NeSmith WRS points battle tightens up in Week 24

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – Week 24 competition in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series saw a change for the second spot in the National point standings and the numbers tighten up as just eight points separate second through fifth in the points chase with three weeks left in the 2015 season. National Champion Michael Arnold of Hattiesburg, Miss. took the week off as drivers battled for the nine spots behind him.

Mike Palasini, Jr. of Leland, MS drove the MP Trucking Special to his eighth NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series win of the season on Sunday night at Greenville Speedway in Greenville, Miss. to net nine points and move up to the second spot in the standings. Palasini has a best 14 week total of 693 points after eight wins and 16 top five finishes in 20 races.

Cruz Skinner of Oxford, Ala. held the second spot going into the weekend, and went on the road in search of netting on a 47. That meant that the 14-year-old Sunoco Young Guns Challenge Series point leader had to finish third or better to net one point, Skinner traveled to Hattiesburg Speedway in Hattiesburg, Miss. on Friday night, Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, Miss. on Saturday night, and Greenville Speedway on Sunday night.

The best Skinner could do was a fourth-place finish on Sunday night at Greenville Speedway and he was unable to net any points and dropped to third in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series point standings with a best 14 week total of 689 points. Skinner has seven wins, 16 top five finishes, and 19 top ten finishes in 22 races driving the Skinner’s Body Shop CVR.

Robbie Starnes of Livingston, Tex. kept pace in the battle for the National Championship Runner-Up honors with his fifth win of the season on Friday night at Battleground Race Park in Highlands, Tex. in the Lonestar Hydro Maintenance Special. Starnes followed that up with win number six of the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series season on Sunday night at the Southern Crate Late Model Series co-sanctioned race at Golden Triangle Speedway in Beaumont, Tex.

Starnes was able to net two points and is fourth in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with a best 14 week total of 687 points. Starnes has six wins, 19 top five finishes and 21 top ten finishes in 21 races.

The 2013 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series National Champion Noah Daspit of Kiln, Miss. drove the Billy Riels Racing Special to his seventh win of the season on Friday night at Hattiesburg Speedway to stay in the hunt for the second spot. Daspit is fifth in the standings with a best 14 week total of 685 points after seven wins, 14 top five finishes and 19 top ten finishes in 22 races.

Greg Fore of Greenville, Miss. is sixth in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with a best 14 week total of 679 points after four wins, 13 top five finishes and 17 top ten finishes in 20 races. Fore finished second on Sunday night at Greenville Speedway in the Washington Body Shop GRT to net four points.

Shannon Lee of Lumberton, Miss. is seventh in the standings with a best 14 week total of 675 points after one win, 19 top five finishes and 21 top ten finishes in 22 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series races. Lee drove the Billy Riels Racing Special to a second-place finish on Friday night at Hattiesburg Speedway to net three points.

Joseph Joiner of Milton, Fla. finished sixth on Friday night at Hattiesburg Speedway in the Three Trade Consultants Special, but was unable to net any points. Joiner, who also leads the NeSmith Panhandle Challenge Series point standings, is eighth in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with a best 14 week total of 668 points after two wins, 16 top five finishes and 19 top ten finishes in 20 races.

Cole Daffron of Pell City, Ala. is ninth in the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with a best 14 week total of 654 points after 11 top five finishes and 14 top ten finishes in 16 races. Daffron finished 15th on Saturday night at Magnolia Motor Speedway in the TSR Race Cars Warrior and was unable to net any points. The 17-year-old driver is also second in the Sunoco Young Guns Challenge Series point standings for NeSmith Late Model drivers 18 years of age and younger.

Bobby Jordan of McCarley, Miss. rounds out the top ten of the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series standings with a best 14 week total of 649 points after two wins, ten top five finishes, and 14 top ten finishes in 24 races. Jordan did not start the feature race on Sunday night at Greenville Speedway in the SMJ Race Parts Trak-Star and he did not net any points.

In other NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Week 24 action, Darrick Klima of Belleville, Kan. drove the Dirt Racing Source Special to his third win of the season on Friday night at Salina Speedway in Salina, Kan. Kevin Sitton of Baytown, Tex. captured his eighth win of the season on Saturday night in the Southern Crate Late Model Series co-sanctioned event at 171 Speedway in Leesville, La. driving the Mirage Construction Special.

Jeremy Shaw of Millport, Ala. drove the Freeman Farms Trak-Star to his third NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series win of the season on Saturday night at Magnolia Motor Speedway. Dusty Leonard of Marysville, Kan. picked his fourth win of the season on Saturday night in the NeSmith/NCRA race at 81 Speedway in Wichita, Kan. driving the Brice Leonard Insurance Special. Scott Phillips of Salina, Kan. took his first win of the season on Sunday night in the NeSmith/NCRA race at Belleville Speedway in Belleville, Kan. in the Kansas Home Movers Special.

The battle for the 2015 NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Chassis Manufacturers Challenge Series Championship is beginning to tighten up, as Shaw gave Three-time NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Chassis Champion Trak-Star Race Cars built by Boland Performance of Cuba, Ala. its 13th win of the season and a move to within four points of the current point leader four-time NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Chassis Manufactures Challenge Champion GRT Race Cars of Greenbrier, Ark., who has 17 wins on the season.

Rocket Chassis of Shinnston, W.Va. is third with nine wins and CVR Race Cars of Lenoir City, Tenn. is fourth with seven wins. Warrior Race Cars built by Goddard Performance of Knoxville, Tenn. is still looking for their first win of the season.

For more information about the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series, visit the series web site at NesmithRacing.com.

NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series
Week 24 Race Results

September 4

BATTLEGROUND RACE PARK – HIGHLANDS, TX
1. 77 Robbie Starnes
2. 20 Kevin Sitton
3. 14 Brant Tirello
4. 23 Howard Willis
5. 1 Doug Begnaud
6. 56jr Colton Horner – Y
7. 65 Lucas Peterson
8. 32 Ricky Begnaud
9. 22 Trinity Richardson
10. 17 Josh Brock

HATTIESBURG SPEEDWAY – HATTIESBURG, MS
1. 347 Noah Daspit
2. 47 Shannon Lee
3. 11 Tim Dees
4. 36 Taylor Jarvis
5. 14 Chase Cooper
6. 10 Joseph Joiner
7. 11 Cruz Skinner
8. 7 Hunter Lewis
9. 11w Wayne Byrd
10. 41 Al Kouhout
11. C4 Chris Reid
12. 55 Pat Nichols
13. 4 Scott Land
14. 78 Calvin Martin

SALINA SPEEDWAY – SALINA, KS
1. 2k Darrick Klima
2. 55 Chris Kratzer
3. 7d Dusty Leonard
4. 92s Daniel Smith
5. 92 Delbert Smith
6. 64 Kurt Abell
7. 70t Terry Malm
8. 70 Bill Grit
9. 147 Jim Melton
10. 1 Trinket Kinderknecht
11. 12 Ryan Grit
12. 194 Scott Phillips DQ/LT

September 5

171 SPEEDWAY – LEESVILLE, LA
Southern Crate Late Model Series
1. 20 Kevin Sitton
2. 77 Robbie Starnes
3. 125 Lew Lyles
4. 56jr Colton Horner – Y
5. 02 Joey Couvillion
6. 50 Joe Credidio
7. 14 Brant Tirello
8. 77L Tony Lindsey
9. 51 Michael Cedars
10. 65 Lucas Peterson

MAGNOLIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY – COLUMBUS, MS
1. 1s Jeremy Shaw
2. 18 Chase Edge
3. 888 Jason Cliburn
4. 33b Eric Cooley
5. 01 Nick Thrash
6. 232 Jamey Boland
7. 2s Kyle Shaw
8. 1 Johnny Stokes
9. 57 Josh Adkins
10. 73 Evan Ellis
11. 11 Cruz Skinner – Y
12. 34 Doug Sanchagrin
13. 7h Matt Henderson
14. 222 Mike Boland
15. 7 Cole Daffron – Y
16. 4j Josh Banes – Y
17. 84 Randall Beckwith
18. 110 Brent Barrett
19. 28 Sam Hughes
20. 91 Billy Tedford
21. 311 Chase Washington
22. 73n Ashley Newman
23. 17 Justin McRee
24. 5 Ronnie Johnson
25. 43 Kurt Radojcsics DNS
26. G4 Shelby Sheedy DNS
27. J88 Jered Smith DNS
28. 121 Michael Blount DNS
29. 69 Lane McKee DNS
30. 00 Monte Skinner DNS
31. 2L Thomas Langley DNS
32. 2B Tyler Burgess DNS
33. 10c Ryan Crane DNS
34. 1m Eric Carr DNS
35. 196 Billy Scarbrough DNS
36. 2 Mark Stokes DNS
37. 1b Bryant Marsh – Y DNS
38. 38 D.J. Brasfield DNS
39. 347 Noah Daspit DNS
40. 30 Ryan King DNS
41. R3 Ryan Rigdon DNS
42. 19 Marcus Minga DNS
43. 10 Rick Leverette DNS
44. 3 Shay Knight DNS
45. 14 Jeffrey Cooper DNS

81 SPEEDWAY – WICHITA, KS
NeSmith/NCRA
1. 7d Dusty Leonard
2. 92 Delbert Smith
3. 55 Chris Kratzer
4. 92s Daniel Smith
5. 2x Lyle Shepard
6. 194 Scott Phillips
7. 77 Jeremy Petty
8. 12 Ryan Grit
9. 2k Darrick Klima
10. 147 Justin Kinderknecht

September 6

GREENVILLE SPEEDWAY – GREENVILLE, MS
1. 8 Mike Palasini Jr.
2. 17 Greg Fore
3. 70 Dewayne Estes
4. 11 Cruz Skinner – Y
5. C4 Cole Burns
6. 46 Kenny Carpenter
7. 25 Billy Pate
8. 17 Will Ross
9. 14 Charles Freeman
10. 12 Carl Kilgore
11. 4x Zach Edwards
12. C55 David Carpenter
13. 88 Howard Irby Jr. DNS
14. J8 Bobby Jordan DNS

GOLDEN TRIANGLE SPEEDWAY – BEAUMONT, TX
Southern Crate Late Model Series
1. 77 Robbie Starnes
2. 20 Kevin Sitton
3. 23 Howard Willis
4. 14 Brant Tirello
5. 56jr Colton Horner – Y
6. 77 Tony Lindsey
7. 32 Ricky Begnaud
8. 65 Lucas Peterson
9. 1 Doug Begnaud

BELLEVILLE HIGH BANKS – BELLEVILLE, KS
NeSmith/NCRA
1. 194 Scott Phillips
2. 55 Chris Kratzer
3. 7d Dusty Leonard
4. 92s Daniel Smith
5. 2k Darrick Klima
6. 77 Jeremy Petty
7. 147 Jim Melton
8. 92 Delbert Smith
9. 64 Kurt Abell

NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series
Week 24 Point Standings