Race Tires.
Official Results
O'Reilly Southern All Stars Super Late Models – 50 laps
1. (1) Clint Smith 44 - Senoia, GA – GRT – GTO – RaceTek
2. (3) Chris Madden 44 - Gaffney, SC – Bloomquist – GTO – Clements
3. (10) Anthony White 2 - Clinton, TN – DWB – GTO – RaceTek
4. (15) Ronnie Johnson 5 - Chattanooga, TN – Warrior – Grand Prix – Race Engine Design
5. (2) Ricky Arms 4 - Moss, TN – Rayburn – Monte Carlo – Race Engine Design
6. (4) Ray Cook 53 - Brasstown, NC – MasterSbilt – Fusion – Carl Grover
7. (7) Jonathan Davenport 49 - Blairsville, GA – Rayburn – GTO – RaceTek
8. (9) Aaron Ridley 81 - Chatsworth, GA – Barry Wright – Grand Prix – RaceTek
9. (20) Rodney Martin 92 - Cartersville, GA – Barry Wright – Grand Prix – Clements
10. (12) Randy Weaver 116 - Crossville, TN – Warrior – GTO – Race Engine Design
11. (11) Jeremy Clements 51 - Spartanburg, SC – Rocket – Grand Prix – Clements
12. (16) Steve Smith 3 - Powell, TN – Rayburn – Grand Prix – Custom
13. (14) Tony Martin 35 - Madisonville, TN – MasterSbilt – Monte Carlo – Vic Hill
14. (21) Joe Armes 77 - Petros, TN – Barry Wright – Grand Prix – Clements
15. (23) Mark Vineyard 4 - Powell, TN – Barry Wright – Taurus – Larry Wallace
16. (24) Joe Armistead Jr. 7 - Senoia, GA – Rocket – GTO – Joe Armistead, Sr.
17. (18) Shane Tankersley T31 - Morganton, GA – Rayburn – Grand Prix – Race Engine Design
18. (17) Derek Ellis 99 - Chatsworth, GA – Rayburn – GTO - RaceTek
19. (13) Kevin Gibson M95 - Ringgold, GA – Rocket – Grand Prix – Race Engine Design
20. (22) Bobby Mayse 22 - Harrison, TN – Warrior – Monte Carlo – Race Engine Design
21. (8) Jake Knowles M1 - Tyrone, GA – TNT – Grand Prix – Race Engine Design
22. (5) David Payne 8 - Murphy, NC – MasterSbilt – Grand Prix – RaceTek
23. (6) Brian Hickman 41 - Soddy Daisy, TN – TNT – GTO – RaceTek
24. (19) Randy Burrows 95 - Chattanooga, TN – GRT – GTO – Race Engine Design
Leaders: C. Smith 1-50
Lead Changes: 0
Cautions: 6
Red Flags: 0
Time of Race: 56 minutes 21 seconds
Special Awards:
Wells Racing Photos Fast Time Award: Clint Smith
PPM Race Products Hard Charger: Ronnie Johnson
On the Edge Graphics Hard Luck Award: David Payne
Mechanix Wear / Matco Tools Mechanic of the Race: Johnny Cloer, Jr.
Cleveland Speedway Rookie of the Race: Aaron Ridley
DNS: R1 Riley Hickman, T1 Todd Morrow, 3 James Cline, 05 James Roulette, 10 Jay Brinkley, 15 Kent Hicks, 17 Ricky Williams, 21 Ivedent Lloyd, 22 Robert Gant, 25 Daryl Freeman, 41 Johnny Cloer Jr., 54 Mike Head, 87 Derrick Rainey, 97 Skip Arp, 111 Bo Shirley
Chatsworth, GA – Four time O’Reilly Southern All Star Champion Clint Smith of Senoia, GA should be road weary from all the road miles he recently logged. After traveling from Missouri north to the Dakotas and returning back to his home state in just over eight days one might think Smith would be a little worn out. It sure didn’t show on Saturday night as Smith claimed his first OSAS win in over three years at North Georgia Speedway. After taking fast time honors Smith led flag to flag fending off the race long challenges of current OSAS point leader Chris Madden.
Thirty-nine OSAS super late models signed in with thirty-eight taking time in Sunoco Race Fuels Pole Qualifying. Ricky Arms set the bar high as the fourth driver to make his qualifying laps. Arms stopped the clock with a time of 13.321 seconds. Madden looked to be the only driver in the same time zone with Arms after ringing up a 13.383 second effort. But Smith would foil all comers with a one and done attempt and laying down a 13.210 second lap. Ray Cook and David Payne rounded out the top five qualifiers.
Two ten lap B-Mains set feature positions seventeen through twenty-two. Derrick Ellis took the win in the first B-Main over Randy Borroughs and current Cleveland Speedway Driving School Rookie of the Year point leader Joe Armes. B-Main number two had former OSAS Champion Shane Tankersley holding off a hard charging Rodney Martin and Bobby Mayse for the win. Provisional starts were granted to Mark Vineyard and Joe Armistead, Jr.
Smith rocketed to the lead as the green flag waved. Arms fell in line in second as Madden peeked to his inside. The action
was furious all the way around the one third mile oval with cars side by side and three wide. Ellis, Borroughs and Armes brought out the first caution of the evening with just one lap in the books. All three drivers would be able to continue.
With the green flag back in the air Ronnie Johnson began to march his way forward from his fifteenth starting spot. Johnson, who was utilizing an OSAS Spec engine, broke into the top ten by lap twelve using the high and ultra low grooves almost passing cars at will. Another driver making his way forward was tenth starter Anthony White. White fought tooth and nail rolling by Jonathon Davenport and Ray Cook as the night wore on.
Up front Madden was able to take over second from Arms and look to catch Smith. Smith had opened up a three car length advantage which was erased when the caution flew for the fourth time. On the restart Madden went to work looking for a line to get around Smith. But the wiley veteran would have nothing of it as he firmly held his lead. As the lead battle intensified the caution waved again after David Payne careened into the outside wall in turns three and four. Payne’s incident also collected Jake Knowles and both drivers would retire pitside.
Once again Madden followed Smith intently on the restart and just as before Smith would prevail. Meanwhile Johnson looked to crack the top five as waged war with Cook and Arms. Johnson finally disposed of the two to take over the fourth position. Just as Johnson had done White had already bypassed his way up to the third spot and began to make up ground on the lead duo. However with Johnson now in the picture the race for third was on.
The Tennessee wheelmen battled side by side as the laps waned. Johnson first tried the bottom and then moved to the top. As the field received the five to go indication Madden made his move. Using the high line Madden pulled to Smith’s rear deck through turns one and two. However Smith would slam the door shut down the straightaway. Madden threw everything he had at Smith but the veteran held him off over the final circuits to take the win. White edged Johnson at the line for third as Arms held off Cook for fifth.
“My car was really tight and I had to really get up on the wheel through the turns. That’s where Madden was really beating us. But this was a great win. I love this race track. It’s always real racy and the fans get their money’s worth for sure.” said Smith after the race. “Clint was good but I believe if we hadn’t had that last caution I think we would have won it. But it was a good run and we put on a good show.” Madden lamented.
Up next for the O’Reilly Southern All Star Racing Series is a Georgia double-header culminating on Friday night June 16th at the Toccoa Speedway in Toccoa, GA and concluding on Saturday night June 17th at Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, GA. The pair of events will be fifty lappers paying $5000 to the winner. For more info please call (256) 539-4484 or visit www.southern-allstars.com
Smith’s GRT GTO is powered by a RaceTek Race Engine and has sponsor support from JP Drilling and Construction, Base Race Fuels, GRT Race Cars, Integra Shocks, JFR Graphics, RDI, CSR, Oval Craft, and Hoosier Race Tires.
Official Results
O'Reilly Southern All Stars Super Late Models – 50 laps
1. (1) Clint Smith 44 - Senoia, GA – GRT – GTO – RaceTek
2. (3) Chris Madden 44 - Gaffney, SC – Bloomquist – GTO – Clements
3. (10) Anthony White 2 - Clinton, TN – DWB – GTO – RaceTek
4. (15) Ronnie Johnson 5 - Chattanooga, TN – Warrior – Grand Prix – Race Engine Design
5. (2) Ricky Arms 4 - Moss, TN – Rayburn – Monte Carlo – Race Engine Design
6. (4) Ray Cook 53 - Brasstown, NC – MasterSbilt – Fusion – Carl Grover
7. (7) Jonathan Davenport 49 - Blairsville, GA – Rayburn – GTO – RaceTek
8. (9) Aaron Ridley 81 - Chatsworth, GA – Barry Wright – Grand Prix – RaceTek
9. (20) Rodney Martin 92 - Cartersville, GA – Barry Wright – Grand Prix – Clements
10. (12) Randy Weaver 116 - Crossville, TN – Warrior – GTO – Race Engine Design
11. (11) Jeremy Clements 51 - Spartanburg, SC – Rocket – Grand Prix – Clements
12. (16) Steve Smith 3 - Powell, TN – Rayburn – Grand Prix – Custom
13. (14) Tony Martin 35 - Madisonville, TN – MasterSbilt – Monte Carlo – Vic Hill
14. (21) Joe Armes 77 - Petros, TN – Barry Wright – Grand Prix – Clements
15. (23) Mark Vineyard 4 - Powell, TN – Barry Wright – Taurus – Larry Wallace
16. (24) Joe Armistead Jr. 7 - Senoia, GA – Rocket – GTO – Joe Armistead, Sr.
17. (18) Shane Tankersley T31 - Morganton, GA – Rayburn – Grand Prix – Race Engine Design
18. (17) Derek Ellis 99 - Chatsworth, GA – Rayburn – GTO - RaceTek
19. (13) Kevin Gibson M95 - Ringgold, GA – Rocket – Grand Prix – Race Engine Design
20. (22) Bobby Mayse 22 - Harrison, TN – Warrior – Monte Carlo – Race Engine Design
21. (8) Jake Knowles M1 - Tyrone, GA – TNT – Grand Prix – Race Engine Design
22. (5) David Payne 8 - Murphy, NC – MasterSbilt – Grand Prix – RaceTek
23. (6) Brian Hickman 41 - Soddy Daisy, TN – TNT – GTO – RaceTek
24. (19) Randy Burrows 95 - Chattanooga, TN – GRT – GTO – Race Engine Design
Leaders: C. Smith 1-50
Lead Changes: 0
Cautions: 6
Red Flags: 0
Time of Race: 56 minutes 21 seconds
Special Awards:
Wells Racing Photos Fast Time Award: Clint Smith
PPM Race Products Hard Charger: Ronnie Johnson
On the Edge Graphics Hard Luck Award: David Payne
Mechanix Wear / Matco Tools Mechanic of the Race: Johnny Cloer, Jr.
Cleveland Speedway Rookie of the Race: Aaron Ridley
DNS: R1 Riley Hickman, T1 Todd Morrow, 3 James Cline, 05 James Roulette, 10 Jay Brinkley, 15 Kent Hicks, 17 Ricky Williams, 21 Ivedent Lloyd, 22 Robert Gant, 25 Daryl Freeman, 41 Johnny Cloer Jr., 54 Mike Head, 87 Derrick Rainey, 97 Skip Arp, 111 Bo Shirley