EAST BAY RACEWAY PARK TO HOST THREE NeSMITH CHEVROLET DLMS RACES THIS WEEK
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CARTERSVILLE, GA – East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, FL will host Rounds 3, 4 and 5 of the 2009 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series season this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Drivers will be racing for points positions as just 56 points separate the Top 10 in the point standings.
The Thursday and Friday night events will be 40-lap main events paying $2,500-to-win, and the Saturday night main event will be 50-laps and pay $3,000-to-win. The trio of races for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series will close out the 2009 Speedweeks schedule for the East Bay Raceway Park Winternationals.
Brad Hall of Knoxville, TN leads the 2009 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National point standings with a win in the season opener on January 4 at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL and a second-place finish in Round 2 on January 31 at Columbus Speedway in Columbus, MS. Hall has a ten-point lead over Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN.
National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee Johnson has a win at Columbus Speedway, and a seventh-place finish at Talladega Short Track. Hall has 196 points, and Johnson has 186 points.
The 2007 NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National Championship Runner-Up Jay Blair of Angie, LA is third in the National points chase with 172 points. James Cline of Oxford, AL is fourth with 166 points. A pair of 2008 NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS Top 10 drivers are tied for the fifth spot after the first two events of 2009.
The 2008 National Championship Runner-Up Larry Boutwell of Baker, FL is tied with the 2008 ninth-place driver in National points, Jason Hiett of Lincoln, AL with 156 point apiece. Three drivers, including two former series champions, are tied for the seventh spot in the 2009 National point standings.
The 2006 and 2007 NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National Champion David Gentry of Lewisburg, TN, the defending NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National Champion Chip Brindle of Chatsworth, GA, and Danny Peoples of Margaret, AL each have 144 points. Frank Ingram of Woodstock, GA rounds out the Top 10 in the 2009 National standings with 140 points.
Several top drivers that are regulars in the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour are holding down spots in the second ten of the National point standings. Included in that group are five drivers from last year’s Top 10, and three Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year candidates.
Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, GA, who finished fourth in the points last season, is 11th with 134 points, and Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS, who finished seventh last season, is 12th with 132 points. Kyle Berry of Poplar Bluff, MO leads the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year point standings, and is 13th overall with 130 points.
The 2006 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series East Region Champion Jason Wilson of Margaret, AL is second in the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year points, and is tied for the 14th spot in the National standings with Hunter Peacock of Macon, GA, who finished sixth in the National points last year. Wilson and Peacock each have 124 points.
The 2008 Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year Scott Knowles of Lanett, AL, who finished third in the 2008 National point standings is 16th in the 2009 National points chase with 116 points. Marcus Minga of Shannon, MS and Chris O’Connor of Cantonment, FL are tied for the 17th spot with 108 points apiece.
Ben McCreary of Baldwyn, MS is third in the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year standing, and 19th overall with 106 points, and Jeff Fields of Aragon, GA, who finished eighth in the 2008 National standings is tied with Owen Osteen of Woodruff, SC, and Eddie Rickman of Columbus, MS for the 20th spot with 94 points apiece.
The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series events on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night will each have McLeod Construction Qualifying, B-main races, and feature events. East Bay Raceway Park will host a practice night on Wednesday, February 18 beginning at 6 p.m., with the pit gate opening at 5 p.m.
East Bay Raceway Park is located five miles south of I-4 off U.S. Highway 41. For more information call East Bay Raceway Park at 813-677-7223, or visit the track web site at www.eastbayracewaypark.com. For more information about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series visit the series web site at www.nesmithracing.com.
