(Senoia, GA – September 2, 2019) The final race night of August set the stage for the final points night of the season in two weeks. Brooks’ Curtis Turner padded his lead in the Bombers with a victory over his nearest rival Dustin Smith of Senoia. Locust Grove’s Jason Williams also increased his advantage over Newnan teenager McKenna Nelms in the Late Model Sportsman point standings while championship titles will be up for grabs in all the divisions on Saturday, September 14th.
“Double points on the (September) 14th creates a chance for quite a few drivers to overtake positions in the standings,” said promoter Mayes Massey. “There are championships still on the line and several can move up into the point fund bonus money with a good run on the final night of the points season.”
LaGrange’s Dennis Hale led the Limited Late Model feature race flag to flag, but had to hold off current points leader Jacques Daniel of Cartersville over the final couple of circuits. Daniel had methodically climbed through the field battling inside and outside and even running three wide at one point to gain position. He moved into second passing Columbus’ Joseph Brown with two remaining and then just could not make it past Hale settling for second. Fayetteville’s Glenn Morris and Alabama’s Russ Ogletree rounded out the first five with Ogletree moving up from his sixth row starting spot to nab the top five.
“There was excellent racing throughout the field,” said Massey. “They were running three and even four side for most of the thirty lap race.”
Jacques Daniel will go into the final race of the points season with a solid lead over Glenn Morris and Russ Ogletree. If Daniel struggles at all, the door will be wide open for either Morris or Ogletree who are also currently tied for second place. Senoia’s Clint Smith along with LaGrange’s Jamie Carr and Saturday night winner Dennis Hale can finish among the best five in the standings with a good run on September 14th.
In the Late Model Sportsman, Locust Grove’s Jamie Nicholson, Jr., was finally able to shake the monkey off his back and win a feature race. The former Mini Stock titlist has been plagued with bad luck for the better part of the summer. That changed on Saturday night as he ran flag to flag as the leader capturing his first win in the Late Model Sportsman division.
The win also solidified his third place standing and gives him an outside shot at the title. Jason Williams and McKenna Nelms who both finished among the top five on Saturday evening will go into the Championship night separated by only seven points. The double points opportunity creates a unique situation for the two drivers vying for the championship.
“Whichever driver finishes better than the other in the last points race,” Massey explained. “Will be the champion of the Late Model Sportsman. That’s going to be fun to watch.”
Nelms, the sixteen year old lady from Newnan, is seeking her first championship in only her third season of racing cars at Senoia Raceway. Williams won a title in the Limited Late Model division back in 2012.
The Championship feature for the Bomber division has a similar scenario for it’s top two drivers. Curtis Turner increased his lead on Saturday, but the double points awarded that night keeps Dustin Smith within striking distance. If Smith can win the feature that night, he will overtake Turner and win the season laurels. Heading into the final race, Turner has five feature wins while Smith has won two.
Saturday night’s action in the Crate Late Model created some breathing room for defending points champion Marty Massey of Winston. Massey finished a hard fought sixth place while his nearest rival, Landon Bagby also from Winston, struggled and only managed to finish tenth. Bagby still has a shot at the title, but will need a solid finish and Massey to struggle.
All of the Season Championship titles will be decided on Saturday, September 14th as all classes will be competing. The Limited Late Models, Crate Late Models, Late Model Sportsman, Chargers, Hobby, Bomber, Mini Stock and Hot Shots will be competing.
“The racing is sure to be exciting,” said Massey. “This will be a fun night for the drivers and the fans. Whether or not you are in the running for a title or not, everyone can be a determining factor in the final outcome for the season. That will be fun to watch.”
On Saturday, September 14th, the gates will open at 4pm for the pit area and trackside parking while the grandstand will open at 5pm. Opening ceremonies takes place at 7:30pm. Tickets are $12; kids 5-12 are $5 with four and under admitted for free. Pit passes and trackside parking tickets are $30, kids 5-12 are $20 and four and under are admitted for free with an adult.
For the full schedule of events along with special attractions, promotions and additional information, visit the track website at www.senoiaraceway.com or call the speedway at 770.599.6161.
Official Results – Saturday, August 31, 2019
Limited Late Models (Feature): 1-Dennis Hale, LaGrange 2-Jacques Daniel, Cartersville 3-Joseph Brown, Columbus 4-Glenn Morris, Fayetteville 5-Russ Ogletree, Phenix City, AL 6-Maddie Crane, Meansville 7-Thomas Mewborn, Greenville 8-Rucker Orr, Newnan 9-Ricky Williams, Fayetteville 10-Chad Wallace, LaGrange 11-Jamie Carr, LaGrange 12-Clint Thompson, Newnan 13-Terrance Nowell, Phenix City, AL 14-Joseph Darda, Greenville 15-Dylan Holmes, Smiths Station, AL 16-Jimmy Johnson, Monroe 17-Shane Fulcher, Thomaston Fast Qualifier: Hale (15.091 seconds/89.5 mph)
Crate Late Models (Feature): 1-Dylan Knowles, Lanett, AL 2-Mason Massey, Douglasville 3-Jake Traylor, LaGrange 4-Matthew Wyatt, Eastonolee 5-Logan Palmer, Acworth 6-Marty Massey, Winston 7-Luther Jenkins, Waleska 8-Dusty Jones, LaGrange 9-Wayne Harbin, Sharpsburg 10-Landon Bagby, Winston 11-Danny Harrington, LaGrange 12-Chris Justus, McDonough 13-Tina Johnson, Senoia 14-Dow Kirkland, Lake Spivey 15-Tom Egner, Savannah DNS: Jamie Maurice, McDonough Fast Qualifier: Traylor (15.145 seconds/89.1 mph)
Late Model Sportsman (Feature): 1-Jamie Nicholson, Jr., Locust Grove 2-Jason Williams, Locust Grove 3-Colton Jackson, Chatsworth 4-McKenna Nelms, Newnan 5-Dana Eiland, Salem, AL 6-Chris Steele, Franklin 7-Jason Turner, McDonough 8-Jack Mills, Griffin 9-Sam Carter, Covington 10-Parrish Duncan, Newnan 11-Matt Thompson, Powder Springs 12-Taylor Cole, Cartersville 13-Bobby Arnold, Newnan 14-Austin Atha, Loganville DNS: Billy Stevenson, Locust Grove Fast Qualifier: Nicholson, Jr (15.314 seconds/82.8 mph)
Bomber (Feature): 1-Curtis Turner, Brooks 2-Dustin Smith, Senoia 3-Derrick Matthews, Whitesburg 4-Larry Pierce, Griffin 5-Shannon Stephens, Franklin 6-Craig Boozer, Jenkinsburg DNS: Michael Thomas, Whitesburg Heat Race Winner: Turner
Chargers (Feature): 1-Scott Amoson, Newnan 2-Braxtin Barber, Valley, AL 3-Andrew Moody, Temple 4-Jason Stevenson, Locust Grove 5-Chad Atha, Loganville 6-Dave McWilliams, Brooks 7-Brant Hardin, McDonough 8-Lucas Pittman, Grantville 9-John Holcomb, Griffin 10-Johnny Stinchcomb, Newnan 11-Justin Clark, Monticello DNS: Landon Frix, Newnan; Abe Chase, Valley, AL; Dawson Martin, Oxford Heat Race Winners: Moody & Amoson
Hot Shots (Feature): 1-Cory Greene, Griffin 2-Tommy Smith, Forsyth 3-Cory Wilson, Locust Grove 4-Kenny Mathis, West Point 5-Robert Holder, Griffin 6-Stacey Henderson, Senoia