CALVERT CITY, Ky. – Riley Hickman of Cleveland, Tenn. had everything going his way Friday night in the first-ever visit for the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway. Not even a broken shock could slow Hickman down on his way to his second series win of the season in the Hickman Manufacturing CVR “House Car.”
Hickman took the lead on lap 12 from Matt Henderson and then he packed his bags, turned in the key and checked out on the field in the 50-lap main event. At one point in the race, Hickman had a full straightaway lead over Henderson, who was locked in a side-by-side battle for second with Ryan King.
After the race, Hickman was thankful for the big lead, as he got mired in heavy lapped traffic in the last ten laps of the race, as Henderson and King closed in. But Hickman had to show patience, and it prevailed, as he took the win worth $2,500 with almost a full second margin of victory.
“I think we were good tonight because we had a little bit different tire combination than anyone else,” Hickman said. “Even with a broken shock, that just goes to show what a great race car Chip Vineyard puts on the race track for me. We just might have to come back tomorrow night and leave the broken shock on the car. I was a little worried about getting through the lapped traffic there at the end, and I might have even tried a little too hard because I hit one of the tires on the inside of the track and bent the front bumper.”
Henderson finished second and was also the Cruise With The Champions Rookie of the Race. King finished third for his fourth straight top 5 finish in the series. John Ownbey was fourth, with Jake Teague in fifth.
Ashley Newman, Tait Davenport, Eric Cooley, Troy English and Todd Morrow rounded out the top ten.
Ryan Crane started 20th and finished 14th to earn the Beyea Headers Hard Charger of the Race Award. The Sunoco Young Gun of the Race Award went to 13-year-old Will Roland of Jasper, GA.
Two-time and defending NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Champion and current point leader Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, TN finished 13th, but still holds a 78-point lead over King in the battle for the series’ National Championship.
In preliminary action, Hickman out-qualified the 32 entrants with a lap around the 3/8-mile dirt oval in 16.288 seconds. Less than one second separated the top 30 qualifiers. The two ten-lap B-Main Races were won by Cooley and Morrow.
Hickman took the lead at the drop of the green flag from the pole position followed by Henderson, King, Erick Hickerson and Ownbey. Henderson got wound up down the backstretch and he stepped to the outside of Hickman in turns three and four to take the lead and lead lap one.
Ownbey passed Hickerson for fourth on lap two, and brought Newman with him up into the fifth spot. Henderson changed his groove on lap 12 and dropped to the bottom of the track. Hickman went where Henderson wasn’t in turn two, and pulled alongside the leader on the outside to challenge for the point.
Hickman took the lead coming off the fourth turn to complete lap 12 and then quickly began to pull away. By lap 14, Hickman was in lapped traffic, but didn’t have much of an in working his way through. While Henderson watched Hickman pull away, it wasn’t long before he had company from King, who stepped to the outside of Henderson.
In turn four, King squeezed between Henderson to his inside and the lapped Bronson Berry to take over the second spot. By lap 20, Hickman had a full straightaway lead over King and was racing in a different zip code.
Henderson must have thought the move King pulled on him a few laps earlier was a good one, because he pulled the same trick with King to his inside and a lapped car to his outside coming off the fourth turn on lap 21 to retake the second spot. It didn’t take Henderson long to catch Hickman, as Ricky Waggoner slowed down the backstretch on lap 25 to bring out the first caution flag of the race.
For the “Dixie-Style” double-file restart, Hickman had Henderson, King, Ownbey and Newman doubled up behind him. Hickman pulled away when the green flag flew again, but behind him, Henderson, King and Ownbey raced three-wide for the second spot.
They settled it in a couple of laps with Henderson keeping his claim on the spot, followed by King and Ownbey. Hickman had opened up a half straightaway lead in just a few laps, but had to give it up on lap 30 when Hickerson stalled on the front straightaway.
Hickman once again waved goodbye to the rest of the field when the green flag came back out. Teague got by Ownbey for the fourth spot on the restart, but Ownbey was able to get around the outside of Teague on lap 31 to retake the fourth position. By lap 35, Hickman had a half-straightaway lead on Henderson.
The leader began encountering lapped traffic on lap 40 with a two and a half second lead on Henderson, but with the lapped cars wanting the same inside lane of the race track as Hickman did, getting through traffic in the final ten laps of the race proved to try Hickman’s patience.
Henderson shaved off over a second and half on Hickman’s lead in the closing laps of the race, but Hickman was able to hold his ground to the checkered flag.
For more information about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series, visit the series web site at NesmithRacing.com.
NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series
Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway – Calvert City, KY
Race Results – Aug. 28, 2015
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS $ WON
1. 1 1v Riley Hickman Cleveland, TN 50 $2,500
2. 2 H2 Matt Henderson (R) Loudon, TN 50 $1,375
3. 4 30 Ryan King (R) Seymour, TN 50 $975
4. 6 44 John Ownbey Cleveland, TN 50 $700
5. 9 117 Jake Teague Oliver Springs, TN 50 $650
6. 5 73 Ashley Newman Ripley, TN 50 $550
7. 7 18d Tait Davenport Paducah, KY 50 $500
8. 11 33b Eric Cooley Fulton, MS 50 $450
9. 8 6 Troy English Calvert City, KY 50 $400
10. 12 8a Todd Morrow East Ridge, TN 50 $375
11. 13 1 Grant Garrison Walton, KY 50 $350
12. 16 10 Ronnie Cooper McKenzie, TN 50 $300
13. 15 5 Ronnie Johnson Chattanooga, TN 50 $405
14. 20 10c Ryan Crane (R) Panama City, FL 50 $385
15. 14 22 Will Roland (Y) Jasper, GA 50 $250
16. 10 18 Chase Edge LaFayette, AL 50 $365
17. 21 18L Brent Lewis Harrisburg, IL 49 $220
18. 23 19 Marcus Minga Shannon, MS 48 $325
19. 18 36 Evan Taylor Clarksville, TN 48 $200
20. 22 12 Kevin Poole Paducah, KY 48 $200
21. 3 98 Eric Hickerson Linden, TN 28 $200
22. 19 89 Credence Mott Vienna, IL 26 $200
23. 17 00w Ricky Waggoner Martin, TN 23 $200
24. 24 00 Bronson Berry Huntingdon, TN 23 $200
Entries: 32
Fast Qualifier: Hickman, 16.288 Seconds
Provisionals: Minga and Berry
Lead Changes: 1
Lap Leader: Henderson, 1-11; Hickman, 12-50
