JOHNSON BECOMES FIRST 2008 TWO-TIME NeSMITH CHEVROLET DLMS WINNER

               TUSCUMBIA, AL – Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN led wire-to-wire to become the first two-time NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series winner this season in eight races in the Tri-State Challenge 40 Presented By Circle H Concrete Construction on Friday night at North Alabama Speedway driving the Miller Brothers Coal Warrior.

               Johnson took his eighth career NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series win by six car lengths over the second-place finisher William Thomas of Phenix City , AL in the J.W. Miller Land and Timber Scorpion.

               “I love coming to Alabama to race because the fans are just so enthusiastic here,” Johnson said.  “I’m glad the cautions flags came out when they did because I didn’t want to race in lapped traffic.  Just about the time I caught the lapped cars, the caution flag came out.”

               North Alabama Speedway has been good to Johnson, as the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Inductee won the last NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series race at the track in 2005 when the series was known as Crate Racin’ USA.

               Chris Tays of Corinth, MS finished third in the Bud Coley Trucking/Circle H Concrete Trak Star, and fourth went to Rick Rickman of Columbus, MS in the Car Quest Auto Parts Mastersbilt.  Frank Ingram of Woodstock, GA was fifth, taking the Race Car Engineering Fifth-Place Award, in the Dixon Hauling and Grading Rocket.

Eddie Rickman of Columbus, MS took the sixth spot in the Rickman Trucking Mastersbilt, and Ben McCreary of Baldwyn , MS drove the Waddle Trucking Mastersbilt to a seventh-place finish.

Blake Stewart of Centre, AL started 20^th in the Parodi & Welch, Inc. GRT and finished eighth to earn the Hard Charger of the Race Award and the Race Car Engineering Eighth-Place Award.  Matthew Turner of Dawsonville, GA was ninth in the Turner Excavating DWB to pick up the Maximum Signs Ninth-Place Award, and Todd Hurst of Lineville, AL rounded out the top ten in the Hurst Construction Warrior to earn the Old 29 Golf Carts Tenth-Place Award.

Johnson took the lead at the drop of the green flag from his outside front row starting position followed by Ronnie Lee Hollingsworth of Northport, AL in the Hollingsworth Motorsports Mastersbilt, Thomas, and Tom Maddox of Centre, AL in the Cherokee Timber Barry Wright.  Maddox would spin out of the fourth spot on lap 19 in turn four to bring out the fifth of eight caution flag.

At the halfway point, Johnson led Hollingsworth, Thomas, Tays, Rick Rickman, Ingram, Eddie Rickman, McCreary, Scott Knowles of Lanett, AL in the Meadows Racing GRT, and Stewart.  Knowles cut down two tires on lap 24 sending him to the pits, which moved Larry Boutwell of Baker, FL into the tenth spot in the McLeod Construction TNT.

Boutwell sailed off the first turn on the lap 24 restart, and Turner moved up to the tenth spot.  The last half of the race saw the high groove as the groove of choice for the front runners, but it was getting very close to the top of the race track.

Hollingsworth found that out the hard way on lap 25, when the second-place driver sailed off the track coming off the second turn.  That earned Hollingsworth the Dominator Race Products Hard Luck of the Race Award.

The lap 25 restart saw Johnson open up an eight car-length lead over Thomas.  Johnson closed in on lapped traffic with six laps to go, and Thomas closed to within three car lengths.  Once Johnson cleared the lapped cars, he opened up another three car-lengths on Thomas to breeze home for the win.

Hollingsworth was the fast qualifier among the 36 entrants with a lap around the 3/8-mile clay oval in 13.971 seconds.  Eric Cooley of Fulton, MS finished 15^th to earn the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Race Award.

Point leader Chip Brindle of Chatsworth , GA had to start 23^rd with a provisional and finished 12^th in the CSC Trailer Repair/Brindle Brothers Auto Parts GRT.  Brindle now holds a 62-point lead over Jeff Fields of Aragon, GA in the NeSmith Chevrolet DLMS National points chase.  Fields leads a log jam for the second spot, as just 10 points separate second through fifth.

Fields is now followed closely in the point standings by Tays, Jay Blair of Angie, LA, and Boutwell.  Fields took a provisional, started 24^th and finished 13th in the J&J Transport Mastersbilt, while Blair dropped out early in the race and finished 21^st in the J&A Trucking Mastersbilt.

The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series now moves on to Columbus Speedway in Columbus, MS for Round 9 of the 2008 season on Saturday night.  Johnson’s first series win of the season came at Columbus Speedway in February at the Winter Classic.

OFFICIAL RESULTS OF ROUND 8 AT NORTH ALABAMA SPEEDWAY IN TUSCUMBIA , AL ON 6/20/08 :

POS       STRT     CAR #   DRIVER                             HOMETOWN                   LAPS     $ WON 
1.            2             5             Ronnie Johnson                Chattanooga , TN              40           $2,500
2.            3             22           William Thomas                             Phenix City , AL                 40           $1,250
3.            8             8             Chris Tays                          Corinth , MS                      40           $850
4.            7             86           Rick Rickman                   Columbus, MS                  40           $700
5.            9             F9          Frank Ingram                   Woodstock , GA                40           $650
6.            4             68           Eddie Rickman                 Columbus, MS                  40           $550
7.            5             21           Ben McCreary                  Baldwyn, MS                     40           $500
8.            20           04           Blake Stewart                   Centre, AL                          40           $550
9.            14           10           Matthew Turner                              Dawsonville, GA                             40               $400
10.          21           2             Todd Hurst                        Lineville, AL                     40           $375
11.          17           87           Derrick Rainey                 Powder Springs, GA       40           $350
12.          23           38c         Chip Brindle                     Chatsworth , GA                               40           $300
13.          24           16           Jeff Fields                          Aragon, GA                       39           $280
14.          22           27T        Danny Joe Thomas           Robertsdale, AL                              39           $260
15.          18           33c         Eric Cooley (R)                Fulton , MS                         39           $250
16.          16           31           Scott Knowles (R)            Lanett, AL                          39           $240
17.          15           33           Justin Carter                    Marietta , MS                    39           $220
18.          1             00           Ronnie Hollingsworth   Northport, AL                   24           $200
19.          13           58           Larry Boutwell                Baker, FL                          23           $200
20.          6             19           Tom Maddox                     Centre, AL                          18           $200
21.          19           2x           Jay Blair                            Angie , LA                            14           $200
22.          10           68x         Brian Rickman                 Columbus, MS                  6             $200
23.          12           212        Josh Putnam                     Killen, AL                          3             $200
24.          11           82           Jason Sanderford             Pheba, MS                          2             $200

ENTRIES:  36
FAST QUALIFIER:  Hollingsworth, 13.971 Seconds
PROVISIONALS:  Brindle and Fields
LEAD CHANGES:  None
LAP LEADER:  Johnson, 1-40
DOMINATOR RACE PRODUCTS HARD LUCK AWARD:  Hollingsworth
HARD CHARGER AWARD:  Stewart (started 20^th and finished 8^th)
SUNOCO RACE FUELS ROOKIE OF THE RACE:  Cooley
RACE CAR ENGINEERING FIFTH-PLACE AWARD:  Ingram
RACE CAR ENGINEERING EIGHTH-PLACE AWARD:  Stewart
MAXIMUM SIGNS NINTH-PLACE AWARD:  Turner
OLD 29 GOLF CARTS TENTH-PLACE AWARD:  Hurst
CAUTIONS:  8
TIME OF THE RACE:  32 Minutes, 41.390 Seconds

QUALIFYING (Top 10 Transfer To Main Event):