Points races are coming down to final night

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Current NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Pro Late Model point leader JC Newell took advantage of a lap 18 caution to close-up the gap on leader Steve Holt and took the lead on lap 24 then held back Kyle Donahue in capturing his 5th feature win of the season and 2nd consecutive as again the Pro Late Models provided side by side racing action.
 
As the green flew on the United Insurors/ Waynesville Snack-A-Pack Program Night 30 lap feature, last week’s runner-up Brian Brown quickly got the jump on pole setter Payton Lucas to take the opening lead as Steve Holt and Jimmy Vanzandt followed closely. Holt quickly got an opening and went to the front taking the lead from Brown on lap 3 and was walking away from the field. The action for 2nd was tight as Brown, Vanzandt, Lucas, defending champion Kaleb Allison and 2014 Sportsman Champion Paul Jepsen  were battling for 2nd spot as Holt was looking to become the 9th different feature winner this season. The pace slowed on lap 12 with contact between Lucas and Brennon Willard bringing the field back up to the high-flying Holt. On the restart, Holt again vaulted to the lead leaving a dog-fight for 2nd place between Brown, Allison and now JC Newell and a 12th starting Kyle Donahue had come to fight for positions. On lap 15, Brown slipped high out of turn 2 and Allison, Newell and Donahue moved around.
 
A lap 18 caution would prove to be the turning point as Newell had just passed Allison for 2nd and Holt’s big advantage went away as Lucas and David Wood made contact ending Wood’s 1st start of the season. As the field was prepared to go green, 5th place runner Jepsen lost the rear-end in the 44 car as a huge trail of grease was laid down on the front stretch causing the field to go to a red flag condition. With the temps starting to turn cooler, the field lined-up behind Holt leading followed by Newell, Donahue, Allison and Brown. Holt wasn’t as strong on the restart and Newell tried to move to the inside for the lead. Holt was coming off the corners stronger as Newell was trying to keep Donahue at bay. After several attempts to pass Holt, Newell was finally able to make the winning pass on the inside bringing Donahue with him as Holt dropped to 3rd. With 2 laps remaining, Donahue closed-up some ground on Newell before running out of time as Newell crossed the line with win number 5 followed closely by Donahue, early leader Holt, Allison and early contender Vanzandt as 11 of the scheduled 14 starters finished on the lead lap. Heat race wins went to Brown and Holt. “It is so amazing how competitive these cars are from top to bottom in 2015. Late race cautions are the only thing that have kept drivers like Steve Holt, Brian Brown and possibly Jimmy Vanzandt from winners circle in the last several weeks or we would be talking about 111 different Pro Late Model winners in 15 races this season. That 75 lap race on the 19th is going to be something to watch” said Kevin Greven, Lebanon I-44 Speedway General Manager.
 
For Budweiser Modified defending Champion Stephen Counterman, a lap 3 surge and pass on leader Chris Johnson resulted in his 4th feature win of the season, but not before a late race surge from Ricky Icenhower decided the outcome. Johnson wasted no time grabbing the early lead on the start as 5th place starting Counterman was quick to keep the leader close while Icenhower who started 10th was moving through the pack from the rear. Counterman, after taking the lead from Johnson was trying to keep distance from Icenhower as the duo pulled away from the pack. Robert Baltzell had a strong run go south after moving from 7th up to 4th as problems sent him to the pits on lap 11 while the feature continued to go caution-free. While Counterman seemed untouchable early Icenhower really started to pick-up the pace in the final 5 laps and was closing on the leader but would fall short of time as Counterman grabs the win and his 2nd in a row with Icenhower, early leader Johnson, Richard Lewis and Joe Bunkers completing the top 5 as point leader Tim Swearingin was in a car borrowed from Lendal Alexander for the night. Heat race wins went to Johnson and Counterman.
 
The Sportsman feature saw the “The Stoutland Rocket Express” winning streak of little JC Newell come to an end as current point leader “Grandpa” JC Newell grabbed the lead from Jake Piel on lap 5 and then held back many attempts from Grandson to take his 3rd win of the season. Piel grabbed the opening lead over Jimmy Fohn and Newell. With Piel holding a strong lead, Newell waited patiently before making the pass for the lead and tried to pull away early. On lap 6, JC Newell took the 15 car around Piel and set his sights on the leader. A lap 7 caution for Mike Bartig and AJ Bowman allowed Little Newell to pull on the leader’s back bumper. On the restart, Big JC pulled away by 3 cars, but then Little JC closed ground quickly while Fohn and Piel were swapping the 3rd place position. For the following 13 laps, little Newell tried several attempts to get the top spot but would come out short as Big JC grabs a hard earned win with Little Newell, Fohn, Piel and Dayton Newell completing the top 5. JC Newell topped the heat race win.
 
Hoosier Racing Tire Street Stock point leader Jordan Nisbett found his way to win number 7 of the season by getting by leader Steve Shaw on lap 4 and then had to fend back several challenges by Zack Morgan, George Buhr and finally Michael Juergensen before claiming the win. Another outstanding feature for the Street Stocks saw former 2-time Bomber Champion Shaw get the opening lead from Aaron Wilke as Nisbett and Buhr were close at hand. A quick caution waved on lap 2 as Tony Johnson and Les Mallard both spun. On the restart, Shaw pulled away by 2 car lengths as Nisbett, Buhr, Morgan and Juergensen followed closely. On circuit number 4, Nisbett pulled ahead after a 2 lap battle with Shaw while Morgan was coming toward the front. Morgan shot from 4th to 2nd on lap 5 and was closing on the leader. For the next 3 laps Morgan tried several different lines to take the lead but Nisbett held-off the challenges. Heading for lap 8, Morgan found the turn 4 wall ending his chance for the win as the yellow waved for his slowing car. On the restart, Buhr and Juergensen were putting heavy pressure on the leader Nisbett as the trio was very tight while Mallard was flying high towards the leaders along with early leader Shaw. With Nisbett working the middle lane, Buhr was working the low groove as Juergensen went top side. On lap 12, Buhr got just a little loose on the bottom allowing Nisbett to pull away as Juergensen went side by side with Buhr for 2nd place. Juergensen finally got the runner-up spot on the final lap following the Nisbett and Juergensen to the finish were Buhr, Mallard and early leader Shaw. Shaw and Morgan grabbed the heat race wins.
 
Current Coca-Cola Charger point leader Ben White avoided a near miss on the start when Japheth Nisbett had motor problems and Jesse Poindexter suffered damage to his car. White would then get around early leader Nik Taylor after a battle for several laps and hold off repeated challenges from point’s runner-up and 2013 Champion Jimmy Poindexter to capture his 8th feature win of the season. After the restart from the earlier incident, Taylor shot to the lead from his 3rd starting spot as 3 wide racing including White and Poindexter was right behind. White finally overtook Taylor for the top spot as Taylor and Poindexter battled door to door until lap 4 when Poindexter made his move. Poindexter pulled to White’s back bumper as another classic battle was in the making. From lap 5 until the final circuit on lap 12, Poindexter would pull even with White, but White was better coming off the corners to keep that lead. At the checkered flying it was White with a car length victory over Poindexter with early leader Taylor, a fast moving Riley Sharp and Luke Oster completing the top 5. Nisbett and Jimmy Poindexter grabbed the heat race wins.
 
Action continues Saturday Sept. 19th with the Season Championships including the Salute To 75 as The O’Reilly Auto Parts Pro Late Models will compete in a 75 lap feature to honor the only NASCAR Whelen 5-time Champion Larry Phillips at the track where we captured 3 of those National titles and the place where the original Phillips race was held along with a full show for the Modifieds, Sportsman, Street Stocks and Chargers .Last season Brennon Willard captured the feature as leader Allison and Donahue tangled late in the race while battling for the lead. Gates will open at 4 with racing to start at 6PM Sharp in the final race at Lebanon I-44 Speedway for 2015.

I-44 Speedway PR

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