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National Late Model Sportsman Series Report and Results from Savannah

13 October 1997

MAINE GETS FIFTH IN SAVANNAH

Savannah, GA - 1997 National Late Model Sportsman Series Champion "Southern Gentleman" Gene Maine, of Valdosta, GA got his record fifth win of the season at Oglethorpe Speedway in Savannah. GA, in the Savannah 75 driving the Russell Brown/Bennett Bros/Ives Racing/Carrera Chevrolet. Maine's victory came at the expense of apparent winner Gene Ross, also of Valdosta, whose engine failed to pass post race technical inspection.

The weekend began with qualifying time trials Friday evening and it was Maine, the last car to take to the track who set the fast time with a lap of 22.814 seconds around the 5/8 mile Oglethorpe Speedway for an average speed of 106.514 mph. Mike Carter, The "Blackshear Bandit", from Blackshear, GA was second quick and Ivedent "Speedy" Lloyd, the 1996 NLMS Champion was third fastest.

In the heat races that followed, wins went to Skip "Rip" Pannell, Ross, Lloyd and Lee Jackson of Brooklet, GA who garnered his first ever win of any sort on the Southern Dirt Tour. Consolation races on Saturday saw "Hollywood" Joe Kump and Bobby Oglesby take the victories.

Pannell was on the pole, by virtue of his win in Heat One, with Ross on the outside as the 28 car starting field came out of turn four to take the green flag. Ross jumped into the lead in turn one with Pannell in second, Lloyd third, Maine in fourth and Johnny Collins, of Jacksonville, FL, in fifth. The first lap was just completed when Andy Stewart, Terry Lumley, Kump, Jody Rodgers and Dennis Smith were involved in a tangle in turn three that brought out the first of eight caution flags. All but Smith were able to continue after minor sheet metal repairs.

On the restart Ross again jumped out into a lead while behind him a great battle was going on between Billy Godowns Jr of Louisville, GA running in sixth trying to get around Collins. Godowns was actually pushing the newly rebodied Collins Machine down the front straight, but could not get into position to make the pass. The battle continued unabated until lap 42 when Collins engine let go ending his race early.

Maine and Lloyd were also locked in a battle for the third spot behind Pannell and Ross, with Lloyd holding the position. On lap 11 Lloyd slid up a half-groove in turn three and four and Maine pounced , diving to the inside to take over the spot. Lloyd did not give up easily and for the rest of the race he would dog the rear of Maine's car as he tried to regain the position he lost.

On lap 14 Rookie of the Year points leader Henry Carter Jr slid to the inside of James Norris and Bobby Oglesby and Steve Jones followed him through the gap as they tried to move towards the front of the tightly packed field. Coming to the front after starting in the second half of the field is extremely difficult on the Southern Dirt Tour.

At the halfway point of the race, Ross still was enjoying a comfortable lead with Pannel running second, Maine and Lloyd continuing their fight for third next, and then Collins and Godowns still engaged in their fight for fifth. Pannell's race would come to an end on lap 47 when his engine let go on the back straight, moving Maine and Lloyd into second and third respectively.

The second half of the race saw some tremendous battles being waged in the pack of cars running 10th through 20th as Jones slid high in turn two in response to pressure from Mike Mishoe, and lost two places as both Mishoe and Kump slid by on the inside. Oglesby, Mishoe, Kump, and Jones had been bumping and banging each other all race and swapping places as their fight carried them up through the field to the middle of the running order. The order at the front was static, despite the best efforts of Lloyd to get around Maine, and with the departure of Collins, Godowns moved up to challenge Lloyd for fourth. This left rookie Jackson in fifth followed by Scotty Nipper, Ricky Brant and Carter next in line.

On the white flag lap Mishoe moved inside Oglesby to claim eighth and Jones outgunned Carter down the back straight to take over tenth as the checkers flew. Jackson's fifth place and Mishoe's eighth were both career bests. There were 14 cars on the lead lap at the finish of the race and eight caution flags slowed the pace.

It is standard procedure on the National Late Model Sportsman Series for the winner's engine to be torn down, and during this teardown procedure it was determined by technical officials that the motor did not meet specifications resulting in his disqualification. Maine's motor was then subjected to teardown and was found to be legal and he was awarded the win.

The final stop for the National Late Model Sportsman Series will be at Golden Isles Speedway in Brunswick, GA on October 31 thru November 1 for the "Showdown on the Coast" which pays a possible $12,500 to the winner.

John Kaiser -- The Auto Channel

Oglethorpe Speedway - NLMS - Qualifying results for the 
National Late Model Sportsman Series, 
Savannah 75:
          

Ps.No.  Driver , Car                                          Lap Time M.P.H.
-- ---- ----------------------------------------------------- -------- -------
 1 201  Gene Maine      Ives Racing/Russell Brown Racing Chev 0:22.814 106.514
 2   5  Mike Carter     Pierce Auto Parts/M&M Refrig     Chev 0:22.932 105.965
 3   3  Ivedent Lloyd   Trident Supply/Aggressive Signs  Chev 0:23.145 104.990
 4   1  Scotty Nipper   Scotty's Muffler/Go-Fast GraphicsChev 0:23.252 104.507
 5 HP3  Skip Pannell    Seabolt & Leslie Dyno/Hollywood  Chev 0:23.284 104.364
 6  33  Gene Ross       Cauthan Const/Scruggs Concrete   Chev 0:23.294 104.319
 7 2x4  Johnny Collins  Castrol GTX/Fickling Bros        Chev 0:23.314 104.229
 8  75  Andy Stewart    Wendy's Auto/Giffin Plumbing/BFI Chev 0:23.322 104.193
 9  44  Ricky Brant     Atlas Sand & Gravel/Compet Prod  Chev 0:23.322 104.193
10  17  Alex Vickers    AutoZone                         Chev 0:23.341 104.109
11  71  Jody Rogers     Y-Delta Electrical/F&MB Bank     Chev 0:23.388 103.899
12 112  Johnny Lieupo   Lieupo Motorsports               Chev 0:23.414 103.784
13  20  Billy Godowns Jr Godowns Farm/Henderson Chev     Chev 0:23.417 103.771
14  22  Cecil Eunice    Norman Pontiac/Ace Pole          Chev 0:23.431 103.709
15 D21  Dennis Smith    Holliman Heat & Air/Firecheck    Chev 0:23.540 103.229
16 L17  Tommy Long      Plantation Auto/Pooler Tire      Chev 0:23.584 103.036
17  12  Chris Usry      Washington Wood/Robinson Trking  Ford 0:23.592 103.001
18   3T Mike Mishoe     Little's Paints/Cork's Fabricare Chev 0:23.654 102.731
19   2  Tracy Walden    Infiltrator Systems Inc          Chev 0:23.667 102.675
20  10  Lee Jackson     Mallard's Auto Parts/Bounty Hse  Chev 0:23.675 102.640
21  19  David Bargeron  Imhoff Laser Ctr/Sunshine Fence  Ford 0:23.698 102.540
22   8  James Norris    Bloomingdale LP Gas Co.          Chev 0:23.881 101.755
23 721  Joe Kump        A-1 Specialty/Car House          Chev 0:23.930 101.546
24  28  Henry Carter Jr Mimbs Farms/Sweats Port Build    Chev 0:23.937 101.516
25  55  Terry Lumley    Hollywood Race Cars/Hadden WrkingChev 0:23.937 101.516
26  37  Bobby Oglesby   T.E Hughes/Allside Vinyl Siding  Pont 0:23.955 101.440
27   0  Steve Jones     Quality Saw Works/Beardon Oil    Chev 0:24.054 101.023
28  95  Larry Lee       Larry Lee Motorsports            Chev 0:24.468  99.313
29  99  Kit Chappell    Big K Auto parts/DP Racing       Chev 0:24.830  97.865
30  35  Randy Ellenburg Bagwell's Framing/Bagalo Chassis Chev  No Time   0.000

     

#35 was light at the scales following Qualifying Time Trials
Track Length      :  0.6750 Miles



 
Oglethorpe Speedway - NLMS - Provisional results for the 
National Late Model Sportsman Series, 
Savannah 75:
          

Ps.Ql.No.  Driver , Car                                          Laps  
-- -- ---- ----------------------------------------------------- ----- 
 1  1 201  Gene Maine      Ives Racing/Russell Brown Racing Chev  75          
 2  3   3  Ivedent Lloyd   Trident Supply/Aggressive Signs  Chev  75          
 3 13  20  Billy Godowns Jr Godowns Farm/Henderson Chev     Chev  75          
 4 20  10  Lee Jackson     Mallard's Auto Parts/Bounty Hse  Chev  75          
 5  4   1  Scotty Nipper   Scotty's Muffler/Go-Fast GraphicsChev  75          
 6  9  44  Ricky Brant     Atlas Sand & Gravel/Compet Prod  Chev  75          
 7 18   3T Mike Mishoe     Little's Paints/Cork's Fabricare Chev  75          
 8 26  37  Bobby Oglesby   T.E Hughes/Allside Vinyl Siding  Pont  75          
 9 27   0  Steve Jones     Quality Saw Works/Beardon Oil    Chev  75          
10 24  28  Henry Carter Jr Mimbs Farms/Sweats Port Build    Chev  75          
11 23 721  Joe Kump        A-1 Specialty/Car House          Chev  75          
12 19   2  Tracy Walden    Infiltrator Systems Inc          Chev  75          
13 11  71  Jody Rogers     Y-Delta Electrical/F&MB Bank     Chev  75          
14 30  35  Randy Ellenburg Bagwell's Framing/Bagalo Chassis Chev  57          
15 16 L17  Tommy Long      Plantation Auto/Pooler Tire      Chev  54          
16 21  19  David Bargeron  Imhoff Laser Ctr/Sunshine Fence  Ford  51          
17  5 HP3  Skip Pannell    Seabolt & Leslie Dyno/Hollywood  Chev  47          
18  7 2x4  Johnny Collins  Castrol GTX/Fickling Bros        Chev  42          
19 25  55  Terry Lumley    Hollywood Race Cars/Hadden WrkingChev  41          
20 10  17  Alex Vickers    AutoZone                         Chev  29          
21 12 112  Johnny Lieupo   Lieupo Motorsports               Chev  19          
22 22   8  James Norris    Bloomingdale LP Gas Co.          Chev  16          
23  2   5  Mike Carter     Pierce Auto Parts/M&M Refrig     Chev  15          
24 14  22  Cecil Eunice    Norman Pontiac/Ace Pole          Chev  10          
25  8  75  Andy Stewart    Wendy's Auto/Giffin Plumbing/BFI Chev   7          
26 15 D21  Dennis Smith    Holliman Heat & Air/Firecheck    Chev   0          
27 17  12  Chris Usry      Washington Wood/Robinson Trking  Ford   0          
28  6  33  Gene Ross       Cauthan Const/Scruggs Concrete   Chev  75   DQ     

 
 #33 Failed to pass Post Race Technical Inspection.    

Time of Race      : 52 min 28 secs
Margin of Victory : 2 car lengths
Lap Leaders       : Ross 1-75
Cautions          : 8
Track Length      :  0.6750 Miles