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National Late Model Sportsman SUNOCO/Bearden Oil 75: Report and Results

18 August 1997

"HERMAN does "Monster Mash" at Penton

Penton, AL - The power of "Herman" struck again at Penton Raceway, AL as the National Late Model Sportsman Series made its only stop of the 1997 season in the "Heart of Dixie". In front of a large crowd and topping off a full and exciting night of racing, Gene Maine, of Valdosta, GA, utilized the power of his Dennis Bennett built Bennett Brothers motor, nicknamed "Herman" by the crew, to take the win in the SUNOCO Bearden Oil 75. Maine took the lead on the fourth lap and kept the Bennett Bros/Russell Brown/Ives Racing Chevrolet out front for the rest of the 75 laps to garner his third win of the season on the highly competitive series. By taking his third checkered flag of the season, Maine became only the second driver to win three races, and the first to win three in one season, on the National Late Model Sportsman Series. Finishing in second place was Cecil Eunice of Blackshear, GA, in the Bennett Bros/Snow Bros/ Norman Pontiac/Ace Pole Co. Chevrolet giving Bennett Brothers motors a 1-2 finish. Third place in the event went to pole sitter Billy Godowns Jr. of Louisville, GA in the Wynns/Walt Newman/Henderson Chevrolet/Godowns Farm Chevy.

Billy Godowns Jr led the 23 car field to the green flag and took the lead going into turn one on the first lap. Maine, Tracy Mimbs, Ivedent Lloyd and fast qualifier Paul George lined up behind him as the cars exited turn two. With a smooth, impeccably prepared track under the wheels, the cars were immediately clocking laps over a second faster than they had run in qualifying. On lap three Maine took the low line into turn three and edged his nose under Godowns. The cars ran side-by-side through turns 3 & 4 with Maine taking the lead just past the start/finish line. Godowns tried to get the point back entering turn one, but was unable to keep the car low enough in the corner and was forced to fall back into second. Behind the leaders, cars were running nose-to-tail as drivers patiently felt out the track to find the best grip

Following the first caution of the race on the 13th lap, Maine opened a three car-length lead over Godowns while further back, Cecil Eunice was beginning to make a move towards the front. After taking the time to feel out the track and establish his rhythm, Eunice, who had started in sixth, began looking for a way around George. Eventually Eunice got the inside line and was able to slide up the track exiting turn 2 and take the position. With only about two car-lengths separating each of the top five cars, Eunice soon closed on fourth running Lloyd and began the process of finding his way around the Ocala, FL driver.

By the halfway point of the race, Eunice had used the inside to gain fourth and was now looking at the rear end of Mimbs. Eunice was able to make the pass on lap 50, but by now Godowns was running about 6 car lengths ahead and Eunice was not closing the distance very quickly. With the parity that exists on the series it usually takes a mistake to allow a car to close down this sort of distance and on lap 56 Godowns slid high in turn four and in a flash Eunice was on his bumper. Godowns continued to hold second, but with the experience gained from over 500 wins Eunice was not about to be denied and on lap 62 he slid beneath the Godowns machine and slipped into second in turn four. Maine's lead was now three car-lengths over Eunice with Godowns still hanging onto third, Mimbs fourth and Lloyd in fifth.

The fourth and final caution came out on lap 66 and the field was bunched for a nine lap shootout to the finish. Maine got a good jump on the restart, but Eunice was right behind him with the rest of the snarling pack hard on his heels. With the laps winding down, Eunice, who had been closing the gap on Maine before the caution, now could not gain any ground and was forced to settle for second. Lloyd, who has been making a habit of late runs to the front all season, slid under Mimbs for fourth on lap 68, but ran out of laps before he could mount a serious challenge to Godowns for third.

25 cars were on hand for qualifying Friday and they proved just how close the competition on the series is. The top five qualifiers were within two-one thousandths of a second of each other and the entire field was covered by just six tenths of a second. Paul George of Pierson, Fl was the quickest with a time of 15.71 seconds for an average speed of 68.746 mph. By comparison, the fastest lap of the race was turned by Eunice on lap 64 when he turned a time of 14.78 seconds for an average speed of 73.072 mph. Heat races were won by Godowns, Maine, Mimbs and Lloyd with John Rankin taking the victory in the consolation race. The $2,500 bonus qualifier that will represent Penton in the "Showdown on the Coast" season finale at Golden Isle Speedway, Brunswick, GA was Paul George. There were 16 cars on the lead lap at race's end and no cars were lapped on the track during the race. All laps were lost in the pits.

The next stop for the National Late Model Sportsman Series will be at 441 Speedway, in Dublin, GA on August 29 and 30.

John Kaiser -- The Autochannel


Penton Raceway - NLMS - Qualifying results for the 
National Late Model Sportsman Series, 
SUNOCO/Bearden Oil 75:
          
Ps.No.  Driver , Car                                          Lap Time
M.P.H.
-- ---- ----------------------------------------------------- ---------------
 1  88  Paul George      R&J Greeneries/Heather Farm     Chev 0:15.710 68.746
 2 201  Gene Maine      Ives Racing/Russell Brown Racing Chev 0:15.720 68.702
 3  28  Henry Carter Jr Mimbs Farms/Sweats Port Build    Chev 0:15.720 68.702
 4  21  Ivedent Lloyd Jr Snow Bros/Larry Moore           Chev 0:15.720 68.702
 5  20  Billy Godowns Jr Godowns Farm/Henderson Chev     Chev 0:15.730 68.659
 6  22  Cecil Eunice    Norman Pontiac/Ace Pole          Chev 0:15.760 68.528
 7   2  Tracy Walden    Infiltrator Systems/Ferguson Ent Chev 0:15.780 68.441
 8  75  Andy Stewart    Wendy's Auto/Jimmy Howe Realty   Chev 0:15.860 68.096
 9   0  Steve Jones     Quality Saw Works/Beardon Oil    Chev 0:15.860 68.096
10  66  Chuck Chitty    C&C Powerline/J&W Engine Serv    Chev 0:15.940 67.754
11  11  Tracy Mimbs     Flexsteel/KFC/Mid-State Pools    Chev 0:16.010 67.458
12 222  Jim Brophy      Hartley's Tire/Scott's Fina      Chev 0:16.020 67.416
13  32  Wendell Durrance Bills Timber/Bennett Bros Motor Chev 0:16.050 67.290
14  44  Ricky Brant     Atlas Sand & Gravel/Compet Prod  Chev 0:16.080 67.164
15  46  Everett Phillips Everett's Custom Services       Chev 0:16.100 67.081
16  10  Lee Jackson     Mallard's Auto Parts/Bounty Hse  Chev 0:16.110 67.039
17  53  John Rankin     Rankin Const/Snow Bros/Kroury EngChev 0:16.130 66.956
18  55  Terry Lumley    Hollywood Race cars/Hadden WrkingChev 0:16.140 66.914
19  12  Chris Usry      Washington Wood/Robinson TruckingFord 0:16.210 66.626
20  10X Jeff Culpepper  Bowden Littleton Const/Hodge HomeChev 0:16.240 66.502
21   1m Sam Moore       Morris Signs/Sneakers            Chev 0:16.260 66.421
22 P21  Larry Perry Jr  Snow Bros/Reeves RPM/SMC TruckingChev 0:16.300 66.258
23  L2  Kenny LeCroy    TWA Wrestling/LeCroy's Rivets    Chev 0:16.370 65.974
24  45  Bryan Jenkins   Paschall's Wood Service          Chev 0:17.160 62.937
    
Track Length      :  0.3000 Miles


Penton Raceway - NLMS - Provisional results for the 
National Late Model Sportsman Series, 
SUNOCO/Bearden Oil 75:
          
Ps.Ql.No.  Driver , Car                                          Laps  
-- -- ---- ----------------------------------------------------- -----
 1  2 201  Gene Maine      Ives Racing/Russell Brown Racing Chev  75      
 2  6  22  Cecil Eunice    Norman Pontiac/Ace Pole          Chev  75       
 3  1  20  Billy Godowns Jr Godowns Farm/Henderson Chev     Chev  75       
 4  4  21  Ivedent Lloyd Jr Snow Bros/Larry Moore           Chev  75       
 5  3  11  Tracy Mimbs     Flexsteel/KFC/Mid-State Pools    Chev  75       
 6  5  88  Paul George      R&J Greeneries/Heather Farm     Chev  75       
 7  7  12  Chris Usry      Washington Wood/Robinson TruckingFord  75       
 8 11  46  Everett Phillips Everett's Custom Services       Chev  75       
 9  9  55  Terry Lumley    Hollywood Race cars/Hadden WrkingChev  75       
10 15   2  Tracy Walden    Infiltrator Systems/Ferguson Ent Chev  75       
11 13  32  Wendell Durrance Bills Timber/Bennett Bros Motor Chev  75       
12 20  44  Ricky Brant     Atlas Sand & Gravel/Compet Prod  Chev  75       
13 18  28  Henry Carter Jr Mimbs Farms/Sweats Port Build    Chev  75       
14 14  66  Chuck Chitty    C&C Powerline/J&W Engine Serv    Chev  75       
15  8  75  Andy Stewart    Wendy's Auto/Jimmy Howe Realty   Chev  75       
16 22  L2  Kenny LeCroy    TWA Wrestling/LeCroy's Rivets    Chev  75       
17 19 P21  Larry Perry Jr  Snow Bros/Reeves RPM/SMC TruckingChev  68       
18  9   0  Steve Jones     Quality Saw Works/Beardon Oil    Chev  62       
19 12  10  Lee Jackson     Mallard's Auto Parts/Bounty Hse  Chev  37       
20 16 222  Jim Brophy      Hartley's Tire/Scott's Fina      Chev  32       
21 21   2c DeWayne Chancey Performance Elec/Fast Trak Comm  Chev   0       
22 23  45  Bryan Jenkins   Paschall's Wood Service          Chev   0       
23 17  53  John Rankin     Rankin Const/Snow Bros/Kroury EngChev   0       
    
Time of Race      : 47 mins 42.02 secs
Margin of Victory : 3 car lengths
Lap Leaders       : Godowns, Maine
Fastest Lap       : Cecile Eunice, lap 64, 14.78 secs
Cautions          : 4
Track Length      :  0.3000 Miles