purplerose22603
11-20-2008, 07:33 PM
I just realized this was not posted here. Copied from vadirtlovers board.
For Immediate Release
Steelblock Mid-Atlantic Racing Tour
November 13, 2008
Davis puts on a clinic, Brannon Wins S.M.A.R.T Series Championship
The final race of the S.M.A.R.T Series came down to the wire at County Line Raceway under sunny skies November 7th and 8th in Elm City North Carolina. As the temperatures heated up, the action was just as hot on the track. The S.M.A.R.T series was proud to be a part of the Jamie Summerlin Memorial weekend as the championship was to be decided by two veteran drivers in Allen Brannon and Gerald Davis.
Allen Brannon came into the event as the series point leader a mere 90 points ahead of second place Gerald Davis. Davis' mission was clear, win the race and hope Brannon had misfortune.
Third place in points was destined to change hands as Jared Almarode, who had the only shot to take second position in the points, was a no show.
Friday night started out calm as the temperatures were in the low 80's before sunset. The evening started out with time trials for the late models. Coming to the line with the fastest time was the D8 of Dustin Mitchell from Pine Level, North Carolina. The heats were set and the action was still relatively calm. Heat winners were the 21 of James Batten heat 1, the 36 of Ronnie Boykin heat 2, the 111 of Neil Sikes heat 3 and the 1 of Damon Kotke heat 4.
As things were calm that evening, it was about to heat up with the King of the Carolinas shootout on tap. Fifteen cars lined up to do battle on the tight track to take home all the money. Time restraints were quickly approaching as the shootout was reduced to 10 laps. The P47 of Trevor Peoples headed to the front in a hurry. On the last lap, slower traffic played a major factor as Peoples tried to negotiate the traffic. When it was all said and done, the P47 machine was hard into the backstretch wall as Bobby Bottoms avoided the chaos to take the checkered flag.
Saturday brought early morning rain showers and threatening skies. As lunch time approached the skies cleared and the day was set to be a good day to race. The lineup was set from the night before as the 21 of Batten was on the pole and the 36 of Boykin took the preferred outside pole position. At the drop of the green flag it was Boykin jumping out front to lead the first 11 circuits. The man on the move from the eighth starting position was the 28 of Gerald Davis. Davis worked the high groove and closed in on Boykin by lap 9. With Boykin working the bottom groove and Davis on the high side, the race was on. Davis made the only pass for the lead on lap 12 and set sail, at times scraping the wall using all of the track.
Lap 10 looked like the break Davis needed to gain ground on Brannon for the championship as Brannon got caught up in a 3 car spin. There was no damage to the Lester Nichols owned machine of Brannon although he would start from the rear on the restart. From there Brannon held his ground and worked consistently back through the pack. The battles were all over the track for the points competitors as Derrick Quade, Spencer Liggon and Brannon raced in a close pack all night. By lap 42, the only pressure Davis felt out front was from the 07 of Britches Liles who had moved into second position. On restarts Liles could power under Davis and at times pull along side, but Davis had the preferred line on the top. Davis continued to the checkered to claim the victory with Liles second, Neil Sikes third, Derrick Quade fourth and Spencer Liggon in the fifth position. By finishing sixth, Allen Brannon secured the first S.M.A.R.T series championship.
Davis closed to 30 points back and at times was tied with Brannon during the race.
In Victory lane Davis made it clear that it wasn't all that easy. The left rear tire was completely gone and loosing air. As far as the championship battle, Davis just made one statement, “I sure wish I didn't miss that Elkins race”. As it turned out, that race was probably the deciding factor. A championship picture was also taken with Brannon who thanked the series for a great year. Both drivers have stated they will be back with the series next year and as well, Brannon will be sporting his new Lazer chassis provided by Bernheizel Race Cars for the champion. The series would like to congratulate each one of the drivers that competed in our first year. The series is growing by leaps and bounds for 2009. The 2008 awards day is tentatively set for March 8, 2009. This is being put together as a family fun day with food, games for kids and of course the awards. The details will be coming in the following weeks.
The series officials are working hard this winter to have a complete schedule of tracks for 2009 and are working to lay out a more defined set of rules as well. The word is already that the series will be welcoming many more drivers as well as tracks for the 2009 season.
A big thank you for the support of the series' sponsors from 2008. Bernheizel Race Cars, Lazer Chassis, American Racer Tire, Eagle Rider Motorcycle Rental, Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic, Extreme Grafix, Stephens Lawn Care Service, PMZ Group and Steel Block Mania Forum.
Chris Hammer
Steelblock Mid-Atlantic Racing Tour
chammer@smartracingseries.com
www.smartracingseries.com (http://www.smartracingseries.com)
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee141/hammersigns/p807909923-3.jpg
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee141/hammersigns/p917824747-3.jpg
Special thanks to Rhett Butler for the awsome photos!
http://photos.butlerracingphotos.com/f112573128
For Immediate Release
Steelblock Mid-Atlantic Racing Tour
November 13, 2008
Davis puts on a clinic, Brannon Wins S.M.A.R.T Series Championship
The final race of the S.M.A.R.T Series came down to the wire at County Line Raceway under sunny skies November 7th and 8th in Elm City North Carolina. As the temperatures heated up, the action was just as hot on the track. The S.M.A.R.T series was proud to be a part of the Jamie Summerlin Memorial weekend as the championship was to be decided by two veteran drivers in Allen Brannon and Gerald Davis.
Allen Brannon came into the event as the series point leader a mere 90 points ahead of second place Gerald Davis. Davis' mission was clear, win the race and hope Brannon had misfortune.
Third place in points was destined to change hands as Jared Almarode, who had the only shot to take second position in the points, was a no show.
Friday night started out calm as the temperatures were in the low 80's before sunset. The evening started out with time trials for the late models. Coming to the line with the fastest time was the D8 of Dustin Mitchell from Pine Level, North Carolina. The heats were set and the action was still relatively calm. Heat winners were the 21 of James Batten heat 1, the 36 of Ronnie Boykin heat 2, the 111 of Neil Sikes heat 3 and the 1 of Damon Kotke heat 4.
As things were calm that evening, it was about to heat up with the King of the Carolinas shootout on tap. Fifteen cars lined up to do battle on the tight track to take home all the money. Time restraints were quickly approaching as the shootout was reduced to 10 laps. The P47 of Trevor Peoples headed to the front in a hurry. On the last lap, slower traffic played a major factor as Peoples tried to negotiate the traffic. When it was all said and done, the P47 machine was hard into the backstretch wall as Bobby Bottoms avoided the chaos to take the checkered flag.
Saturday brought early morning rain showers and threatening skies. As lunch time approached the skies cleared and the day was set to be a good day to race. The lineup was set from the night before as the 21 of Batten was on the pole and the 36 of Boykin took the preferred outside pole position. At the drop of the green flag it was Boykin jumping out front to lead the first 11 circuits. The man on the move from the eighth starting position was the 28 of Gerald Davis. Davis worked the high groove and closed in on Boykin by lap 9. With Boykin working the bottom groove and Davis on the high side, the race was on. Davis made the only pass for the lead on lap 12 and set sail, at times scraping the wall using all of the track.
Lap 10 looked like the break Davis needed to gain ground on Brannon for the championship as Brannon got caught up in a 3 car spin. There was no damage to the Lester Nichols owned machine of Brannon although he would start from the rear on the restart. From there Brannon held his ground and worked consistently back through the pack. The battles were all over the track for the points competitors as Derrick Quade, Spencer Liggon and Brannon raced in a close pack all night. By lap 42, the only pressure Davis felt out front was from the 07 of Britches Liles who had moved into second position. On restarts Liles could power under Davis and at times pull along side, but Davis had the preferred line on the top. Davis continued to the checkered to claim the victory with Liles second, Neil Sikes third, Derrick Quade fourth and Spencer Liggon in the fifth position. By finishing sixth, Allen Brannon secured the first S.M.A.R.T series championship.
Davis closed to 30 points back and at times was tied with Brannon during the race.
In Victory lane Davis made it clear that it wasn't all that easy. The left rear tire was completely gone and loosing air. As far as the championship battle, Davis just made one statement, “I sure wish I didn't miss that Elkins race”. As it turned out, that race was probably the deciding factor. A championship picture was also taken with Brannon who thanked the series for a great year. Both drivers have stated they will be back with the series next year and as well, Brannon will be sporting his new Lazer chassis provided by Bernheizel Race Cars for the champion. The series would like to congratulate each one of the drivers that competed in our first year. The series is growing by leaps and bounds for 2009. The 2008 awards day is tentatively set for March 8, 2009. This is being put together as a family fun day with food, games for kids and of course the awards. The details will be coming in the following weeks.
The series officials are working hard this winter to have a complete schedule of tracks for 2009 and are working to lay out a more defined set of rules as well. The word is already that the series will be welcoming many more drivers as well as tracks for the 2009 season.
A big thank you for the support of the series' sponsors from 2008. Bernheizel Race Cars, Lazer Chassis, American Racer Tire, Eagle Rider Motorcycle Rental, Hoosier Tire Mid Atlantic, Extreme Grafix, Stephens Lawn Care Service, PMZ Group and Steel Block Mania Forum.
Chris Hammer
Steelblock Mid-Atlantic Racing Tour
chammer@smartracingseries.com
www.smartracingseries.com (http://www.smartracingseries.com)
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee141/hammersigns/p807909923-3.jpg
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee141/hammersigns/p917824747-3.jpg
Special thanks to Rhett Butler for the awsome photos!
http://photos.butlerracingphotos.com/f112573128