Pressley Takes the Checkers
from the Back of the Pack
Posted:4/28/2008
Pressley
Takes the Checkers from the Back of the Pack
By: Jill Frischmann, Hickory Motor Speedway
April 26, 2008
Rain may have delayed 321 Lawnmower Night at the Races,
but the fans who witnessed the racing action were
certainly not disappointed. Things didn’t stay idle at
the “Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars!” as everyone waited
to see if Mother Nature would let drivers take to the
track. Fans were able to take part in trivia contests
and witness the “Hickory Rain Delay 150” as the track
safety vehicles ran lap after lap to dry the track. Once
the track was ready, it was racing at its finest and
another night of history in the making as the drivers of
the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series took to the track
to put on a spectacular show for fans that waited out
the weather.
Any race fan will tell you the Bojangles Late Model
feature was worth the two and a half hour rain delay, as
the #59 of Coleman Pressley raced his way to the
checkers from a last place starting position. It was
that very rain delay that allowed Pressley the extra
time to make it to the track for the 50 lap feature as
he had originally planned to compete at
Greenville-Pickens, which was rained out earlier in the
day.
The field was tight with all cars qualifying within
three tenths of one another. The moment the green flag
dropped, the #43 of Jesse LeFevers jumped to the point,
but that didn’t last long as the #61 of Chase Austin
found himself in the spin cycle when he bobbled coming
off of turn three, bringing out the first caution. After
the restart LeFevers was back to the point until lap
four when pole sitter Andy Loden (#29) got under
LeFevers and moved back into the lead. Pressley was the
man to watch as he picked off cars one by one, after
starting in the rear, and making his way into the top
ten by lap ten.
On lap 14 the #33 of James Goff was trying to make a
move on LeFevers to take third. Goff and LeFevers were
beating and banging against one another as they came
down the front stretch. By lap 17 the #10 of Andy Mercer
was making progress on Loden to take the lead. Loden,
known for running the high side, held true to form,
unfortunately his signature line didn’t play out as
planned and Mercer captured the lead by lap 19 and set
sail on the field. By lap 33, Goff had made his way past
Loden to take second place and set his sights on
catching Mercer.
At the mid point of the feature, a second caution was
brought out as Austin spun to avoid the stopped car of
#70 Brit Andersen, who spun out coming out of turn two.
The restart put Pressley in prime position to crack the
top five, which the hot shoe made happen by lap 28.
By lap 35, Loden founding himself losing momentum on the
high side and fell into the third place position, “We
were extremely loose tonight,” he later stated in a post
race interview. On lap 44, it was a tight battle for
third between Loden, Pressley, and the #87 of 2004 HMS
Track Champ Matt McCall. Pressley tried to take it three
wide on the back stretch to take over the position when
the #89 of David Latour Jr. and Andersen made contact
coming out of turn four, bringing out the third caution.
Pressley didn’t waste any time and again began to battle
Loden for third at the restart.
With only six to go, the fourth and final caution of the
event was brought out on lap 46, when Mercer and Goff
made contact heading into turn two, sending both into a
spin and both to back of the pack. The caution put
Pressley in prime position to take over the lead. With
one lap to go all fans were on their feet as Pressley
made his move over McCall. It was a dramatic finish for
the checkers, and as they came out of turn four Pressley
and McCall were in full contact. The cars were banging
against one another as they came across the finish line,
with Pressley beating McCall by only inches. “This is
AWESOME!” Pressley exclaimed in victory lane. “From 15th
to first, this is AWESOME! I didn’t think I would even
make the race.” Loden was able to hold onto third, with
LeFevers and Sam Watts (#25) finishing out the top five
respectively.
During the 35 lap feature for the Jewelry Exchange
Limited Models, it was the #94 of Josh Wright who proved
that anything can happen at the “World’s Most Famous
Short Track”. It looked as though the pole sitter wasn’t
even going to be able to start the race when he
experienced difficulties firing up his car from the
grid, but with a little push from the track wrecker he
was off and running. A four car collision on the back
stretch during the first lap of the race between #27
Brandon Mundy, #28 Jason Crouse, #44 Chris “Big Honey”
Chapman, and #17 Kyle Mansch sent Mundy hard into the
wall and caused minor damage to the others. Cars were
realigned for the restart but it didn’t take long for
caution number two to come out as the #77 of Joe Chafin
and “Big Honey” got loose and spun out coming off of
turn three. A quick reaction from Mansch allowed him to
stop in time to avoid making contact with the two race
cars that were stopped on the track.
Cars were set up for another restart putting the #55 of
Waylon Flynn and the #3 of Dexter Canipe Jr. in perfect
position, allowing them to gain a three car lead on the
field. On lap eight, #01 J.R. Allen put a nose to the
back bumper of the #07 of Tyler Church as they battled
for sixth. The move caused both cars to loose momentum
which took them three wide on the back stretch with
Crouse. Crouse was able to use the momentum to propel
his way into the sixth place position. By lap 20 it was
a strong battle for fifth between Crouse, #75 Eric Evans
and #05 Jordan McGregor. Crouse dove under McGregor to
take the position and make a move on the top four.
It was an exciting race to the finish, with two laps to
go pole sitter Wright worked his way up from the back of
the pack to make a move on Flynn for the lead and the
win. Wright bobbled coming off of turn two, causing him
to lose speed and his run on Flynn and allowing Canipe
Jr. to regain second place. In post-race inspection,
Wright was DQ’d for using non-approved fuel, moving
Canipe to second, Chapman to third, Allen fourth, and
Evans fifth.
The Street Stocks kept fans on the edge of their seats
during their 30 lap feature. Once again it didn’t take
long for the first caution of the race to come out as
the #75 of Jeff Sparks lost a wheel coming across the
start/finish line during the first lap of the event. #3
Bruce Kirkendall spun to avoid the commotion in front of
him, making contact with #39 Dan Crate. Sparks was
helped off the track and into the pits to replace the
missing wheel and was back on track by lap five. It
wasn’t Spark’s night….as he came to the start/finish
line on lap eight, he found that his car crossed the
line before his hood, bringing out the second caution of
the event. The restart put #03 Kevin Eby in the perfect
position to take the lead. From there on out it was a
game of “Follow the Leader” with Eby in charge. Eby
brought with him the #64 of Marshall Sutton, #51 Mike
Newton, #71 of pole sitter Robert Divanna, and #32 Jeff
Byers to round out the top five.
The Pro 4’s put on another spectacular show for the race
fans. When the green flag dropped, #16 Randy Freeze
jumped out to the lead, but got loose when he went to
the high side. The move caused Freeze to lose momentum
which left room for the #21 of pole sitter Todd
Harrington to regain the lead. By lap eight, #4 Adam
Beaver and #57 Josh Wimbish were able to catch up to
Harrington. On lap nine, Beaver, Wimbish and Freeze were
three wide coming out of turn three, with Beaver coming
out the victor of the battle moving into first, leaving
Harrington in second and Wimbish in third. Freeze and
the #99 of Matt Elledge completed the top five.
The Red Baron Race Parts Hobby Stocks put on one heck of
show and acted as track dryers when they took to the
track first for their 20 lap feature. It didn’t take
long for the first caution to come out during their
feature as the #98 of Wesley Sain got loose coming out
of turn two, causing him to spin almost making contact
with #90 Ronnie Sims. On lap two, #-1 Ronald Dale
McNeill pulled in with what seemed to be mechanical
troubles, bringing it down to an 8 car field. It was a
battle for first at the restart as the #82 of Jeremy
Whitman chased down #83 David Hasson, by lap four it was
Whitman who was in the lead. On lap 10, Sims was able to
move into second behind Whitman. It was smooth sailing
for Whitman from there on out, with a few laps remaining
Sims made a move for the lead but was unsuccessful and
had to settle for second. Hasson, #1 James Flynn, and
#85 Jeff Weisner made up the top five.
Be sure to join us next Saturday, May 3, 2008, for the
“Rick Bowman Memorial Presented by Dale Jarrett Inc. and
The Jewelry Exchange” at the “Birthplace of the NASCAR
Stars” featuring the NASCAR Whelen All American Series.
The show will include appearances by the Jewelry
Exchange Limited Late Models, Hickory Street Stocks, Red
Baron Race Parts Hobby Stocks, and Hickory Pro 4’s with
a special bonus of twin 50 lap features for the
Bojangles Late Models. It’s sure to be another great
night of high speed racing action. Grandstands open at 5
PM for qualifying, and feature racing action beginning
at 7 PM. Fans don’t miss your chance to meet your
favorite drivers of the Bojangles Late Models during the
On Track Autograph session beginning at 6 PM. The On
Track Autograph Session will also feature special guests
Ned and Dale Jarrett, Tommy Houston and Dennis Setzer.
Tickets for the event are only $10 for adults, $8 for
teens and seniors, $5 for kids 7-12 and kids 6 and under
are free. Be sure to bring out the whole family for a
night of family fun with exciting high speed racing
action. Family packs are only $25 and on sale NOW! For
more information, visit our website at
www.hickorymotorspeedway.com or by phone at
828-464-3655. We can’t wait to see you at the races!
###
Hickory Motor Speedway is a .363 mile asphalt track. The
track held its first event in June of 1951 posting Gwyn
Staley as the event winner. Hickory Motor Speedway has
supported series such as the now Sprint Cup and
Nationwide Series. Currently the Speedway is sanctioned
by NASCAR featuring the NASCAR Whelen All American
Series. The Speedway also hosts a wide variety of
touring series that travel throughout the country.
Hickory Motor Speedway runs Saturday nights, mid-March
through October. Grandstands open at 5 PM with racing
beginning at 7 PM.
For more information visit www.hickorymotorspeedway.com.
Rick Bowman, known as “Biscuit” to his many friends in
the racing business, worked as Crew Chief for Dale
Jarrett, Tommy Houston, and Morgan Shepherd, among
others, and was the General Manager for Dale Jarrett
Inc., until his untimely passing last November. Rick was
a long time supporter and fan of short track racing,
racers and Hickory Motor Speedway.
Official Results:
Bojangles Late Model 50
1. (#59) Coleman Pressley
2. (#87) Matt McCall
3. (#29) Andy Loden
4. (#43) Jesse LeFevers
5. (#25) Sam Watts
6. (#16) Mack Little III
7. (#61) Chase Austin
8. (#57) Grant Wimbish
9. (#42) Todd Goble
10. (#70) Brit Anderson
11. (#10) Andy Mercer
12. (#89) David Latour Jr.
13. (#28) Mark Johnson
14. (#33) James Goff
15. (#31) Kyle Grissom
Jewelry Exchange Limited Late Model 35
1. (#55) Waylon Flynn
2. (#3) Dexter Canipe Jr.
3. (#44) Chris Chapman
4. (#01) JR Allen
5. (#75) Eric Evans
6. (#28) Jason Crouse
7. (#07) Tyler Church
8. (#05) Jordan McGregor
9. (#25) Nick Proffitt
10. (#17) Kyle Mansch
11. (#77) Joe Chafin
12. (#27) Brandon Mundy
13. (#95) Michael Buckner
14. (#94) Josh Wright - DQ
Hickory Street Stock 30
1. (#03) Kevin Eby
2. (#64) Marshall Sutton
3. (#5) Mike Newton
4. (#71) Robert DiVanna
5. (#32) Jeff Byers
6. (#3) Bruce Kirkendall
7. (#89) Jennifer Crossman
8. (#43) Heather Bell
9. (#75) Jeff Sparks
10. (#39) Dan Crate
Hickory Pro 4’s 25
1. (#4) Adam Beaver
2. (#57) Josh Wimbish
3. (#21) Todd Harrington
4. (#16) Randy Freeze
5. (#99) Matt Elledge
6. (#09) Randy Canipe
7. (#17) Curtis Pardue
8. (#66) Scott Wallace
Red Baron Race Parts Hobby Stocks 20
1. (#82) Jeremy Whitman
2. (#90) Ronnie Sims
3. (#83) David Hasson
4. (#1) James Flynn
5. (#85) Jeff Weisner
6. (#88) Andy Towery
7. (#01) Paul Wyatt
8. (#98) Wesley Sain
9. (#–1) Ronald Dale McNeil
WinnCom Pole Award
Bojangles Late Models:
(29) Andy Loden – 15.174 seconds
Jewelry Exchange Limited Late Models:
(94) Josh Wright – 15.762 seconds
Hickory Street Stocks:
(71) Robert Divanna – 17.246 seconds
Hickory Pro 4’s:
(21) Todd Harrington – 15.960 seconds
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