East Alabama Motor Speedway Archives

East Alabama Motor Speedway - 2008 Archives

Jimmy Thomas Memorial

By Jay Vaquer

Phenix City, ALA - March 1, 2008 - The 23rd Annual Jimmy Thomas Memorial was held at East Alabama Motor Speedway on a beautiful weekend opening the 2008 racing season. The 100 lap $10,000 to win Crate Late Model feature was dominated by Ronnie Johnson, The Chattanooga Flash. Local rookie Richie Stephens surprised most by starting the feature from the pole. When the green flag dropped Johnson and Royce Bray took the high groove to pass Stephens in turn one. Bray was leading with the Flash in second, Derrick Rainey third, Jordy Nipper fourth, Stephens fifth, Jeff Fields sixth, and the patriarch's grandson William Thomas was in seventh. On lap 8 Larry Harrod got spun for a caution as local legend Dana Eiland took his K-9 to the pits for a left front flat. On the restart The Flash was all over Bray challenging for the lead. To the delight of thousands of fans , this fierce battle for the lead continued until lap 15 when the Flash took the lead and never looked back. Jordy Nipper and Thomas were locked in mortal combat over 4th place with Thomas too tough to shake. Jake Knowles was on a run and making Terrance Nowell's life difficult as he closed in on lap 23. The Flash encountered thick lap traffic and weaved his way through effortlessly as he began to put most of the field a lap down. Jeff Smith and Dana Eiland were sparring for position as the Flash whizzed by. At lap 44 the Flash darted by Mike Parkerson as he held a straightaway lead on second place Rainey. After lapping Larry Harrod and Keith Freeman The Flash was in clean air and picked up his lap time to low seventeens as the EAMS track surface was blacked over, dust free, pot hole free, and super fast. On lap 61 Thomas put it on Bray to take the third position and put Knowles down a lap. On lap 69 there were only 5 cars left on the lead lap. Johnson, Rainey, Thomas, defending Champion Frankie Beard, and Royce Bray in his # 21 Rolls Royce were the only drivers still in contention for the win. Stephens and Bobby Eiland collided in turn three which sent Eiland head over heels off turn three. Eiland jumped out of the mangled TR Motors 08 physically fine but obviously upset. After the red flag. on the restart Bray amde a clean pass on Beard to move into fourth and go after Thomas. Rainey managed to get on the inside of Johnson and challenge for the lead but the Flash had all the right answers to hold Rainey back. Johnson came out of turn four on the high groove and as Rainey came out of turn four wide open, Stacey Roberts, a lap car, had just been given the move over flag to let the Flash by but he moved into the lower groove right in front of Rainey. Rainey had nowhere to go except into the back of Roberts for a horrible collision which not only took Rainey out of second place but took him out of the race as well. William Thomas was more than happy to be relegated second place as the green came back. Nipper was behind Beard and driving like the devil himself was chasing him. The Flash continued his unrelenting speed and pulled 10 carlengths ahead of Thomas. As Nipper tried to hang with the leaders he drifted high going into turn one and hit the outside retaining wall and came to a stop at the top of turn one for the lap 94 caution. When the green came back The Chattanooga Flash lived up to his moniker as he speed to the checkers his second win of the weekend. Johnson also won the Late Model Sportsman event with brilliant track strategy and a perfectly set up race car. Johnson, a true Southern gentleman, said he was very proud to have honored Jimmy Thomas with this victory and will always cherish the accolade The Jimmy Thomas Memorial Champion. Jimmy Thomas was also no doubt proud to have his young grandson William finish second in this field of highly accomplished Late Model competitors. Royce Bray finished third, Frankie Beard fourth, Terrance Nowell fifth, Jason Hiett sixth, Jeff Fields seventh, Jeff Fortner eighth, Hunter Peacock ninth, and Jake Knowles rounded out the top ten in tenth.

Eiland Wins Season Opener
By Jay Vaquer

Phenix City, ALA – March 15, 2008 – The 2008 racing season at East Alabama Motor Speedway got off with an impressive start. The high car count and nearly filled grandstands promises a successful year. The Late Model feature was very exciting with intense racing all around the track and thrilling lead changes. The Master of Faster, local legend Dana Eiland, proved he is still the man to beat. A very talented rookie, Richie Stephens, placed his #oo on the outside pole for the feature. When the green flag dropped Stephens and Eiland raced into turn one and Stephens emerged with the lead and began to run away from the pack. Eiland had a strong push in turns one and two and lost momentum as Larry Eldridge slid under him to take over the second position. Larry Harrod was running strong and offered the fans a thrill as he sparred with another strong competitor, Jeff Mills over fourth place. On the restart of the lap 7 caution, Harrod made a swift and clean pass on Mills and went after Eiland in third. When he got back to turn two something broke on his left front suspension and he spun right in front of Mickey Benton who had no other option except to t-bone Harrod. Unfortunately both former Late Model champions went to the pits for DNF’s. When the green came back Dana Eiland was running very high on the track and Eldridge was running the apron. When they exited the corners they would run door to door down the straight-aways. Suddenly, Eiland switched grooves and caught Eldridge off guard and took over second place. Eiland picked up nearly a second on the apron and was there for the lead. Eiland and Stephens swapped positions, which had the fans on their feet to see these lead changes. Finally Eiland got a jump in momentum and pulled to a five car-length lead from Stephens. Pat Wall began to break and lost speed in the center groove to bring out the lap 15 caution. The restart order was Eiland, Stephens, Eldridge, and somehow Matt Woodson had found himself running fourth ahead of Stephen Pearson JR in fifth. When the green came back Eiland’s K-9 had dialed in his set-up and he blasted off to run several car lengths ahead of Stephens who was busy with an ever charging Eldridge. Woodson in fourth had his own space on the track running several car-lengths behind Eldridge and several car-lengths ahead of the rest of the pack. When Eiland ran up on the lap traffic Stephens came flying out of turn 4 wide open and closed on the rear of Eiland. Stephens pushed Eiland in front of the flag stand and while the K-9 wiggled off his line, Eiland maintained control and again sped away from Stephens. The white flag was out and the K-9 sensed another victory as he sped to the checkers to win yet another Late Model victory to add to his prolific legacy. Richie Stephens finished second and was very strong which ensures that he will see Victory Lane this season. Larry Eldridge finished third, Matt Woodson collected his first top five finish in fourth and he did not even scratch his shiny new racecar. Gordy Scarborough finished fifth, Jeff Mills sixth, Richard Mills seventh, Stephen Pearson JR eighth, Pat Wall ninth, and Greg Gatlin rounded out the top ten in tenth.

STEPHENS WINS EAST ALABAMA
By Jay Vaquer

Phenix City, ALA – March 22, 2008 - In the past few years Richie " Rocketman" Stephens has totally dominated the lower divisions, Bomber and Hobby, at East Alabama Motor Speedway. There was speculation as to whether or not his driving skills would extend to the top divisions. This Saturday night he erased all doubt by winning the outside pole for the Late Model feature. Former Late Model champion Mickey Benton won the pole with a blistering time of 15.50. When the green flag dropped on the feature, Benton fired and blew a transmission seal, which allowed Stephens and a few others pass before getting to turn one. Dana Eiland was right on the Rocketman’s rear bumper as they sped away from the field. Larry Harrod was in third with Larry Eldridge in his shadow and the excitement was on as they sparred for early positions. On lap 4 Marc Gooden spun into the wall in turn 4 to bring out the first yellow flag caution. When the green flag came back Rocketman blasted out to the lead with Eiland’s K-9 nipping at his heels. Eiland got inside on the apron but Stephens was in the preferred groove and slipped away down the backstretch. Uncharacteristically Larry Harrod spun on his own in turn 4 to bring out another caution. After the race Harrod, somewhat embarrassed when asked why he spun, said that the wires from his race receiver got tangled in his seatbelt and left arm. Harrod was sent to the rear of the field and the green flag was back out. Rocketman and Eiland seemed to be in a higher class as they immediately began leaving the rest of the field in their dust. A newcomer to the high banks of the 3/8 mile clay oval, Chris Carlson, lost the handle in turn two and caused a pile up. Eldridge, Chad Wallace, and Rickey Culpepper spun into each other for some heavy sheet metal damage but fortunately no structural damage and they were able to continue. Gooden went to the pits during this caution, as did Larry Harrod with a flat left rear. When the green resumed, Rocketman looked just like he did in his Hobby car, running out front and pulling away from the field with the exception of Dana Eiland who seemed glued to his rear bumper. Chad Wallace began to run a unique line at the very top of the track and found some speed in that cool clay. Culpepper was right on him looking for the pass as they slipped by Benton who was still running a good race even with the bad transmission. Culpepper waited for his opportunity and made a power pass on Wallace to take over the fourth spot. As Culpepper ran down Eldridge Mike Parkerson made a clean pass on Wallace to move into fifth on lap 16. Rocketman and Eiland were in lap traffic as they put Greg Gatlin and Pat Wall down a lap. Debris was responsible for the lap 19 caution. Chad Wallace called it quits and took his damaged #34 to the pits for a DNF. When the green resumed again it was Rocketman, leading with the legendary champ Dana Eiland trying to shake him out of the lead. Stephens held on to the lead and drove a remarkable race to take the checkers and show the fans and drivers alike, that he is for real and that he has raised the bar for all the Late Model contenders. Dana Eiland finished second, Larry Eldridge third, Ricky Culpepper fourth, Mike Parkerson fifth, Larry Harrod sixth, Montana Dudley seventh, Jim Moon eighth, Marc Gooden ninth, and Matt Woodson, who drove an incredible race and did not tear up his race car, rounded out the top ten in tenth.

STEPHENS WINS AGAIN at EAST ALABAMA
By Jay Vaquer

Phenix City, ALA - March 29, 2008 - It was Deja Vu all over again as Richie "Rocketman" Stephens won the Late Model division at East Alabama Motor Speedway for the second week in a row. Anthony Meadows was fast time qualifyer to earn the pole for the feature and Rocketman was right there on the outside pole when the green dropped. The first 4 starts ended in cautions as Meadows was pushing high exiting turn 2 to bring out the yellow. They went to the single file restart and again as Meadows came out of turn one he spun on his own. When he went to the pits he discovered his left front tire was nearly flat and was the cause of his push. Nonetheless, Meadows was relegated to the rear for the restart. The order was Rocketman, Montana Dudley, Ricky Culpepper, Larry Harrod, The Phenix City Assassin Terrance Nowell, Dana Eiland, Larry Eldridge, and Matt Woodson. When the green dropped Dudley spun in turn two and collected Harrod and Woodson, who sustained structural damage. It was still lap 1 and now Rocketman had Slick Rick Culpepper on his tail in second place. Rocketman kept the pedal to the metal as he never even cracked the throttle through the corners, running on the apron he pulled away from the field. Culpepper began to fade and Nowell was there to take second place. Eiland and Harrod were going door to door when they caught up to Culpepper and now they were going three wide through the turns. The grandstands were nearly full, many newcomers showed up to see the Sprint Cars, and now they were on their feet cheering as the Late Models showed why they were the top class. The Rocketman was really pouring it on as he began lapping the back of the field on lap 10. While weaving his way around Greg Gatlin and Montana Dudley, Nowell caught up and was challenging for the lead. Nowell was also on the apron and got under Stephens forcing him off his preferred line. As Stephens passed Mickey Benton, The Master of Faster, Dana Eiland caught up to the leaders and began sparring with Nowell. This gave Rocketman a chance to get away as he continued lapping the field. Pat Wall, Mickey Benton and Dudley all got lapped by the Rocketman cruising around the speed of light. As the white flag came out he blasted by Woodson and took the checkers unabated punctuating his arrival as a serious challenger for the 2008 Late Model Championship. Terrance Nowell finished second, Dana Eiland third, Larry Harrod fourth, Ricky Culpepper fifth, Larry Eldridge sixth, Matt Woodson seventh, Pat Wall eighth, Mickey Benton ninth, and Montana Dudley rounded out the top ten in tenth.

ASSASSIN HITS ROCKETMAN at EAST ALABAMA
By Jay Vaquer

Phenix City, ALA - April 12, 2008 - The Late Model division at East Alabama Motor Speedway has exploded with high energy competition as most of the field were gunning to stop Richie "Rocketman" Stephens' two week winning streak. When Rocketman won the $100 Extreme Power Sports bonus for setting fast time with a scorching 16.70 second lap, it appeared he would make it 3 wins in a row. When the green flag dropped on the feature Rocketman blasted out to a lead as the outside pole sitter Chase Edge got shuffled back to fifth. Most of the drivers were in the middle groove with the exception of Terrance " The Phenix City Assassin" Nowell who ran by himself at the very top of the track. Nowell looked like he was shot out of a sling shot as he came out of turn 2 running at least 10 mph faster than anyone else. As he passed the cars ahead of him Larry Eldridge and Bobby Eiland got into each other to bring out the lap 2 caution. On the restart again the Assassin went to the high side and shot by Larry Harrod in second and still had momentum to pass the Rocketman before entering turn 3. Another caution saved their positions as the racers were reset to the previous lap for the restart. This time The Rocketman was aware of Nowell's speed from the top so he went up to the top to block that game. As if the Assassin had planned on Rocketman making that move, Nowell dove from the top of turn one to the apron and took the lead on lap 5. The running order was Nowell, Stephens, Harrod, Dana Eiland, and driving the Ben Thomas Racing house car was Fast Track National Champion William Thomas in fifth. Thomas was experimenting running a 602 crate engine while everyone else had the more powerful 604 crate engine. With the Assassin on the high side and Rocketman in his shadow, Harrod and Eiland moved up there also. Then Thomas dove to the apron and passed Eiland and Harrod,demonstrating that power is not the only solution for speed. Harrod stayed high and developed enough speed to shoot by Thomas and Rocketman to take second spot as Mark Patterson entered the pits with a mechanical failure. The Assassin was running away from the field and the rest of the leaders went to the high groove which now was blacking over as lap speeds increased. Eiland and Stephens were locked in mortal combat as they sparred door to door. Eiland on the high side took third but the Rocketman came back from the inside and had the fans on their feet cheering. Jeff Mills made a power move in his new black # 15 to pass Thomas while Nowell began lapping Marc Gooden and Chase Edge at the rear. Nowell was over half a track ahead of second place Harrod when the Rocketman hit his after burners to take back second spot. Debris brought a caution with 2 laps to go. On the restart Thomas revealed his signature " I'll pass you anywhere on the track" technique as he picked off Mills and Eiland to move into third. The Rocketman was all over Nowell but the Assassin was too much as he took the checkers in the most exciting event of the season. Richie Stephens finished second, William Thomas third, Dana Eiland fourth, Jeff Mills fifth, Matt Woodson, who drove a smart and strong race got the sixth spot, Larry Harrod finished seventh, Charlie Gushue eighth, Montana Dudley ninth, and Chase Edge rounded out the top ten in tenth.

In the Limited Sportsman division Danny Stroud started the feature from the pole. Rodgerick Dykes must have been watching the Late Model race as he went to the high side and found the speed to take the lead. With a few laps to go, Mikey Mount found his way to the lead and took the checkers. Rodgerick Dykes finished second, Danny Stroud third, JW Noles fourth, and Randy Hester finished fifth.

The Bomber division has seen Trevor Elliot win the past two weeks which made him eligible for the Alabama Rock prize of $300 for three wins in a row. However, Richie "Rocketman" Stephens' father, Richard Stephens SR took the lead on lap five and held on to take the checkers. Trevor Elliot finished second, Trevor's father Jeff Elliot finished third, Shelby Amos finished fourth, and Christy Noles finished fifth..

The Hobby division started with Jerry Luke on the pole and taking a convincing lead while holding back the charging Allen McConnell. After Jeremy Nevels spun out McConnell on lap three for a caution, John Michael slammed into the rear of Luke and Luke was never as fast after that. Randy Renfroe and Nevels went door to door in a photo finish with Randy Renfroe winning the feature. Jeremy Nevels finished second, John Michael third, Allen McConnell fourth, and Robert Jackson fifth.

The Pony division started with Chance Renfroe on the pole who quickly went from first to last. Adam Rodriquez moved into first and ran away from the pack to take the checkers uncontested until post race inspection. He was found to be running illegal tires and was disqualified giving the win to Bryan Price, Bobby Duell second, Jacob Brittingham third, and Chance Renfroe fourth.

The Modified division started its feature with Ricky White on the pole who went wire to wire for the lead. Randy Register finished second, Wesley DuBoise third, Andy Smith fourth, and Johnny Greene finished fifth.

WHITENER WINS UNITED DIRT LATE MODEL FEATURE
By Jay Vaquer

Phenix City, ALA - April 19, 2008 - Race Director Ken Kinney Jr. brought his United Dirt Late Model Challenge Series from LaBelle, Florida to compete on the high banks of East Alabama Motor Speedway in a 50 lap $4,000 to win event. The Series offers fast and exciting racing with rules set to allow most dirt late models to run without major changes or modifications. Therefore we had our local Late Model Crates compete against Late Model Sportsman cars with more powerful engines. As long as it was a 358 everything, save an aluminum block, was fair game. Mark Whitener from Middleburg, Florida was born to race at EAMS. He posted a fast time of 15.24, which was nearly a half second faster than anyone else to win the pole. On the outside was Jay Johnson from Moultrie, GA and in the second row was Fastrak National Champion William Thomas and our local late model legend Dana Eiland on the outside. When the green dropped on the feature, Johnson won the drag race to turn one while Larry Harrod fired and lost power. Harrod skillfully entered the pits without causing a caution and began searching for the cause of his engine failure. Johnson went high in turn one and dropped three spots to Whitener, Eiland and Thomas, who blasted by on the inside. Ricky Culpepper had a great start in the top ten but got caught up in the mix, forced off the back stretch and now faced a full field of 28 cars chasing victory. Another powerful local competitor, The Rocketman Richie Stephens, bent the left front suspension and had to take an unfortunate DNF from seventh place. Johnny Collins began an all out assault on Thomas challenging for the third place. They put on a great spectacle of highly competitive dirt track racing, swapping positions, which fulfilled the prophecy for excitement. On lap 11 Johnson made the pass for third stick. Former Late Model Champion Jeff Culpepper was having a successful run when he lost power in turn 4 and coasted to a stop on the front straight for a yellow flag caution. Later the crew discovered Jeff's throttle linkage broke, no doubt due to that big lead foot hammered down as he was coming to the front. Jordy Nipper was tangling with the Assassin, Terrance Nowell in eleventh who was really hooked up in turns one and two, but not too well in three and four. They were at it back and fourth then the Assassin took a walk on the wild side off turn one. Bobby Eiland retired to the pit with a mechanical failure while Nipper and another former Late Model Champion, JR Moseley were on a run. Moseley is always fast when the track is hard and was having a good run as he worked on passing Montana Dudley. Coming out of turn 4 Moseley's line took him into a slick spot where suddenly he was along for the ride. While doing a 360 his front nose was amputated giving him the Modified look. Moseley called it a night and went to the pits for a DNF. Johnny Collins was finding out why Dana Eiland is a living legend when he tried to take second place from The Master of Faster #K9 Eiland. At lap 24, a disappointed Ricky Culpepper entered the pits with a failure and a DNF. Whitener was having it his way as he ran through lap traffic at record speeds. He kept an even keel anywhere on the track while running wide open and displayed tremendous driving skills. Eiland could run him down but only wait for the opportunity or luck, to make a pass. To the dismay of many fans, Thomas, in third and poised for his last minute bid for the win, lost power and coasted into the pits for a DNF. When Whitener hit heavy lap traffic Eiland moved his K-9 in for the kill and ran door to door for some serious excitement. Whitener used the lap cars as picks to maintain the lead. The Assassin took a shot and came to a stop for the lap 30 caution. Larry Harrod was down 30 laps but being our current Late Model Champion he showed the "never give up" attitude of a true champ and came back to the race. His crew discovered that a wire had separated in his distributor when he fired at the beginning of the race. When the green came back Whitener kept the pressure on as he gained serious ground from the pack, with the exception of the persistent K-9 nipping at his heels. They were soon a straightaway ahead of Collins in third. Eiland was as fast as Whitener but needed that element of chance to pass. Shane Williams from Deleon Springs, FL who has 11 UDLM Series wins this year, coasted to a stop in turn one. Russell Brown JR got a flat and stopped in turn 4 for the lap 44 caution. There were now 16 cars left on the track, including several lap cars. When the green came back Whitener and Eiland chose the high groove and Collins and Keith Nosbisch, running third and fourth, took the middle groove. On lap 48 the seventeen's tried to cancel themselves out as the #17 of Dusty Cone hit the #17 of Shan Smith and they spun to a stop in turn 4. This set up a green, white checkers situation. Mark Whitener in his # 7 Robert's Construction Russell Brown Racecar was definitely the man as he took the checkers. Dana Eiland finished in second, which is ahead of the other 43 teams who showed up for the event. Johnny Collins finished third, Keith Nosbisch fourth, Shan Smith fifth, Jay Johnson sixth, Jackie Nosbisch seventh, the Phenix City Assassin Terrance Nowell finished eighth with his Crate engine, Adam Bedenbaugh ninth, and local rookie phenom Montana Dudley rounded out the top ten in tenth with his # 55 crate engine.

The Limited Sportsman division started with Russ Ogletree in the lead. Rodgerick Dykes passed Steven Gaines JR to move into second place on lap 9. Danny Stroud had passed Josh Marchman a few times but cautions made them reset. When Stroud finally got around for good, Marchman and Stroud crashed on the front stretch sending them both to the pits for DNF's. On lap 15 Dykes powered his way into the lead and took the checkers. Mikey Mount crossed the finish line with his right rear wheel dangling on a thread. Russ Ogletree finished second, Steven Gaines JR finished third, Thomas Lewis fourth, and Efrem Holbrook finished fifth.

In the Bomber division Billy Duell, JR took the lead from the outside pole. Richard Stephens SR was all over him and took the lead on lap 2. They crashed on the front straight and Stephens went to the pits on lap 5. On lap 10 Steven Bryan, already lapped, took out the leader. Duell was able to hang on and take the checkers. Trevor Elliot finished second, Jeff Elliot third, Turkey Leg fourth, and Josh Thigpen finished fifth.

The Hobby division finally saw Jerry Luke win a feature race. Allen McConnell started on the pole and Luke passed him on the first lap. Luke must be living right as his motor did not blow, his tires did not fall off, and his hood did not fly up and most importantly he drove a mature race, did not spin out, and brought home the bacon. Congratulations. Allen McConnell finished second, John Michael third, Jeremy Nevels fourth, and Chris Arnett rounded out the top five.

MEADOWS MASTERS EAST ALABAMA
By Jay Vaquer

Phenix City, ALA - April 26, 2008 - A victory at East Alabama Motor Speedway is not a gratuitous thing, you must earn it. Late Model driver Anthony Meadows has always been an extremely competitive driver and successful at any track he runs. His victory this Saturday night was his first at EAMS in nearly 3 years. Not only did Meadows win the Late Model feature, he also set fast time qualifying with a scorching 15.66 to sit on the pole when the green flag dropped. Meadows took command with Richie "Rocketman" Stevens on him like white on rice. At the same time Dana Eiland from third was looking for a way to pass them both and the excitement was on. Chad Cardin suddenly lost the handle and went off the back strait for a yellow flag. On the restart Meadows took the lead and with a clear track ahead began to run away from the charging pack. Dana Eiland got the fans to their feet as he put his K-9 inside the Rocketman and it was wisdom against youthful talent Eiland made the inside groove of turn 4 his launch pad and blasted past Rocketman to take the second position. Eiland put the whip to his K-9 and ran down Meadows. On lap five "The Master of Faster" Dana Eiland took the lead to the seemingly endless delight of his many fans. The emotional rollercoaster that went so high had to come back down and suddenly a gremlin attacked the K-9 and Eiland's right front hub came loose and he was carried by momentum off the top of turn two for a yellow flag. He was towed to the pits and while it was on the hook his expert crew quickly fixed it and sent him back to the race, at the rear, for the restart. Meadows fired with Rocketman in his shadow looking for the lead. In seventh spot Bobby Eiland and "The Phenix City Assassin" Terrance Nowell were having a high speed battle for position. Our current Late Model track champion Larry Harrod was looking for a way to pass Jeff Mills running in fourth when Bobby Eiland developed a tire rub, no doubt a fatal shot from the Assassin. Bobby Eiland entered the pits for an early and unfortunate DNF. The Assassin's next victim was Montana Dudley. The Assassin had too much speed as he shot by Dudley and went high in turn two which allowed Dudley to pass right back and another exciting battle was on. Meanwhile, Dana Eiland was charging to the front as he passed Matt Woodson, Kelly Leonard, and Chad Cardin in one fell swoop. The middle of the pack was bunched up running four wide when former Late Model Champion Mickey Benton took a ride on the wild side. As his Grease Monkey #2 Monte Carlo went over the top close to turn three, he flipped over landing upside down. The emergency crew had to fight off concerned family members to extricate Benton, who walked back to his trailer and then collapsed. An ambulance then took him to the emergency room for examinations. After this red flag the green was back and Meadows could taste the victory as he flawlessly maintained the lead from the persistent charges of The Rocketman. Dana Eiland was on a run passing Dudley to move into seventh place. Larry Eldridge and Larry Harrod sped past Rocketman for second and third. Rocketman had broken his suspension and was still racing with only three wheels touching the ground and sometimes only the back two tires on the ground. Nowell was in fifth but nearly a straightaway behind Meadows who took the checkers in championship form. Larry Eldridge finished second, Larry Harrod third, Richie Stephens fourth, Terrance Nowell fifth, Jeff Mills sixth, Dana Eiland seventh, Montana Dudley eighth, Gordy Scarborough ninth, and rounding out the top ten in tenth was the #88 of Matt Woodson.

In the Bomber division Robbie Luke started the feature from the pole. On lap 7 Billy Duell JR took the lead and shortly thereafter the #90 of Luke went up in smoke as the engine expired. On lap 12 Shelby Amos moved up to third and Richard Stephens SR moved into fourth. Billy Duell took the checkers with Christy Noles finishing second, Shelby Amos third, Richard Stephens SR fourth, and Jeff Elliot finished fifth.

The Pony Stock division started its feature with Bobby Duell on the pole. Before reaching turn one Adam Rodriguez and Bryan Price passed him. On lap 2 Chance Renfroe passed Duell. Rodriguez and Price battled hard for position swapping paint on the back stretch. Rodriguez seemed to have the advantage on the outside line until Price took the lead on lap 10. Bryan Price finished first, Adam Rodriguez second, Bobby Duell third, Kenneth Catrett fourth, and Chance Refroe came in fifth.

In Limited Sportsman Steven Gaines JR started from the pole. Rodgerick Dykes and Danny Stroud were quickly challenging for the lead. It was a close and exciting race in the front. Dykes and Gaines were racing hard off of turn four, and got together coming down the front straight with Dykes flipping end over end, and then finishing up with several barrel rolls reminiscent of a Formula one crash at 200 mph with parts flying everywhere. When he came to a stop his flattened race car burst into flames. Dykes escaped serious injury and each driver accused the other of being at fault. The accident also sent Steven Gaines JR to the pits for a DNF. The melee carried into the pits where one of Dyke's crew members was arrested after an attack on Steve Gaines SR. After the fight a race broke out and Danny Stroud was in the lead and not taking any prisoners as he sped to the checkers. Dustin Elliot finished second, Josh Marchman third, Paul Walters fourth, and Mikey Mount came in fifth.

The Hobby division began with Allen McConnell leading until a right front flat took him off turn 2 for a caution. Jeremy Nevels took the lead and never looked back as he took the checkers. John Michael finished second, Scott Sherrer third, Jeremy Nelson fourth, and Ricky Hedley finished fifth.

JC Duboise started the Modified feature from the pole. John Green passed him and briefly held the lead until Ricky White took the lead on lap two and held on for the checkers. John Green finished second, Stacy Mashburn third, Andy Smith fourth, and Scott Prins came in fifth.