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SMITH WINS NIGHT TWO AT EAST BAY IN
NeSMITH CHEVROLET DLMS ACTION
TAMPA, FL – Shan Smith of Dade City,
FL drove the Gardner Racing TNT to victory on Friday night at East
Bay Raceway Park in the 50-lap main event for the NeSmith Chevrolet
Dirt Late Model Series. Smith took the lead on lap 22 from
polesitter Charlie Henderson of Cottondale, AL then held off a pair
of challenges in lapped traffic from Randy Weaver of Crossville, TN.
Smith made his bid for the win early in the race, as he bolted from
his tenth starting spot and was up to third by the end of the first
lap. Lap three saw Smith drive by Weaver in the Cardinal Paint and
Body Custom to take the second spot.
“I’ve got a lot of laps around this place, and I’ve got a set up
that works good when the track rubbers up,” Smith said. “I knew I
had to get to the front early, and we were able to use the track
conditions to our advantage.”
Weaver finished second followed by Henderson in the Century
Carriers, Inc. Mastersbilt, who was also the Rookie of the Race
Award winner. Keith Nosbisch of Valrico, FL was fourth in the Miller
Lite Rocket, and Devin Dixon of Apollo Beach, FL took the Race Car
Engineering 5th-Place Award in the Night Hawk Towing Rocket.
Doug Horton of Bruceton Mills, WV drove the Adams Used Auto Parts
Warrior to the KRC 6th-Place Award, and Shane Hitt of Buchannon, WV
claimed the Joe Gibbs Driven 7th-Place Award. William Thomas of
Phenix City, AL started the J.W. Miller Land and Timber Scorpion in
the 18th spot and finished eighth to take the GM Performance Parts
Hard Charger Award and the Race Car Engineering 8th-Place Award.
Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA took the Maximum Signs and
Graphics 9th-Place Award, and Jeff Matthews of Dover, FL was the KRC
10th-Place Award winner in the Night Hawk Towing Warrior. Defending
NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion Eric
Cooley of Fulton, MS won the Mike’s Customs Tanks 11th-Place Award.
Turner remains the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National
point leader with a six-point lead over Cooley in second spot, and a
16-point advantage over Thomas in the third position.
Henderson earned his second straight Pole Award by out-qualifying
the 53 entrants with a lap around the 1/3-mile clay oval in 15.344
seconds. Henderson started along side his teammate Justin McRee of
Cuba, AL in the Century Carriers, Inc. Trak-Star in the front row
for the start of the race.
When the green flag came out, things got busy in a hurry with
Henderson leading Weaver, McRee, Smith, and Nosbisch off the second
turn. McRee jumped the cushion in turn three on the opening lap, and
that dropped him back to tenth by the time he gathered up his race
car. Smith passed Weaver for the second spot on lap three, and Dixon
moved up into the top five.
The first of three caution flags came out on lap seven when Chris
McElhenney of Lake, MS spun the G&M Trucking Trak-Star in turn four.
Henderson led Smith, Weaver, Nosbisch, Dixon, Matthews, Horton, Hitt,
Steve Mathis of Plant City, FL in the Mathis Farms Rayburn, and
McRee back to the green flag.
Matthews jumped one car on the restart, and he would be penalized
two positions on the next caution period, which came out on lap 14
when David Pollen Jr. in the B&D Trucking Rocket caught fire. The
fire was extinguished by the track safety crew and Pollen was
uninjured. Pollen’s misfortune earned him the Dominator Race
Products Hard Luck Award.
The top ten for the restart had Henderson leading followed by Smith,
Weaver, Nosbisch, Dixon, Horton, Hitt, Matthews, Mathis and Turner.
When the field went green, Turner passed Mathis for the ninth spot,
and McRee moved back into the top ten with a pass on Mathis on lap
15. Thomas had charged from the 18th starting spot and passed McRee
for tenth on lap 17.
Henderson was holding a steady three car-length lead over Smith, but
as the leaders approached lapped traffic on lap 20, Smith and Weaver
began to close the gap. Smith and Weaver got by Henderson for first
and second on lap 22, but a caution flag on lap 24 for the stalled
SEG Ramlaw Mastersbilt driven by Mitchell Godfrey of Crawford, GA
brought out the third and final caution flag, and kept the field
tightened up.
When the field went back to green flag action, Smith was able to
open up a six car-length lead by lap 34 when the leader began to
encounter lapped traffic. Weaver closed in as Smith began to pick
his way around lapped cars running the groove he wanted to stay
ahead of Weaver.
On lap 38, Weaver was able to get a run on Smith in turn one on the
inside, but Smith was up to the challenge and kept the lead. Weaver
would get another opportunity with ten laps to go, but couldn’t make
the pass. Once Smith cleared the lap cars, he could keep a three
car-length gap between himself and Weaver the rest of the way to the
checkered flag.
In preliminary action, the four ten-lap heat races were won by
Godfrey, McElhenney, Horton, and Smith. The two 12-lap B-Main races
were won by Turner and Larry Harrod of Plains, GA in the Harrod
Logging Scorpion.
The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series returns to East Bay
Raceway Park for its three-race finale on Saturday night with a
50-lap $3,000-to-win main event. 
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