Inaugural Fairgrounds DIRTcar Clash in the Books
NASHVILLE, TN – May 25, 2019 – Almost two weeks’ worth of track prep and 181 truckloads of dirt later, the inaugural Fairgrounds DIRTcar Clash is in the books. And what a turnout it was on Saturday night at the track, in the grandstands and the pit area.
A total of 104 cars passed through the pit gates of Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville, in four divisions of 17 DIRTcar Pro Late Models, 36 Quicksilver Performance Street Stocks, 18 Pure Mini Stocks, and 33 Mod Lites.
Four Qualifying sessions set four new track records around the 1/4-mile – Matt Cooper (Pro Late Models) [16.339]; T.J. Herndon (Street Stocks) [17.235]; Aaron Ashcraft (Pure Mini Stocks) [19.192]; Jon Padille (Mod Lites) [16.769]. Remarkably, three of these drivers went on to win their respective Feature race, displaying their piloting prowess over their opponents.
After 14 Heat Races and a bit of track preparation, the DIRTcar Pro Late Models took to the track one final time for their Feature, where fast qualifier, Heat Race #1 winner and polesitter Matt Cooper put on a dominant display of short track mastery, as he led all 20 laps en route to winning the very first Feature ever ran on dirt at the Nashville Fairgrounds.
“This is really special,” Cooper said with a big smile on his face. “We’re not asphalt racers, but everybody knows the history of this racetrack, so it’s real special.”
What a feat his performance was, considering Cooper was one driver who did not take a single lap of practice prior to Hot Laps on Saturday. He very quickly adapted to the expertly prepared racing surface, courtesy of Scott Woodhouse from Thunderbowl Raceway and William Scogin of Clarksville Speedway. With no prior track time, Cooper made the most of the uncharted territory, and was very pleased with the results.
“The track was actually better than I thought it was going to be,” Cooper said. “I thought it might’ve gotten rough, but it actually stayed together pretty good.”
Echoing the McKenzie, TN-native, runner-up Brad Skinner also said it was a great race and a really fun track to drive on. But that enjoyment didn’t come without a good sense of competitiveness.
“Unfortunately, I had to bump a couple of people,” Skinner said. “We moved up a few positions and I’m pretty happy about that. And we made history [in the process].”
Skinner came from his fifth starting spot and battled his way up to third by lap four, then made the move for second on lap 16 and spent the remaining circuits putting pressure on Cooper. In the end, he was unable to catch the leader, but said he was glad to have the opportunity to be a part of an event as special as this.
“I had a ball,” Skinner said after the race. “I can’t complain a bit. Last night, I came here to practice and it was a little more hooked up, you could hammer it off in the corners. It dried out a bit tonight, but still a lot of fun.”
Steve Peeden came from the deepest in the field out of the podium finishers to cross the line in third. In 20 laps, Peeden made the charge from ninth and did his small crew of girlfriend and mother (who also drove 5.5 hours in the truck with him from their home town in Indiana) proud, after making repairs from his qualifying round.
“We knocked the wall down in qualifying and knocked the spoiler off of it,” Peeden said. “It got a little sketchy a couple of times, but it was a heck of a race for us.”
After the DIRTcar Pro Late Models had concluded, the Pure Mini Stocks took to the track in what ended up being a great battle between Heat Race winners Joseph McGhee and Aaron Ashcraft. After not receiving a Qualifying time due to a mechanical failure in the staging lane, McGhee came back to win his heat race convincingly, earning himself a third-place starting spot for the Feature. With just four laps remaining, McGhee took the lead, and the first Pure Mini Stocks Feature win at Nashville.
The Quicksilver Street Stock Performance Series then came out for their Feature, won by fast qualifier T.J. Herndon. Herndon wrestled the lead away from Dale Nelson by lap 5 and didn’t look back, leading every lap from there on out to pick up the win, besting each of his 35 other competitors in the pit area.
Last, but certainly not least, was the Mod Lite division, which saw Jon Padille, from Illinois, pick up the victory after setting fast time earlier in the evening. The track size seemed to work well for the 32 cars in the division, as they were able to lay down, approximately, the second-best average lap times behind only the Pro Late Models.
Overall, through three hours of practice on Friday night and 187 total laps of racing on Saturday, it was quite the first weekend out on a brand-new track. The DIRTcar Racing staff would like to thank each of the teams who came out to put on a show and every race fan that came out to spend their weekend at the track.
…but the fun in Nashville doesn’t stop here! The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars will be rolling into town for a two-day show next Friday and Saturday, May 31 and June 1. Come see 10-time Champion Donny Schatz, Kasey Kahne Racing veteran Brad Sweet, rising star Logan Schuchart and all of your favorite Outlaws take on Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville in “The Greatest Show on Dirt!” Get your tickets now, before they’re gone!
RESULTS:
Pro Late Models
Qualifying
1. 18-Matt Cooper, 16.339; 2. B10-Logan Brown, 16.865; 3. 10C-Ronnie Cooper, 16.918; 4. 25-Chase Walls, 16.97; 5. 17R-Brad Skinner, 17.243; 6. 8E-Clayton Miller, 17.251; 7. 18J-Justin Jenkins, 17.297; 8. 95A-Rickey Knight,, 17.333; 9. P3-Steve Peeden, 17.338; 10. 34-Shane Echols, 17.605; 11. 22-Clint Powers, 17.768; 12. 1A-Levi Ashby, 18.018; 13. 56-David Gentry, 18.067; 14. 33-Devin McLean, 18.257; 15. 21-Shannon Ardry, 18.49; 16. 46-Matthew Rollins, 18.847; 17. 44-Blaze Burwell, NT
Heat #1 – Flight (A) (8 Laps)
1. 18-Matt Cooper [1]; 2. 25-Chase Walls [2]; 3. 18J-Justin Jenkins [3]; 4. 34-Shane Echols [4]; 5. 56-David Gentry [5]; 6. 46-Matthew Rollins [6]
Heat #2 – Flight (A) (8 Laps)
1. B10-Logan Brown [1]; 2. 17R-Brad Skinner [2]; 3. 33-Devin McLean [5]; 4. 44-Blaze Burwell [6]; 5. 22-Clint Powers [4]; 6. 95A-Rickey Knight, [3]
Heat #3 – Flight (A) (8 Laps)
1. 8E-Clayton Miller [2]; 2. 10C-Ronnie Cooper [1]; 3. P3-Steve Peeden [3]; 4. 1A-Levi Ashby [4]; 5. 21-Shannon Ardry [5]
Feature (25 Laps)
1. 18-Matt Cooper [1]; 2. 17R-Brad Skinner [5]; 3. P3-Steve Peeden [9]; 4. B10-Logan Brown [2]; 5. 18J-Justin Jenkins [7]; 6. 95A-Rickey Knight, [17]; 7. 44-Blaze Burwell [11]; 8. 21-Shannon Ardry [15]; 9. 34-Shane Echols [10]; 10. 1A-Levi Ashby [12]; 11. 8E-Clayton Miller [3]; 12. 10C-Ronnie Cooper [6]; 13. 33-Devin McLean [8]; 14. 25-Chase Walls [4]; 15. 56-David Gentry [13]; 16. 46-Matthew Rollins [16]; 17. 22-Clint Powers [14]
Quicksilver Street Stock Performance Series
Qualifying Flight-A
1. 83-JR Mason, 17.869; 2. 409-Allen Carter, 18.016; 3. 33-Charles Zimmerman, 18.038; 4. 65-Doug Belew, 18.166; 5. N1-Dale Nelson, 18.362; 6. 78-Marlin Cathey, 18.37; 7. O5-Bruce Odom, 18.397; 8. 2-Ethan Simms, 18.429; 9. O4-Dean Travis, 18.468; 10. 27-David Beall, 18.491; 11. 18-Craig Pedrick, 18.674; 12. O6-Elijah English, 18.681; 13. O5C-Floyd Clinard, 18.693; 14. IP2-Joel Landers, 18.716; 15. 15-Trevor Woodard, 18.733; 16. 29-Tim Wilson,, 18.749; 17. 1-Timmy Vandygriff, 18.85; 18. 24-Tim Merritt, 19.082
Qualifying Flight-B
1. 1T-TJ Herndon, 17.235; 2. 26-David Gentry, 17.331; 3. 99-Cody Hodges, 17.686; 4. J3-Joe Hamm, 17.728; 5. N1JR-Cody Nelson, 17.837; 6. P4-Parker Neblett, 17.882; 7. 93-Eddie Rhinehart, 17.956; 8. 7-Tony Cruse, 18.001; 9. 21M-Brian Markham, 18.018; 10. 23-Chad Winkles, 18.117; 11. K04-Krista Travis, 18.12; 12. 8M-Justin McDaniel, 18.159; 13. 50-Dylan McCrary, 18.228; 14. 116-Kaleb Vandygriff, 18.268; 15. 31-Blake Carter, 18.631; 16. 772-Chandler Neighbors, 18.919; 17. 31B-Matt Barnes, 20.041; 18. 71-James Hall, 21.473
Heat #1 – Flight (A) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. N1-Dale Nelson [3]; 2. 83-JR Mason [1]; 3. 33-Charles Zimmerman [2]; 4. O4-Dean Travis [5]; 5. O5-Bruce Odom [4]; 6. 15-Trevor Woodard [8]; 7. 18-Craig Pedrick [6]; 8. 1-Timmy Vandygriff [9]; 9. O5C-Floyd Clinard [7]
Heat #2 – Flight (A) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 409-Allen Carter [1]; 2. IP2-Joel Landers [7]; 3. 65-Doug Belew [2]; 4. 24-Tim Merritt [9]; 5. 2-Ethan Simms [4]; 6. 29-Tim Wilson, [8]; 7. 78-Marlin Cathey [3]; 8. O6-Elijah English [6]; 9. 27-David Beall [5]
Heat #3 – Flight (B) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 1T-TJ Herndon [1]; 2. N1JR-Cody Nelson [3]; 3. 93-Eddie Rhinehart [4]; 4. 21M-Brian Markham [5]; 5. 31B-Matt Barnes [9]; 6. K04-Krista Travis [6]; 7. 50-Dylan McCrary [7]; 8. 99-Cody Hodges [2]; 9. 31-Blake Carter [8]
Heat #4 – Flight (B) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 26-David Gentry [1]; 2. 23-Chad Winkles [5]; 3. 7-Tony Cruse [4]; 4. J3-Joe Hamm [2]; 5. 116-Kaleb Vandygriff [7]; 6. P4-Parker Neblett [3]; 7. 8M-Justin McDaniel [6]; 8. 71-James Hall [9]; 9. 772-Chandler Neighbors [8]
Last Chance Showdown 1 (10 Laps) – Top 3 Transfer
1. 15-Trevor Woodard [3]; 2. O5-Bruce Odom [1]; 3. 29-Tim Wilson, [4]; 4. 2-Ethan Simms [2]; 5. 27-David Beall [10]; 6. O6-Elijah English [8]; 7. O5C-Floyd Clinard [9]; 8. 1-Timmy Vandygriff [7]; 9. 18-Craig Pedrick [5]; 10. 78-Marlin Cathey [6]
Last Chance Showdown 2 (10 Laps) – Top 3 Transfer
1. P4-Parker Neblett [4]; 2. 116-Kaleb Vandygriff [2]; 3. 50-Dylan McCrary [5]; 4. K04-Krista Travis [3]; 5. 8M-Justin McDaniel [6]; 6. 31-Blake Carter [9]; 7. 99-Cody Hodges [7]; 8. 31B-Matt Barnes [1]; 9. 71-James Hall [8]; 10. 772-Chandler Neighbors [10]
Feature (25 Laps)
1. 1T-TJ Herndon [2]; 2. 23-Chad Winkles [8]; 3. 33-Charles Zimmerman [9]; 4. 93-Eddie Rhinehart [10]; 5. 83-JR Mason [5]; 6. 116-Kaleb Vandygriff [20]; 7. 15-Trevor Woodard [17]; 8. O4-Dean Travis [13]; 9. N1-Dale Nelson [1]; 10. N1JR-Cody Nelson [6]; 11. 1-Timmy Vandygriff [23]; 12. P4-Parker Neblett [18]; 13. 29-Tim Wilson, [21]; 14. 99-Cody Hodges [24]; 15. 21M-Brian Markham [14]; 16. 50-Dylan McCrary [22]; 17. 7-Tony Cruse [12]; 18. O5-Bruce Odom [19]; 19. 26-David Gentry [4]; 20. 65-Doug Belew [11]; 21. IP2-Joel Landers [7]; 22. 409-Allen Carter [3]; 23. 24-Tim Merritt [15]; 24. J3-Joe Hamm [16]
Pure Mini Stocks
Qualifying
1. 3-Aaron Ashcraft, 19.192; 2. O2-Travis Owens, 19.222; 3. 718-Daniel Choate, 19.309; 4. OO-Jeremy Wood, 19.377; 5. G5-Gavin Massengill, 19.678; 6. B20-Brad Cross, 19.773; 7. 10W-Jessie White, 19.791; 8. 411-Josh Harrell, 19.819; 9. 1-Jacob Sharp, 19.95; 10. 7-Chris Carter, 19.988; 11. 12-Brandon Duvall, 20.068; 12. 25-Josh Garvin, 20.507; 13. 31-Ray Gann, 20.579; 14. 21K-Kendra Lamastus, 20.882; 15. 711-Josh Stewart, 21.112; 16. 3B-Peyton Bedwell, 21.217; 17. 75-Dustin Wooten, NT; 18. 48-Joseph McGhee, NT
Heat #1 – Flight (A) (6 Laps)
1. 3-Aaron Ashcraft [1]; 2. 10W-Jessie White [3]; 3. OO-Jeremy Wood [2]; 4. 7-Chris Carter [4]; 5. 31-Ray Gann [5]; 6. 3B-Peyton Bedwell [6]
Heat #2 – Flight (A) (6 Laps)
1. O2-Travis Owens [1]; 2. G5-Gavin Massengill [2]; 3. 411-Josh Harrell [3]; 4. 12-Brandon Duvall [4]; 5. 21K-Kendra Lamastus [5]; 6. 75-Dustin Wooten [6]
Heat #3 – Flight (A) (6 Laps)
1. 48-Joseph McGhee [6]; 2. 718-Daniel Choate [1]; 3. 1-Jacob Sharp [3]; 4. 25-Josh Garvin [4]; 5. 711-Josh Stewart [5]; 6. B20-Brad Cross [2]
Feature (20 Laps)
1. 48-Joseph McGhee [3]; 2. 3-Aaron Ashcraft [1]; 3. 10W-Jessie White [4]; 4. 718-Daniel Choate [6]; 5. OO-Jeremy Wood [7]; 6. 411-Josh Harrell [8]; 7. 7-Chris Carter [10]; 8. 25-Josh Garvin [12]; 9. G5-Gavin Massengill [5]; 10. O2-Travis Owens [2]; 11. 1-Jacob Sharp [9]; 12. 12-Brandon Duvall [11]; 13. 31-Ray Gann [13]; 14. 21K-Kendra Lamastus [14]; 15. 75-Dustin Wooten [17]; 16. 3B-Peyton Bedwell [16]; 17. 711-Josh Stewart [15]; 18. B20-Brad Cross [18]
Mod Lites
Qualifying Flight-A
1. 11P-Jon Padille, 16.769; 2. 20-John Pitts, 16.895; 3. 22-Alex Loveless, 17.269; 4. 55-Gene Buck, 17.369; 5. 39S-Brian Nance, 17.4; 6. 11R-Cody Rogers, 17.426; 7. O6-Micah Collins, 17.443; 8. 5X-Greg Hays, 17.73; 9. 6-Ron Dodson, 17.752; 10. 10-Darren Allison, 17.907; 11. 31-Josh Crump, 17.962; 12. 14T-Tony Sterner, 17.971; 13. C4-Corey Lowe, 18.536; 14. 10K-Kyle Davidson, 18.667; 15. 6F-Keith Fain, 18.934; 16. 27H-Larry Hicks, 19.484
Qualifying Flight-B
1. 19-Ryan Ayers, 17.152; 2. 11-Jody Brannon, 17.291; 3. LR8-Ronnie Choate, 17.305; 4. 47-Ed Griggs, 17.323; 5. 18-Blake Wilson, 17.523; 6. 21B-Albert Bradshaw, 17.533; 7. 65Z-Brian Ziegler, 17.567; 8. 95-Austin Cagle, 17.595; 9. 5-Michael Dominguez, 17.676; 10. 6K-Kyle Purifoy, 17.775; 11. 18E-Charles Seabaugh, 17.797; 12. 23H-Hunter Sanders, 17.803; 13. 626-Bruce Davidson, 17.925; 14. O2-Anthony Lane, 18.083; 15. O3-Justin Odom, 18.317; 16. 12-Cristine Fain, 19.845; 17. 27C-Chris Crutcher, 19.85
Heat #1 – Flight (A) (6 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 11P-Jon Padille [1]; 2. 22-Alex Loveless [2]; 3. 39S-Brian Nance [3]; 4. O6-Micah Collins [4]; 5. 31-Josh Crump [6]; 6. C4-Corey Lowe [7]; 7. 6-Ron Dodson [5]; 8. 6F-Keith Fain [8]
Heat #2 – Flight (A) (6 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 55-Gene Buck [2]; 2. 11R-Cody Rogers [3]; 3. 5X-Greg Hays [4]; 4. 10K-Kyle Davidson [7]; 5. 14T-Tony Sterner [6]; 6. 27H-Larry Hicks [8]; 7. 10-Darren Allison [5]; 8. 20-John Pitts [1]
Heat #3 – Flight (B) (6 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 19-Ryan Ayers [1]; 2. 65Z-Brian Ziegler [4]; 3. LR8-Ronnie Choate [2]; 4. 626-Bruce Davidson [7]; 5. 18E-Charles Seabaugh [6]; 6. 5-Michael Dominguez [5]; 7. 18-Blake Wilson [3]; 8. 27C-Chris Crutcher [9]; 9. O3-Justin Odom [8]
Heat #4 – Flight (B) (6 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 11-Jody Brannon [1]; 2. 47-Ed Griggs [2]; 3. 95-Austin Cagle [4]; 4. 21B-Albert Bradshaw [3]; 5. 23H-Hunter Sanders [6]; 6. O2-Anthony Lane [7]; 7. 6K-Kyle Purifoy [5]; 8. 12-Cristine Fain [8]
Last Chance Showdown 1 (10 Laps) – Top 2 Transfer
1. 20-John Pitts [8]; 2. 6-Ron Dodson [5]; 3. C4-Corey Lowe [3]; 4. 6F-Keith Fain [7]; 5. 31-Josh Crump [1]; 6. 10-Darren Allison [6]; 7. 27H-Larry Hicks [4]; 8. O3-Justin Odom [9]; 9. 14T-Tony Sterner [2]
Last Chance Showdown 2 (10 Laps) – Top 2 Transfer
1. 5-Michael Dominguez [3]; 2. 23H-Hunter Sanders [2]; 3. 18-Blake Wilson [5]; 4. 6K-Kyle Purifoy [6]; 5. O2-Anthony Lane [4]; 6. 27C-Chris Crutcher [7]; 7. 12-Cristine Fain [8]; 8. 18E-Charles Seabaugh [1]; 9. O3-Justin Odom [9]
Feature (15 Laps)
1. 11P-Jon Padille [1]; 2. 19-Ryan Ayers [2]; 3. 11-Jody Brannon [4]; 4. 22-Alex Loveless [5]; 5. 55-Gene Buck [3]; 6. 11R-Cody Rogers [7]; 7. 65Z-Brian Ziegler [6]; 8. 47-Ed Griggs [8]; 9. O6-Micah Collins [13]; 10. 95-Austin Cagle [12]; 11. 6-Ron Dodson [19]; 12. 23H-Hunter Sanders [20]; 13. 21B-Albert Bradshaw [16]; 14. 5-Michael Dominguez [18]; 15. 39S-Brian Nance [9]; 16. 5X-Greg Hays [11]; 17. 10K-Kyle Davidson [15]; 18. 20-John Pitts [17]; 19. 626-Bruce Davidson [14]; 20. LR8-Ronnie Choate [10]
DIRTcar Racing is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game) and NAPA Auto Parts (SDS). Contingency sponsors include: ASI Race Wear (SDS), Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux, Dig Safely, Cometic Gasket (SDS), COMP Cams (SDS),DART (SDS),Fox Shox (SDS), Intercomp, JE Pistons (SDS), KSE Racing Products (SDS), MSD (SDS), and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum) (SDS); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Beyea Headers,FireAde,Racing Electronics and TNT Rescue.
Sources: Jordan DeLucia, DIRTcar PR