Laurens County Speedway: Ronnie Brookshire Memorial 4.30.21.
Thunder Bomber:
Tech shed shake-up leads Lawson to victory lane! The Thunder Bomber division was primed and ready for some Friday night action this week at the Laurens County Speedway! A usual face would look to be the favorite early, as James “Superfly” Hudson continued his blazing speed yet again this week. Hudson would win his heat race & join the front row with long time veteran driver, Dan Lawson. The two would lead the field to green with Hudson taking advantage on the outside. Defending Thunder Bomber champion Read Neaderhiser, who started fourth, would jump to third in the running order after passing the three time defending 602 late model champion, Colt Smith. Smith took the week off in his Limited Late Model to turn some laps in his fathers Thunder Bomber. The first caution of the night would fall with Chris Patterson taking a spin in turn two, re-racking the field up front. On the restart Hudson maintained the lead, but third place Neaderhiser took a peak at Lawson for the runner up spot, but couldn't get around. Hudson's No.33 ride was a rocket ship, leaving a five car battle for the second spot. Lawson, Neaderhiser, Mart Patterson, Hurley & Smith were all under a blanket running to the checkerds, with Lawson being the beneficiary. Hudson would originally take the checkered flag, but would fail protest for a carburetor spacer. Dan Lawson scores the victory with Neaderhiser coming home second. Hurley, Patterson & Smith would round out the top-five.
Monster Mini 4-Cylinder:
Mud Monsters... The Monster Mini division put on a show to no surprise from anyone! Some heavy hitters would fill the field, leaving much the imagination from what the main event would look like later in the night. The front row included two 2020 track champions from the Southeast. Phillip Wilson would start on pole, the defending champion at Laurens, alongside 2020 Lavonia Speedway champion, Matt Gilbert. The two drivers would take the green & race side by side for nearly a lap before Gilbert took the lead on the top side. As a couple laps ticked off, the first yellow would fly with Dewayne Dickson & Steven McDaniel coming together after a flat tire from McDaniel's machine. The green would drop again, but another caution would quickly commence with Austin Brown slamming the wall hard in his No.04 machine. Madness would ensue on the next restart with race leader Matt Gilbert spinning in front of the field after a flat tire. Gilbert would receive his tire laps & restart the event from the rear. Back under green Wilson would pace with field with Rod Tucker, who started sixth, hot on his heels. Tucker would look for the lead on Wilson, but couldn't get around before the next caution flew. Gilbert had worked his way back to third after Scott Nelson ran up the hill, giving up the spot. During the caution Tucker would face mechanical issues & relinquish the second spot, leaving Wilson and Gilbert on the front row once again. Tucker would return. With the green flag in the air the leaders dove into turn one and got hooked together forcing both Wilson & Gilbert up the hill. The two managed to get untangled quick enough to hold their spots, but the battle was far from over. Gilbert was all over the bumper of Wilson down the backstretch before the two eventually made contact again. Gilbert & Wilson both slid up the hill and once again made contact. Gilbert would spin into the inside wall, but another yellow coming out. The final restart would come with two lap remaining, which saw Wilson run away with the victory. Nelson finishes second with Rod Tucker coming home third. Gilbert would battle his way back to fifth in the final running order.
Ultimate Super Late Models:
Zack Mitchell sets the pace with a NEW... TRACK... RECORD! The fifth annual Ronnie Brookshire Memorial is always a special one with the Ultimate Super Late Model Series in town. The night would start how bad fast, with three cars breaking the previous track record. The record was set last season by Brandon Overton when he ran a 13.569 running with the Ultimate Supers. The hometown (sorta) kid Zack Mitchell would ultimately steal the show, scoring the pole and new record by running a 13.506 in his Barry Wright racecar. With the field set, it was time to go racing. Mitchell would joined by Kenny Collins on the front row, with Matthew Nance, GR Smith & Dennis “Rambo” Franklin rounding out the top-five in qualifying. Flagman Chris Rooney had the green flag in hand and waved the green to start the 40-lap feature event! Mitchell would jump out to a quick lead with Collins under attack from Nance for the second spot. A handful of laps would click-off before calamity would strike when lapped traffic would stack up the field leading to a multi-car incident in turn one. Second place driver Kenny Collins ran up on a lapper & had to back out of the gas momentarily. This would stall the cars behind them, including Ross Bailes, who spun and collected Cla Knight in the process. All drivers were able to continue. With the green back in the air, one of the wildest passes on the night occurred in turn one with Cla Knight quite literally jumping the nose of GR Smith for the fourth spot. Knight threw his car lowside & nearly wiped out both himself and Smith in the process. Both cars continued on, but another caution would fly with issues further in the field. With 33 laps to go, the field was set to go back racing, but not without a little excitement. Multiple cars came together on the restart including “Rambo” Franklin, Ross Bailes & Brian Ledbetter. The field quickly went back under yellow. Back under green GR Smith would throw a slider of his own on Collins for third. Smith continued his pace by catching second Nance for second & once again using the lowside to make the pass. Nance & Smith would have the battle of the night for second as the two went side by side for multiple laps before the second to last caution of the night came out. Doug Sanders would stall bringing out the yellow, leading to a restart with 4 laps to go! On the start, Mitchell continued his dominance, but the rest of the field wasn't so steady. Collins pancaked the wall off of turn four, but managed to keep his car straight. The battle between Nance & Smith finally came to a head with both drivers making contact off of turn four coming to the white flag with Smith spinning and nearly saving his car with a spectacular 360-degree save before over correcting & backing his car into the turn one wall. The caution would come out with just one lap remaining. Mitchell led the field to a one lap, go for broke finish, but kept to his dominant ways! Mitchell wins his second Ronnie Brookshire Memorial leading all 40-laps in the process. Matthew Nance comes home second, with Dustin Mitchell, Anthony Sanders & Kenny Collins rounding out the top-five.
Young-Guns:
Scoot Diggity Dog, JD Wilson scores first career win at the Darlington of Dirt! The Bradley Lambert Young-Guns Division were back in action Friday night, showcasing the drivers of the future at Laurens County Speedway! The night kicked off with a familiar face up front as Trenten Jamieson continues to set the pace, and scored the pole via a win in his heat race. The field would go green seeing Jamieson jump out to an early lead. Behind Jamieson, the battle for second began to heat up between JD “Scoot Dog” Wilson and CJ Smith. Both drivers found speed on the highside, but couldn't avoid coming together. Wilson would spin off the nose of Smith after accidental contact, bringing out the first yellow of the main event. The green would drop with 7 laps to go, but wouldn't last too long before the next caution came out for Jayme Woodard spinning down the back-stretch. During the caution period CJ Smith had some sort of mechanical issue that would put an end to his night. Back under green, Jamieson would once again jump to a dominant lead, before having a issue with his right rear hub which would bring out the final yellow on the night. Jamieson would retire from the race and relinquish the lead to Wilson, who would not lead the field to green. Wilson jumped out early & never looked back. Nine year old Wilson scores his first young-guns victory with Randy Clark & Woodard rounding out the top-three! Wilson would park his car on the front stretch & celebrated for the fans on the roof of his car! Scoot Dog as race fans call him would receive his mud bath from Front Wheel Drive regular Justin Harris!
Front Wheel Drive:
Joel Cabe takes home Front Wheel Drive victory once again! The front wheel drive gang never fails to put on a show at the Darlington of Dirt, and Friday night didn't disappoint. Joel Cabe set the pace early by winning his heat race joining Spud Ammons on the front row. Travis Jamieson who started in the rear would rocket his way to fourth quickly, setting his sights on the race leaders. Jamieson would find himself in a three way battle for second with Wayne Taylor and Ammons. The three would finally get single file with all three cars bumper-to-bumper-to-bumper. The first caution of the feature came out as Chris Heald stalled on track bringing out the yellow. Restarting with 6 laps remaining, Cabe once again jumped to the lead. Jamieson jumps to second with Taylor having a tire go down, choking up Bradley Barnett & Joe Boddie who made contact bringing out the second caution. Back green with 4 to go, the back half of the field would go four wide before Austin Brown got turned before making it back to the start/finish line. Going green once again, Taylor shot his way back to third and began to battle with Jamieson for second. The two would make contact sending Jamieson around off of turn two, putting the field under yellow once again. The final restart would come with 3 to go, and Cabe to no surprise led the remainder of the race. Cabe scores another win in his No.92 ride with Wayne Taylor finishing second. Travis Jameison rebounded his way back to third.
Thunder Bomber Futures:
Burton flirtin' with victory lane! The Thunder Bomber Futures division was calamity corner this week, but saw a familiar face in victory lane. Burton & Lil Man Trammell would join each other on the front row to kick-off the main event. Burton would jump out to quick lead in turn one, but slid of the hill opening the door for Trammell on the bottom. Both drivers would get side by side for the top spot before Burton would spin in turn two trying to take the lead. The field would quickly get back under green flag conditions which saw a new battle for the lead between Keith Eaton and Tyler Smith. Smith would take the lead as the second caution came out for Trammell who had stalled on track. On the restart Eaton & Smith would make contact with Smith getting the short end of the stick. Under yellow Eaton would pull into the pits with an issue putting an end to the night. With both first and second having issues, Grant Burton would once again find himself in the lead. The night would ultimately end with a green, white, checkered finish after another caution, which saw a head-to-head battle between Burton and Smith for the win. Both cars would stick together momentarily before Burton took advantage. Grant Burton scores his second Futures win of the season.
602 Crate:
Not a loser, not a sucker... another win for Rod Tucker! Rod Tucker has become a weekly favorite at Laurens County Speedway in the Blackwell family owned No.83 Scooby-Doo machine, and Friday was no different. Tucker handily won his heat race to join Jimmy Ivester on the front row. The main event would see a hectic start with Ivester nearly clearing Tucker for the lead, before the two made contact sending Ivester spinning. Since no laps were completed, Ivester would retake the lead for a second start of the event. The caution would come out once again on the opening lap with Keaton Smith going for a spin in turn one, re-stacking the field again. Smith would have a tough night, spinning again on a restart and making contact with Jason Alexander. On the fourth attempt to officially start the race, Ivester would grab the lead before running up the hill, opening the door for Tucker down low. Tucker powers to the lead before yet another caution flew with Chris Norwood going for a spin in turn three. After another couple of yellows, Tucker finally showcased the raw speed his always has. Tucker took a massive lead & dominated his way to another late model victory. Super late model competitor Ross Bailes brought his 602 machine home second with Jimmy Ivester managing a third place finish.
