BRASELTON - Tony Bennett of Gainesville drove past Murrayville's Shane Chastain on lap 39 then held off Jimmy Garmon of Lawrenceville and Dacula's Wayne Willard over the final 61 circuits to claim his second career Diversified Merchant Services Casey Elliott Memorial Superbowl victory.
A sixth-place finish was good enough for Chastain to win his first Lanier pro late model track title.
Chastain started on the pole as fields for all Superbowl events were lined up on points. Chastain's black No. 3 Chevrolet sped to the early lead in the 100-lap event slowed by six cautions. Garmon, Greg Simpson, and Willard followed Bennett as he passed Chastain for the lead just before the halfway point.
Lapped traffic allowed Garmon and Willard to close on the rear bumper of Bennett's No. 42 Pontiac near the conclusion. But, in a five-lap dash to the checkered flag following a late race spin by Debbie Lunsford Love, Bennett, the 2000 pro late model track champion, inched away from the competition to win the pro late model portion of the coveted Lanier Superbowl.
Bennett held off Garmon, Willard, Jeremy Rice, and Simpson to claim the win.
The drama unfolded on lap one of the 100-lap Team Ford of Marietta Truck Series event as Joey Love of Maysville, who entered the evening as the division's point leader, spun in turn two after contact with Rodney Benefield. More woes came Love's way on lap 31 when he lost a lap after suffering a blown tire. A solid finish would allow George Williams, Jr of Bethlehem to win the truck title.
Mike Davidson of Lula set the early pace but saw Lithonia's Curt Britt dive underneath his No. 6 and into the lead on lap 37. Britt's No. 21 was a rocket ship for the balance of the event and he was never seriously challenged as he coasted to victory. Ricky Bennett, Matthew Rouse, Williams, Jr, and Benefield rounded out the top five. Williams, Jr's fourth place run unofficially gave him the truck title after Love logged a 12th place finish.
Jackie Daniel of Cumming entered the Simpson's Trucking and Grading Sportsman 40-lap event just four points behind Rome's Terry Crump. Daniel took the lead from Crump in the early going then encountered difficulty with a lapped car which sent his No. 07 spinning and to the rear of the field. Crump capitalized by reassuming the lead.
Mike Bruce of Houschton passed Crump and went onto record the win. A second place finish secured the Sportsman point championship for Crump. Randy Stoudemire finished third as Daniel rallied to claim fourth place pay. Brian Pruett was fifth at the conclusion.
Buford's Brian Huff entered the Longhorn Steakhouse Modified Ministock event with an 18-point lead over Dahlonega's Thomas Ross. While Ross dominated the 40-lap race, Huff experienced a cut tire and lost a lap to post a 12th place finish. Ross' race victory allowed him to claim his second consecutive ministock title. Mickey Thomas, Russell Shore, David Murphy, and Brad Adams followed Ross across the finish line Saturday evening.
William Earnest's fifth place finish Saturday night gave him the points championship in the Garrison Racing Equipment Pure Ministock division. Chuck Cooper led wire to wire in the 25-lap race to earn the right to go to victory lane. Marty Roberts, Chad Hoopaugh, and Bryan Jones finished second through fourth respectively.
Brian Sosebee won the X-Karz 15-lap race and, unofficially, the division's championship. Rodney Cox, Bryan Martin, Gilford Miller, and Scott Wilson rounded out the balance of the finishing order. Michael Stewart, who entered the night with a 12-point lead in the battle for the X-Karz championship, finished seventh.
The final event of the 2002 season is the Williams Bros Lumber Lanier Late Model National 300 on October 18 and 19. The event includes a 150-lap Budweiser Pro Late Model race paying $10,000 to the winner and a 150-lap Southern All Star Super Late Model race with $10,000 going to the top finisher.
For more information call 770-967-8600
Sunday
May 4th, 2025
12:34AM
