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Travis Dockery • Clay County Progress The No. X15 of Shawn Chastain rips up the clay surface during practice laps. The former track champion would go on to win the Super Late Model main event to claim the Independence Day Championship.
Tri County Racetrack held a rare Thursday night event on July, 9 as promoter Ray Cook and his staff welcomed fans for the make-up of the previously rained out Independence Day Championships. The event was highlighted by the Southeastern Late Model Sportsman Series along with a $1,500 to win Super Late Model Race.
Murphy’s Shawn Chastain proved to be the man to beat in the Super Late Model event. Several out-of-town drivers, such as Jason Hiatt and G.R. Smith made the trip to Brasstown to prepare for an upcoming Southern Nationals event to be held at the facility. Although Hiatt looked to be a threat at one point, the ringers were no match for the local wheel man and Chastain took the win and the prize money.
Late comer John Owenby rolled onto the track for Southeastern Late Model Sportsman qualifying and flexed his motor-muscle by laying down the fastest lap for the division. Owenby followed that speed up in the feature event with an impressive win.
The Crate Late Model race saw action early as pole sitter Junior Whitener and outside pole sitter Brian Kinnersley bent some sheet metal. Kinnersley dove to the inside of Whitener as the pair hit turn one, hoping to complete a slide job pass. Kinnersley’s No.9 drifted up, not quite clear of Whitener. Neither driver let off the loud pedal and contact was made with Whitener spinning. That moved his No. 1 to the rear of the field on the restart and Kinnersley used his top spot to cruise to victory.
In other action, Alex Vance appeared to win his first Street Stock race, but a post-race disqualification handed the victory to Charles Devine Jr. Donte Curtis got his fourth top spot finish of the season in the Beginner 602 division and Adam Brookes cruised to victory in the Pony division.
Next up for the track will be the Southern Nationals Super Late Model Series on Tuesday, July 21. The series features some of the top drivers in the country. The full-time racers often have their hands full with the local weekend warriors which makes picking a winner almost impossible. Grandstand gates open at 5 p.m. with racing set to begin at 7:30 p.m.