May 26, 2007

by STORMPAY,COM PR 

Frank Ingram of Woodstock, GA made a late race charge to win the Harris-Sutton Chevrolet 50 Saturday night for the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series at North Georgia Speedway driving the Universal Concrete Rocket. Ingram passed Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN on lap 44 for his second series victory of the season and extend his point lead.

Johnson led the race for 15 laps after starting 11th, but had to settle for second in the Miller Brother Coal Warrior. Rick Hixson of Soddy Daisy, TN led the first 28 tours of the race after starting on the pole, but ended up third in the Parker Store Mastersbilt.

Derrick Rainey of Powder Springs, GA was a busy driver in the Dixon Hauling and Grading Rocket. Rainey started 15th, and finished fourth to earn the NeSmith Chevrolet Hard Charger of the Race Award. Chip Brindle of Chatsworth, GA had a good run in front of his hometown fans with a fifth-place finish in the Brindle Brothers Auto Parts GRT and was the Rookie of the Race.

Randy Weaver of Crossville, TN took the sixth spot in the Hicks & Ingles Mechanical Contractors Warrior, and Jay Blair of Angie, LA was seventh in the Parrish Disposal Mastersbilt. John Ownby of Cleveland, TN finished eighth in the KZ Racing GRT.

The defending StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National Champion David Gentry of Lewisburg, TN drove his Dixon Plumbing Mastersbilt to a ninth-place finish, and Curtis Cline of Douglasville, GA rounded out the top ten in the Pearson Construction Warrior.

The race featured wholesale position changes from front to back throughout the 24-car field during the 50 laps of racing.

Hixson and outside front row starter Jeff Smith of Rocky Face, GA raced side-by-side during the first lap, with Hixson grabbing the lead followed by Smith in the Allsouth Racing Products Warrior, Doug Kilgore of Dalton, GA in the Kilgore Racing GRT, Weaver, and Lamar Haygood of Douglasville, GA in the ABS Automotive Rocket.

While Hixson and Smith pulled away, Kilgore began to fade early in the race. Weaver got by Kilgore for the third spot on lap four and Haygood got around Kilgore on lap five for the fourth position. After starting eighth, Ingram began his march to the front of the pack on lap eight, moving into the top five passing Kilgore.

Hixson began to lap cars on lap 12, and had extended his lead to a half-straightaway. The first of four caution flags erased Hixson’s lead on lap 15 when Darel Ownbey of Calhoun, GA spun his Allied Textile Services Mastersbilt in turn four. Hixson led Smith, Weaver, Haygood, Ingram, Ownbey, Brindle, Blair, Johnson, and Kilgore down for the restart.

Weaver began to put the pressure on Smith for second, while Ingram battled Haygood for the fourth spot. Johnson, however, was the man on the move from the ninth spot. The National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame inductee jumped up on the outside groove on the restart to pass Blair, Brindle, and Ownbey to move up to the sixth spot.

Johnson was putting on a passing clinic. On lap 18, he powered around Ingram and Haygood to ride in the fourth spot. On lap 23, Johnson passed Weaver for the third spot, and was looking for Hixson and Smith at the front of the pack. During the next few laps, Johnson would have an opportunity to show his restart magic after a pair of caution flags.

A debris caution to remove the dragging rear spoiler from the Auto Tech Collision GRT of Douglasville, GA’s Bob Gibby on lap 24 had Johnson right behind Hixson and Smith for the restart. Johnson went to outside when the bulb turned green, as Smith watched the “Chattanooga Flash” streak by for the second spot.

On lap 26, Robert Stutts of Murfreesboro, TN in the Bob Parks Realty Rocket and Jeff Fields of Aragon, GA in the Summerville Junkyard Rayburn got together in turn four to bring out the caution flag. R.J. restarted behind the leader Hixson, and the battle for the lead was on when the field back to green flag action.

The next ten laps of the race saw the field shuffled like a Las Vegas deck of cards. Johnson was all over Hixson at the front of the pack, while the rest of the top ten battled two and three wide for position.

Johnson powered off the high side of turn two to take the lead from Hixson down the backstretch on lap 29. Ingram took notice of Johnson’s line and he went to the outside to pass Smith for the third spot on lap 30. Rainey had come from mid-pack to race his way up to the sixth position. The field settled down on lap 33 when Haygood spun in turn two to bring out the caution flag.

Johnson led Hixson, Ingram, Smith, Weaver, Rainey, Ownbey, Brindle, Blair and Gentry down for the restart, and the hammer and tong racing continued. Ingram stayed on the outside and put the pressure on Hixson for the second spot. Ingram moved up to the second spot by driving around the outside of Hixson coming off the fourth turn.

Ingram caught Johnson on lap 42, and the lead duo raced side-by-side for two laps before Ingram took the point with an inside move. Johnson stayed right on Ingram’s back bumper as they caught lapped traffic in the closing laps of the race. Johnson looked both inside and outside for an opening, but Ingram saw daylight through the lapped traffic gauntlet.

Ingram cleared the lapped cars on lap 47, and by the time Johnson worked his through, Ingram was on his way to the checkered flag.

In preliminary action, Hixson was the fast qualifier among the 41-car field with a lap around the ¼-mile high-banked clay oval in 13.710 seconds. Johnson, Blair, and Gibby won the three 12-lap Qualifying Races.

During intermission, the race fans gave $2,350.00 to the American Cancer Society in bids for six six-lap high-speed rides in the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series “Ride For Life” two-seater dirt late model.

Heather Vaughn bid $500 for a ride with David Gentry, and Gary Temples bid $500 for a
Ride with Ronnie Johnson. James Sneed bid $450 for a ride with Chip Brindle, and Joe Payne bid $325 for a ride with race winner Frank Ingram. Candy Hatfield bid $300 for a ride with North Georgia Speedway Late Model Champion Gary McPherson, and Rocky Turnquist bid $275 for a ride with Matthew Turner.

The next event for the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series National Tour will be on Tuesday, July 3 at 411 Motor Speedway in Knoxville, TN for the $3,000-to-win Salute To America 50.